riverrock

River Rock Casino Resort

Richmond, British Columbia

April 30, 2008

Much of the pre fight talk surrounding the main event battle matching Joel Julio against Ishe Smith focussed on which style would be more effective. One group asked if a quick handed boxer could out maneuver a heavy handed puncher? If so, Smith was the favorite. The other side asked if a real solid puncher could catch and break down a slick moving target. If so, Julio was the favorite.

Julio pressed the action in the opening rounds. He pursued Smith and in the course of doing so threw an effective jab. While that impressed the crowd, and certainly got Smith's attention, Julio's most effective weapon may have come when he threw his right hand to the body. That right landed effectively, and to Smith's credit, he withstood the punishment.

In the early rounds Smith fired most often while on the counter attack. That meant Julio was scoring with the first punch, or at least moving Smith around the ring, before Smith was unloading. Rounds where one man scores on offense while the other effectively counter punches are difficult to score. Add to that the fact that Julio had racked up the early rounds, and Smith was going to have to do some pretty impressive work to get back in to the fight. However, Smith was fighting cleverly in not allowing Julio to unload a knockout punch.

Smith did press the action a bit more after the 5th round, and though he was able to catch Julio, he could not chop the man down. Smith's most effective work came at the end of his right hand, which certainly contains power. Even though Smith increased his work rate, and fought more aggressively, the fact that Julio had banked the early rounds made it difficult for Smith to win unless he could score the knockout.

After 10 rounds, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Joel Julio. Two saw the fight 96-94, the third 97-93. Julio improves to 32-1 with 30 KOs while Smith tasted his third loss against 19 wins.

Plain and simply in the middle weight undercard bout, Eddie Sanchez started to fight too late. Additionally, Albert Onolonose caught Sanchez with a quick right hand in the first round that sent Sanchez to the mat which added tot he uphill battle Sanchez had to face.

Sanchez's problem early in the fight was that though he threw a jab, Onolonose was able to slip it, or sneak inside of it and catch Sanchez to the body. That was key as Onolonose was able to control the early rounds fighting inside and nullifying Sanchez's height advantage.

As the fight entered the later rounds, Sanchez began to fight like the taller man, sticking his jab in Onolonose's face and then stepping to a side to deliver a follow up. Sanchez appeared to be on the way to gaining some momentum in the 6th round when Onolonose again slipped inside to throw a punch that staggered Sanchez.

By the seventh round the two men seemed content to stand and slug it out, a style that would have seemed to favor the lanky Sanchez. But again, Onolonose worked to get close enough to Sanchez and land shots that stopped him from mounting a comeback.

In the eighth round Sanchez really did gain control. He made Onolonose move about the ring and as he moved, Sanchez threw his right. As the round drew to a close, a Sanchez right caught Onolonose as he was backpedaling and Onolonose staggered back in to the ropes. The referee stepped forward, the bell sounded, Onolonose bounced back, and the fight ended.

Two judges scored the fight 78-73, the third saw it 77-74, all in favor of Albert Onolonose, who remains unbeaten in 15 fights. Sanchez dropped to 16-7-2.

While the television undercard and main event fights were most certainly quality fights, when Kevin Reynolds and Victor Barragan got their chance for some television exposure, they did not disappoint the viewers.

Barragan entered the fight with a record of 8 wins and 4 losses, and two of those losses had come in his most recent fights. Reynolds has 7 wins and only 1 loss, and was the winner of his last two fights.

The opening round belonged to Barragan. He threw more punches, connected more often, and looked to have Reynolds genuinely confused as to how to react. The fight continued to favor Barragan in the early stages of the second round until Reynolds was able to throw counter punches. Such a strategy is risky as it meant that Barragan throw a punch first, and often he did. Reynolds adapted effectively and though Barragan was aggressive, his connect rate dropped a bit.

The momentum shifted through the middle rounds of the fight. There were moments when Reynolds was able to fire his right and catch Barragan leaning in, while Barragan was most effective when a pinned Reynolds on the ropes.

In the sixth round Barragan emerged the aggressor, and when he could back Reynolds against the ropes, he scored. Reynold's took the punishment and moved out of harm's way. All three judges scored the fight 58-56 for Reynolds. The fight result could have gone the other way, or ended in a draw, and perhaps the only one's complaining would have been Reynold's Canadian fight fans.

The heavyweight pro debut featuring Jaime Walton and Mark Friedman ended in a most unusual fashion. But first, the beginning. Friedman came out and threw the first few punches, nothing really solid, just warning shots across a bow. Then Walton unleashed his artillery, both hands firing at Friedman's head. One of those caught Friedman on the hear, and it stunned the bigger man. The fight continued, but Friedman was not throwing many punches and was instead backing away as Walton kept coming forward and throwing. Then, without any warning, the referee grabbed Walton and began pulling him away from Friedman. Walton kept fighting, unsure of what was going on. At some point the referee's feet got tangled with Walton's feet, Walton fell, the referee stepped to Friedman, waved his hands, and motioned him to the corner. By that time Walton was up, so the referee stepped to him and raised his hand in victory. The official time of the TKO was 2:42 of the first round.

