Luis Del Valle & Jose Pedraza Advance on ShoBox

Images by Tom Casino/Showtime

by Gautham Nagesh

Two top Puerto Rican prospects endured tough tests and towering South African super middleweight Thomas Oosthuizen (right) edged Houston native Marcus Johnson in a compelling main event on ShoBox Friday night from Miami, Oklahoma.[[MORE]]

Johnson pressured Oosthuizen early and appeared to gain the advantage on the inside, pushing the bigger man up against the ropes. But Oosthuizen looked far more comfortable on the outside, where the two found themselves increasingly from the fifth round on. Johnson looked more and more to land the lead right from the outside, allowing Oosthuizen to stay busier and land shots on the shorter man. Johnson was effective, but simply not active enough to win the decision after the first few rounds.

Johnson was backing up in the 8th when his mouthpiece fell out and Oosthuizen landed a left hook simultaneously. Johnson turned and sank to his knee as the South African continued to punch. The ref tolled a count, Johnson rose and was given time to replace his mouthpiece. The incident appeared to be a turning point, as Thomas looked more comfortable both taking and landing shots from that point forward.

All three judges scored the bout 98-91 for Oosthuizen, the correct result but overly sympathetic to the foreigner. Thomas showed composure beyond his years in weathering the early storm from Johnson. He looks like he has the goods to contend at 168. As for Johnson, his game effort was a noticeable improvement but his approach in the ring hasn’t caught up to where it should be. Perhaps a change in trainer or management might help him fulfill his unrealized potential.

Super bantamweights Luis Del Valle and Chris Martin engaged in a ten-round barnburner that was much closer than the final scorecards. Del Valle emerged with a one-sided decision thanks to a seventh-round knockdown, but Martin gave him everything he could handle first. The Puerto Rican showed real class and power, especially compared to Martin’s previous opponents, and could be a contender at 122 lbs. in the near future.

Del Valle looked like the superior fighter through the first three rounds, using his speed to fire combinations while Martin offered little response. Chris rallied in the fourth and began boxing more effectively, then opened the fifth round by landing a clean left hook to Luis’ jaw. Del Valle kept pressuring, but it looked like Martin’s crafty style was starting to confuse him. The fast pace continued in the sixth, as both men held their ground to trade power shots and counters.

Del Valle cornered Martin to start the seventh, landing a hard combination and looking more comfortable. Martin switched to southpaw and attempted to throw an outside left uppercut while backing away, allowing Del Valle to sneak in with a left hook to Martin’s chin. The punch landed cleanly and sent Martin downward for the first time in his career. Martin rose, clearly hurt, and attempted to hang on as Del Valle pressured.

Martin survived to the bell and even came back to make it a fight in the eighth. The two spent the final two rounds trading haymakers with little regard for defense, though Del Valle appeared to be the harder, crisper puncher. The final scores were unfair to Martin, who has proven himself to be a game opponent against quality opposition. But he’s now winless in his last three fights and in danger of becoming a trial horse.

Former Puerto Rican Olympian Jose Pedraza won tough eight-round junior lightweight decision against the game Gil Garcia of Houston in the televised opener. Pedraza, nicknamed “The Sniper,” is known as a puncher and unleashed his full arsenal on the much shorter Garcia. Garcia absorbed a tremendous range of hard body shots and counters to the head from Pedraza, but still managed to keep up the pressure throughout the fight.

At times Garcia’s pressure caught up with Pedraza, who tends to cover up in spots. Perhaps Jose was simply not used to having to throw so many punches, but he looked affected on occasion by Garcia’s wide shots. Pedraza appeared to land almost every punch he threw, but Garcia was frequently the busier and more aggressive fighter. Ref Vic Drakulich scored a knockdown for Pedraza in the fifth after he landed a series of hard shots that staggered Garcia, but Gil never actually went down.

That would prove to be the theme of the fight, as Garcia kept coming and absorbing vicious body shots, but somehow stayed upright. The durable Garcia began bleeding from his left eye in sixth round, yet he still answered the bell for the seventh with the same relentless courage. Pedraza will no doubt face better opposition in his career, but few will ever take his punches better than Garcia.

Pedraza looks like he can crack, but his real strength may be as a counterpuncher. His right hook from the southpaw stance looks particularly vicious. The experience he gained against Garcia will prove invaluable as he moves on, as many lesser opponents would have crumpled from the type of shots he delivered to Garcia’s gut. Instead, Gil kept coming and even forced Jose to experience what it’s like to be under attack.

Only one judge awarded Garcia a single round; the other two correctly had it a shutout for Pedraza. Not the type of fight that will enhance Pedraza’s reputation, but a valuable lesson that may help him survive similar wars at the highest level.