Romero Defeats Esquivias on Shobox

JONATHAN ROMERO REMAINS UNDEFEATED WITH IMPRESSIVE 12-ROUND DECISION OVER EFRAIN ESQUIVIAS IN MAIN EVENT ON SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION

Roman Morales Outpoints Jonathan Arellano In Hard-Fought Battle Of Unbeatens
Friday, Sept. 21, Live on SHOWTIME®, Chumash Casino Resort, Santa Ynez, Calif.
Replay Of Action-Packed Doubleheader Is Tuesday, Sept. 25, At 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on SHO EXTREME

SANTA YNEZ, Calif. (Sept. 22, 2012) – Unbeaten world-ranked super bantamweight Jonathan Romero (22-0, 12 KOs), of Cali, Colombia, dominated Efrain Esquivias Jr. (16-2, 9 KOs), of Gardena, Calif., en route to a near-shutout 12-round decision in the main event Friday on ShoBox: The New Generation live on SHOWTIME®.

Romero, in command from the outset, was victorious in an elimination fight for the No. 2 ranking in the IBF, by the scores of 120-107 and 119-108 twice. There were no knockdowns. Romero entered the ring ranked fifth in the IBF and WBO and ninth in the WBA.

In a collision of undefeated super bantamweights in the co-feature at Chumash Casino Resort, Roman Morales (13-0, 6 KOs), of San Ardo, Calif., registered a hard-fought eight-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Jonathan Arellano (13-1-1, 3 KOs), of Ontario, Calif.

The up-and-coming Morales won by the scores of 78-72 twice and 77-73 in a scrap in which both boxers went down. Morales hit the deck from a left hook to the head in the third, Arellano from a left hook to the body in the seventh.

“Tonight we saw two good wins by fighters at different stages in their careers in the same weight class,” ShoBox expert analyst Steve Farhood said afterward. “One was world-class, the other was a world class prospect.”

Farhood liked what he saw in the 5-foot-9, 25-year-old Romero, who was making his third start in a row in the United States, and fourth overall.

“Romero was impressive in several ways,” Farhood said. “It was predictable that he’d be effective when he was on the move but for large portions of the fight he also fought Esquivias at his own game on the inside. To me the most important thing of all was Romero’s energy level from round one to round 12.”

Morales won the toughest fight of his career to date. What surprised Farhood was the way he accomplished it.

“Morales was fighting a style a bit different than I expected,” he said. “Once he hurt Arellano, he turned boxer, used the ring and picked his spots very effectively. He also got off the floor for the first time in his career and showed the ability to overcome adversity, something all prospects eventually have to do.”

Romero was pleased with his performance and is hopeful a world title shot is forthcoming.

“I felt very good every single round,” he said. “I prepared hard for this fight. I sparred with guys that came forward all the time. I knew what he was coming to do because I’d seen him fight. I’m ready to become world champion. But to be a world champion I have to go through great fighters like Esquivias to get to my goal.”

The aggressive-minded, five-foot-four Esquivias spotted the winner five inches in height, but he never stopped pressing the issue. Esquivias even started quickly, which isn’t the norm for him. But it did no good against the classy Romero.

“He fought his fight and he fought well,” said Esquivias, who was docked a point after the seventh for a blatant late hit. “He didn’t want to brawl, but he fought smart. He boxed and I couldn’t catch him. There’s really not much I could have done differently. I was little tired toward the end; it was my first 12-rounder. But I was still throwing punches at the end. He gave me problems with his movement. I wanted to make it an exciting fight for the crowd. Too bad he didn’t want to stand and trade more.”

The 23-year-old Morales, making his fifth start this year and seventh at Chumash, was pleased with his performance despite getting knocked down.

“I felt I did well,” he said, “I was just trying to listen to my corner. They were telling me to use my jab a lot and that’s what I kept trying to do. They were also telling me to work the body more. I should have done that from the beginning.”

So what was it like getting floored for the first time in your career? “It was a new experience, something I never had felt before,” Morales said. “It’s part of boxing, but I said to myself that I have to keep coming forward and show some heart and respect for the game. It was a good fight and he’s a good boxer.”

Arellano felt the scoring was a tad out of line. “I feel that it was a little high in his favor,” he said. “I feel I won more rounds than they gave me. It was a good fight though. I don’t take anything away from the kid. I thought I had him out when I dropped him. I was ready to jump on him but for some reason the ref kept me from going right after him and gave him more time. Then he hung in and made it through the round.”

Barry Tompkins called the action from ringside alongside Farhood. The executive producer of ShoBox is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.

