Arena Wars: March 20 Happy Valley, Oregon

Arena Wars Fight Series

The main event in the Arena Wars show featured Joseph Aguilar stepping in against Marquis Williams for the right to wear the Arena Wars Title belt. Both men entered the ring with knockout power, though in this fight they kept their distance and did more moving around the ring than throwing heavy punches.

Williams did a lot of running around the ring to open the bout, and that meant that Aguilar had to pursue him in order to throw any punches. Aguilar was able to catch Williams a few times, but when the two men got close, they resorted to holding, and that situation meant few punches were thrown. The pace of the fight slowed as the round drew to an end. In the second round Aguilar was able to land a few more punches, but as in the opening round, Williams moved around the ring to avoid getting hit.

Aguilar was looking for ways to cut off the ring and close the distance between himself and Williams in the third round in order to land some punches. Williams however would not cooperate and continued to move. Aguilar was able to land some punches, and they evidently did some damage as Williams did not answer the bell to start the fourth round.
Aguilar would claim the TKO win and wear the Arena Wars belt.

Williams catches Aguilar early in the fight

Williams shoots his left while ducking away from Aguilar's jab

Caldero (right) moves to close the distance early against Cardenas

Cardenas lands his right to counter Caldero

While we are only in the fourth month of the year, fans at the Armory to watch these fights may have seen the fight of the year as Marcos Cardenas took on Lorenzo Caldero in the semi-main event with another of the Arena Wars belts on the line.

Caldero scored a knockdown with a heavy right hand early in the first round and he controlled the action from there on. Cardenas worked to close the distance between the two as both men looked to throw heavy punches. The momentum shifted in Cardenas favor in the second round as he was able to land a number of punches when Caldero stepped in. A Cardenas punch to Caldero’s body momentarily staggered Caldero as the round came to an end.

The third round saw both men throwing a lot of shots though Cardenas had the advantage in landing more than did Caldero. The crowd was so loud that it was hard to hear the bell to end the round, though the referee did hear it and called an end just before Caldero fell into the corner. Caldero threw some accurate punches in the fourth round, but they could not match the power of those Cardenas was throwing. In the last minute of the round Cardenas landed a number of punches that caught Caldero’s chin.

Caldero had a good comeback round in the fifth after catching Cardenas hard in the opening moments. Caldero’s assault threw Cardenas off his rhythm for most of the round. Caldero gained an advantage by using his height and reach to keep Cardenas moving. There were a lot of heavy punches thrown in the sixth round and the crowd was incredibly loud. The round looked to be quite close until the 2:54 mark when Cardenas landed a right that dropped Caldero.

After six rounds all three judges agreed in scoring the fight 57-55 in favor of Cardenas who could claim the Arena Wars belt.

In one of the more interesting match ups of the night Alberto Rivas fought Alex Cazac in a five-round bout. While the pace of the opening round was slow, Rivas had the advantage as he was able to throw more punches and keep Cazac on the move. Cazac’s movement also worked to his advantage as the round wore on as he was able to stay just out of Rivas’ reach. The second round was fairly close but Cazac began to be more assertive and he gained the advantage when he had Rivas on the ropes. With his back to the ropes Rivas had to throw counter punches, and he did land some of them.

The third round belonged to Cazac as he slowly began to be more accurate and keep Rivas on the move. It looked as though the advantage Cazac had built might crumble in the final ten seconds of the round when Rivas landed three punches to Cazac’s head. The pace of the fight quickened in the fourth round which saw Cazac stay near the center of the ring and control much of Rivas’ movement. Rivas found that he had to throw most of his punches while stepping backwards.

The final round saw both men throw a lot of punches and move to find an angle to hit the other, and that favored Cazac as he was able to shoot punches through Rivas’ defense. Rivas countered with body shots, but he could not slow Cazac.

After five rounds, one judge scored the fight 49-46, the other two saw it 48-47 in favor of Cazac.

Cazac landed punches when he pinned Rivas on the ropes

Bartlemay caught Hernandez with a hard right.