Junior Moar did not have a very good first round against James Dearmin. Even with that, Dearmin appeared hard pressed to do much more than throw an occasional jab and then retreat.

In the second round Moar suffered a cut over his left eye when the two men clashed heads. His corner did a good job of initially stopping the flow of blood, but Dearmin kept throwing rights at the eye to further Moar's problem. Moar, though he raised his glove often to wipe the blood away, stepped up the pace and tried to end the fight.

In the fourth round, with the cut looking pretty bad, Dearmin lost a point when the referee stopped the action to penalize him for an intentional foul. many ringside thought at that point the doctor would stop the fight, as it was clear that with the loss of the point, and no offense to speak of in the second third or fourth rounds, Dearmin was clearly behind.

However the fight continued and Moar continued to dominate the action. After six rounds a bloody Junior Moar was awarded the unanimous decision win. Two judges cored the bout 59-54, the third scored it 59-53.

Norika Kariya was quicker and more accurate in the evening's last bout, a five rounder in which she faced veteran Jessica Mohs.

The first round saw Kariya use her jab effectively and often. She was able to keep Mohs from getting close, and Mohs was not quick enough to step out of the way and avoid being caught.

The fight changed a bit in the late stages of the second round when Mohs backed Kariya against the ropes and landed her right hand. It would be the right hand that would keep Mohs in the fight, and allow her to score in the third round. Mohs' right comes from the outside in, and as such was effective in keeping Kariya on the ropes. Mohs then switched to throwing the overhand right and Kariya used that as an opportunity to regain control of the fight.

While Mohs threw the overhand right, Kariya slipped inside and threw a straight right of her own. It often found its mark on Mohs' chin. Kariya continued to use the straight right as a counter to Mohs' jab as well.

At the end of five all three judges had Kariya winning, the scores were 50-45, 49-46, and 48-47.

Special Guest Sugar Ray Leonard puts a right to the jaw of referee Bobby Howard

Virginia, Billy Jo and Chantelle

The River Rock Ring Card Girls

West Coast Promotions is planning their next show on August 8th in Coquitlam, British Columbia

Steven Seagal, a frequent guest at the fights, takes a pensive look at the action