The Gary Shaw Productions doubleheader will re-air this week as follows:

DAY CHANNEL
Tuesday, Sept. 25, 10:30 p.m. ET/PT SHO EXTREME

Friday’s fights will be available ON DEMAND beginning Saturday, Sept. 22

UPCOMING ON SHOWTIME: On Saturday, Oct. 20, there will be four world championship fights on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING (8 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.: Defending champion Danny Garcia (24-0, 15 KOs) vs. Erik Morales (52-8, 36 KOs) for the Unified Super Lightweight World Championship, Paulie Malignaggi (31-4, 7 KOs) vs. Pablo Cesar Cano (25-1-1, 19 KOs) for Malignaggi’s WBA Welterweight title, Devon Alexander (23-1, 13 KOs) vs. Randall Bailey (43-7, 37 KOs) for Bailey’s IBF Welterweight crown and Hassan N’Dam (27-0, 17 KOs) vs. Peter Quillin (27-0, 20 KOs) for Quillin’s WBO Middleweight belt. Live undercard fights will precede the telecast on SHOWTIME EXTREME (7 p.m. ET/PT.

In the main event on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on Saturday, Nov. 10, from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Abner Mares (24-0-1, 13 KOs) defends against WBA Bantamweight Champion Anselmo Moreno (33-1-1, 12 KOs).
For information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, visit the website athttp://sports.SHO.com.

Showtime Networks Inc.
Chris DeBlasio (212) 708-1633, chris.deblasio@showtime.net
Annie Van Tornhout (212) 708-1663, annie.vantornhout@showtime.net
Nicole Chayet (212) 708-7319, Nicole.chayet@showtime.net

Brener Zwikel & Associates
John Beyrooty (562) 233-7477, Johnnybey@aol.com
Matt Donovan, (818) 462-5613, mattd@bzapr.com

Undercard Results:

(6-round featherweight bout) Raul Lopez (8-1-1, 4 KOs) vs. Leopoldo Gonzales (12-7-1, 7 KOs) – After Lopez dropped Gonzales three times, twice with left hooks to the body and another to the head, the referee stopped the bout at the 1:40 mark of round one.

(6-round super-bantamweight bout) Jesus Hernandez (10-0-2, 2 KOs) vs. Edwin Solis (3-2, 3 KOs) – Edwin Solis had upset on his mind when he stepped in the ring with Jesus Hernandez. The fight went back and forth in the early round with Solis gaining momentum as the fight went on. In the fifth, Solis landed a right hand and wobbled Hernandez, but he kept coming forward. Hernandez landed some nice left hooks late and the fight went the distance. After the scorecards were read, the bout ended in a majority draw. Scorecards read 58-56 for Hernandez and 57-57 twice.

(8-round welterweight bout) Francisco Santana (14-3-1, 7 KOs) vs. John Worthy (3-4, 1 KO) – Francisco Santana destroyed John Worthy dropping him with a left hook to the head and once again with a right hook to the ear. The referee stopped the bout at the 2:43 mark of round one. Santana becomes the new Central Coast champion.

(4-round featherweight bout) Maria Suarez (2-0-1) vs. Abigail Castaneda (3-0-2) – In a crowd pleasing fight Maria Suarez and Abigail Castaneda left it all in the ring as both were trying to stay undefeated. Suarez used her superior boxing skills to land hard punches from angles that Castaneda didn’t see coming. Castaneda kept coming forward though and landed some hard shots of her own. The fight went back and forth and the fight ended in a majority draw. Scorecards read 39-37 for Suarez and 38-38 twice.

(4-round bantamweight bout) Jundy Maraon (15-0-1, 12 KOs) vs. Ernie Marquez (9-12-2, 3 KOs) – In an impressive outing, Jundy Maraon overwhelmed Marquez dropping him twice, once in the second and again in the third, both by overhand rights from the southpaw stance. After taking more punishment in the third, the referee stopped the bout at the 1:05 mark.

(4-round super-bantamweight bout) Roy Tapia (4-0-1, 2 KOs) vs. Pablo Batres (2-3-1) – In a slugfest, Roy Tapia went four hard rounds with Batres, winning every round. Both fighters stood toe to toe and traded blows. Tapia was the more effective puncher landing the more meaningful shots. Scorecards read 40-36 in favor of Tapia.

(4-round featherweight bout) Azat Hovhannisyan (4-1, 3 KOs) vs. Raymond Chacon (4-5) – In an entertaining fight, Hovhannisyan won a lopsided unanimous decision against Chacon. Azat floored Chacon late in the first round and once again in the beginning of the second. Chacon managed to survive to final two rounds and continued to throw punches until the final bell rang. Scorecards read 40-34 across the board for Hovhannisyan.



Comments are closed.