Matchmakers and promoters occasionally like to break from tradition and schedule fights with an uneven number of rounds. Most often that means that one of the fighters will emerge victorious. I mean, it can be difficult to see a draw in a fight with an odd number of rounds. So, Derick Bartlemay and Margarito Hernandez each figured they had a shot to win in their fight scheduled for five rounds.
Bartlemay looked like he would have the early advantage when he a hard right hand sent Hernandez to the canvas in the opening minute. Hernandez recovered and threw some accurate punches to even the round in terms of punches thrown and landed. Hernandez carried some momentum into the second round as he was able to find a target on Bartlemay’s head, and a few of those shots stunned Bartlemay.

Hernandez had a solid third round as he pressured Bartlemay and effectively landed his right hand to Bartlemay’s body. Near the end of the round Bartlemay found success when in close while thrown uppercuts. Bartlemay continued to fight in close in the fourth round and he had some success landing body shots.

Both men threw a lot of punches in the final round, though not many of them were body shots. The other’s head was the target for many of the punches and while many were thrown, few landed with the power to end the fight.

And so, remembering what we thought about wins and fights with an odd number of rounds, one judge did score the fight 48-46 for Bartlemay, however the other two scored it even at 47, and so it would end in a majority draw.

Haidon Allen had a fairly large contingent of raucous fans backing him as he faced Robert Jimenez in a four-round fight. The fight got off to a slow start, both men tossing jabs at the other. Then Allen began to move to find openings and in so doing he was able to land to Jimenez’s body. Jimenez focused his right to Allen’s head. The second round was close as Jimenez begad to take advantage of his reach. Allen made the necessary adjustments and moved out of trouble.

The referee asked the ringside doctor to take a look at Jimenez between rounds, and she gave him the ok to continue. The third round was also close as Jimenez had control early, then Allen caught Jimenez with a right to the body and momentum shifted. Jimenez, perhaps sensing that the scorecards may not be in his favor, threw a lot of heavy punches in the fourth round. Allen however threw more punches, and many landed to Jimenez’s body.

After four rounds all three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Haidon Allen.

Allen showed his quickness in moving out of range when Jimenez threw his right.

Thompson lands his left to Davila's face

Aaron Thompson made his professional debut against journeyman Kevin Davila in a four-round fight. The punch of choice in the opening round was the jab, and both men used it effectively, and as the round drew to a close, they began to follow it with right hands to the body. Davila charged forward in much of the round looking to land to Thompson’s lanky body. Thompson threw a number of sharp combinations to open the second round, and that kept Davila on the move. Thompson scored a knockdown at the 2:30 mark of the round when the men’s feet got tangled just as Thompson landed a punch.

The third round was tough for Thompson as Davila just did not slow down. He continued to apply pressure while looking to target Thompson’s body. Though Davila had a solid fourth round, he could not match Thompson’s punch numbers.

After four rounds all three judges scored the fight 40-35 in favor of Aaron Thompson.

Anthony Alvarado and Ricardo Reyes opened the show in a four-round fight. As is often the case with the opening fight of the night, these two men came out throwing a lot of punches quicky though not always accurately. Alvarado threw a number of straight rights while Reyes looked to land a clean shot to Alvarado’s head. At the midpoint of the round, Alvarado landed a hard right hand that appeared to hurt Reyes. Alvarado continued to be accurate with his right hand in the second round and that kept Reyes moving which meant he could not throw as many punches.

Both men continued to throw a lot of punches in the third round. Alvarado threw more, and landed more which kept Reyes searching for an opening. Reyes began to regain some momentum in the early moments of the fourth round as he was able to pressure Alvarado. Alvarado then shifted gears and started to unload his right hand. He knocked Reyes to the canvas at the 2:40 mark, and though Reyes stood, his legs were unsteady. Alvarado followed up with an overhand right at 2:53 that ended the fight as the referee waved it to an end.

Anthony Alvarado would score the knockout win at 2:53 of the fourth round.

Alvarado catches Reyes with a straight left.