River Rock Casino Resort Richmond, British Columbia April 30, 2008
Much of the pre fight talk surrounding the main event battle matching Joel Julio against Ishe Smith focussed on which style would be more effective. One group asked if a quick handed boxer could out maneuver a heavy handed puncher? If so, Smith was the favorite. The other side asked if a real solid puncher could catch and break down a slick moving target. If so, Julio was the favorite. Julio pressed the action in the opening rounds. He pursued Smith and in the course of doing so threw an effective jab. While that impressed the crowd, and certainly got Smith's attention, Julio's most effective weapon may have come when he threw his right hand to the body. That right landed effectively, and to Smith's credit, he withstood the punishment. In the early rounds Smith fired most often while on the counter attack. That meant Julio was scoring with the first punch, or at least moving Smith around the ring, before Smith was unloading. Rounds where one man scores on offense while the other effectively counter punches are difficult to score. Add to that the fact that Julio had racked up the early rounds, and Smith was going to have to do some pretty impressive work to get back in to the fight. However, Smith was fighting cleverly in not allowing Julio to unload a knockout punch. Smith did press the action a bit more after the 5th round, and though he was able to catch Julio, he could not chop the man down. Smith's most effective work came at the end of his right hand, which certainly contains power. Even though Smith increased his work rate, and fought more aggressively, the fact that Julio had banked the early rounds made it difficult for Smith to win unless he could score the knockout. After 10 rounds, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Joel Julio. Two saw the fight 96-94, the third 97-93. Julio improves to 32-1 with 30 KOs while Smith tasted his third loss against 19 wins.
	Plain and simply in the middle weight undercard bout, Eddie Sanchez started to fight too late. Additionally, Albert Onolonose caught Sanchez with a quick right hand in the first round that sent Sanchez to the mat which added tot he uphill battle Sanchez had to face. Sanchez's problem early in the fight was that though he threw a jab, Onolonose was able to slip it, or sneak inside of it and catch Sanchez to the body. That was key as Onolonose was able to control the early rounds fighting inside and nullifying Sanchez's height advantage. As the fight entered the later rounds, Sanchez began to fight like the taller man, sticking his jab in Onolonose's face and then stepping to a side to deliver a follow up. Sanchez appeared to be on the way to gaining some momentum in the 6th round when Onolonose again slipped inside to throw a punch that staggered Sanchez. By the seventh round the two men seemed content to stand and slug it out, a style that would have seemed to favor the lanky Sanchez. But again, Onolonose worked to get close enough to Sanchez and land shots that stopped him from mounting a comeback. In the eighth round Sanchez really did gain control. He made Onolonose move about the ring and as he moved, Sanchez threw his right. As the round drew to a close, a Sanchez right caught Onolonose as he was backpedaling and Onolonose staggered back in to the ropes. The referee stepped forward, the bell sounded, Onolonose bounced back, and the fight ended. Two judges scored the fight 78-73, the third saw it 77-74, all in favor of Albert Onolonose, who remains unbeaten in 15 fights. Sanchez dropped to 16-7-2.
While the television undercard and main event fights were most certainly quality fights, when Kevin Reynolds and Victor Barragan got their chance for some television exposure, they did not disappoint the viewers. Barragan entered the fight with a record of 8 wins and 4 losses, and two of those losses had come in his most recent fights. Reynolds has 7 wins and only 1 loss, and was the winner of his last two fights. The opening round belonged to Barragan. He threw more punches, connected more often, and looked to have Reynolds genuinely confused as to how to react. The fight continued to favor Barragan in the early stages of the second round until Reynolds was able to throw counter punches. Such a strategy is risky as it meant that Barragan throw a punch first, and often he did. Reynolds adapted effectively and though Barragan was aggressive, his connect rate dropped a bit. The momentum shifted through the middle rounds of the fight. There were moments when Reynolds was able to fire his right and catch Barragan leaning in, while Barragan was most effective when a pinned Reynolds on the ropes. In the sixth round Barragan emerged the aggressor, and when he could back Reynolds against the ropes, he scored. Reynold's took the punishment and moved out of harm's way. All three judges scored the fight 58-56 for Reynolds. The fight result could have gone the other way, or ended in a draw, and perhaps the only one's complaining would have been Reynold's Canadian fight fans.
	The heavyweight pro debut featuring Jaime Walton and Mark Friedman ended in a most unusual fashion. But first, the beginning. Friedman came out and threw the first few punches, nothing really solid, just warning shots across a bow. Then Walton unleashed his artillery, both hands firing at Friedman's head. One of those caught Friedman on the hear, and it stunned the bigger man. The fight continued, but Friedman was not throwing many punches and was instead backing away as Walton kept coming forward and throwing. Then, without any warning, the referee grabbed Walton and began pulling him away from Friedman. Walton kept fighting, unsure of what was going on. At some point the referee's feet got tangled with Walton's feet, Walton fell, the referee stepped to Friedman, waved his hands, and motioned him to the corner. By that time Walton was up, so the referee stepped to him and raised his hand in victory. The official time of the TKO was 2:42 of the first round.
Junior Moar did not have a very good first round against James Dearmin. Even with that, Dearmin appeared hard pressed to do much more than throw an occasional jab and then retreat. In the second round Moar suffered a cut over his left eye when the two men clashed heads. His corner did a good job of initially stopping the flow of blood, but Dearmin kept throwing rights at the eye to further Moar's problem. Moar, though he raised his glove often to wipe the blood away, stepped up the pace and tried to end the fight. In the fourth round, with the cut looking pretty bad, Dearmin lost a point when the referee stopped the action to penalize him for an intentional foul. many ringside thought at that point the doctor would stop the fight, as it was clear that with the loss of the point, and no offense to speak of in the second third or fourth rounds, Dearmin was clearly behind. However the fight continued and Moar continued to dominate the action. After six rounds a bloody Junior Moar was awarded the unanimous decision win. Two judges cored the bout 59-54, the third scored it 59-53.
	Norika Kariya was quicker and more accurate in the evening's last bout, a five rounder in which she faced veteran Jessica Mohs. The first round saw Kariya use her jab effectively and often. She was able to keep Mohs from getting close, and Mohs was not quick enough to step out of the way and avoid being caught. The fight changed a bit in the late stages of the second round when Mohs backed Kariya against the ropes and landed her right hand. It would be the right hand that would keep Mohs in the fight, and allow her to score in the third round. Mohs' right comes from the outside in, and as such was effective in keeping Kariya on the ropes. Mohs then switched to throwing the overhand right and Kariya used that as an opportunity to regain control of the fight. While Mohs threw the overhand right, Kariya slipped inside and threw a straight right of her own. It often found its mark on Mohs' chin. Kariya continued to use the straight right as a counter to Mohs' jab as well. At the end of five all three judges had Kariya winning, the scores were 50-45, 49-46, and 48-47.
Special Guest Sugar Ray Leonard puts a right to the jaw of referee Bobby Howard	Virginia, Billy Jo and Chantelle The River Rock Ring Card Girls
West Coast Promotions is planning their next show on August 8th in Coquitlam, British Columbia	Steven Seagal, a frequent guest at the fights, takes a pensive look at the action