Shaw admits, himself, he never really knew what he had in this lanky southpaw.
"I never looked at him- and he knows this- as the next great thing; the next world champion. I just liked him and there was a long time that I never had any paper on him. I’m talking about a lot of fights, not a couple of fights; even when he lost," he says, referring to DeMarco’s only professional loss, a six-round majority decision he dropped to Anthony Vasquez in February of 2006 in El Paso, Texas. "But there was something about him that you just like. So that was it. But from where he was when I first got him to where he is right now, that not only is he now the interim champ, he’s going to fight someone who’s 26-0 with 26 [knockouts], I think it’s spectacular."
Since halting then-undefeated Juan Castaneda Jr. in five heats in May of 2008, he has gone on an impressive run that has seen him stop Kid Diamond, Anges Adjaho and, most recently, Jose Alfaro; with higher stakes on the line in each subsequent bout. DeMarco has gone from winning an NABO belt (versus Kid Diamond last February) to becoming the WBC interim lightweight titlist.
"It’s been a blink of an eye," said DeMarco, through his publicist Felipe Leon, via cell-phone from Tijuana. "First I got the NABO title, then an elimination bout. I fought for the interim title, now I have a chance for the world title against Edwin Valero. So it’s been a great run and God has given me the opportunity and I have to take advantage of them while I have them."
DeMarco is no stranger to being the underdog and he will be once again versus Valero, who is among the hardest hitting boxers in the game. Many pundits believe that DeMarco’s willingness to mix it up, despite his lengthy frame and reach, will be his ultimate downfall. Like another noted prizefighter from Tijuana, Erik Morales, he has no renitence in exchanging leather.
"Styles make fights and it’s very hard to know what I’m actually going to be able to do until I get in the ring with him. But once there, I’m going to have to use a couple of different components. Boxing, when it’s time, and aggressiveness when it’s called for," said DeMarco, when asked if he would perhaps alter his temperament for this battle.
He is certainly respectful of Valero but not fearful. Perhaps it stems from residing in Tijuana, which was once a tourist haven, which has become a battlefield for drug cartels. You’ll hear the accounts of violence and bloodshed on a regular basis, seemingly every few weeks in the Los Angeles Times or other major publications. But when DeMarco is asked about his city’s reputation for violence and mayhem, he chuckles a bit and claims, "It’s exaggerated in the eyes of North Americans. It’s dangerous for the people going into the realms of doing illegal things. But for somebody that is a good citizen, following the right path, it’s not dangerous, at all."
DeMarco actually moved to T.J. when he was 14 from Los Mochis. To him, while it may not be Mayberry, it’s all he knows. And he says it’s not that bad.
"I just follow my regular routine, go home and to the gym and back home. I go out with my in-laws, who are the ones who live here," he says. Leon, who writes for various boxing websites, now lives in Tijuana after growing up in nearby San Diego, California. The reason was simple. The cost of living south of the border is much cheaper than in the States. Leon, who also works in the auto industry, has his own viewpoint of the inherent dangers of living in this city. "Quite honestly, when I first go here, I thought, ’It’s all exaggerated’ and then last summer, I got car-jacked at gunpoint and they stole my truck. So after that, I felt a little bit in danger. But since then, I’ve been a little more cautious.. I was taking precautions, but I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Just like people get mugged in New York City, I see it the same way.
"But other than that, it’s not as bad as people think. You can drive in the streets, there is some violence. You read about the five, six murders a day, but they’re happening farther east of Tijuana. It’s in a couple of neighborhoods which are known to be dangerous. It’s like South Central Los Angeles in the mid-80s, where there would be drive-by shootings every day. Well, that’s what’s going on in Tijuana, right now. But it’s not hitting Beverly Hills. It’s not hitting other parts of the city."
’El Terrible’, who is synonymous with the city, eventually made his home in San Diego. Antonio Margarito, who was born in California, has never left. When DeMarco is asked about his own future in this region, he says with a laugh, "I haven’t put much thought into it. If it becomes a problem here, the security, I will move to the United States, or even go home to Los Mochis. But Los Mochis is probably as bad as Tijuana; in that sense."
As of now, there is a void in Tijuana, as it relates to a signature fighter. With the downfall of Margarito, perhaps this soft-spoken young man will be the one to fill it.
"Antonio DeMarco is not a fighter originally from ‘T.J.’, like Margarito or Morales, but the city has begun to embrace him, to start rallying around him. Antonio, because of the simple way that he is, he’s a very hard worker; he’s a family man, he loves his family. And that’s the kind of image that Tijuana wants to portray during this time," says Leon. "Just a couple of weeks ago, one of the major newspapers here in Tijuana named Antonio as one of the top ten most promising things in 2010 for this city.
"It would be a major thing for Tijuana for Antonio to bring that title back to his adopted city."
FAN FRIENDLY
You gotta say this for Shaw; I don’t think there is any major promoter that puts on as many fan-friendly fights as he does on a consistent basis. He would love to match WBO junior welterweight titlist Tim Bradley against Marcos Maidana. It looks like his guy Chad Dawson will face Jean Pascal in Montreal for the WBC light heavyweight title in Montreal in the summer and Alfredo Angulo will take on Joel Julio in April in what figures to be a junior middleweight slugfest.
And Shaw had no problems enforcing this fight, even though Valero has immigration issues that prevent him from fighting in the States.
"I could’ve ducked this fight, I could’ve left him as interim champion or petitioned the WBC to strip Valero or gone to purse bid so that he would get stripped because they couldn’t come here to fight, but look, I’m a boxing fan and I believe in my fighter. When I don’t believe in them anymore, then I’m going to release them because I don’t want to sit there faking it or bring someone to fight who I don’t believe really has a chance," Shaw told Maxboxing on Sunday afternoon.
"Money is not that important to me, continued Shaw. “So I do believe in this kid, he believes in himself, (DeMarco’s trainer) Romulo Quirarte really believes in him and they’re telling me not to worry."
FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS
On Saturday afternoon, after getting home from the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, I began the process of watching the various televised shows from Friday night. Some thoughts...
- For some inexplicable reason, there is no video of the disputed decision in the first match-up between Gabriel Campillo and Beibut Shumenov, but the whole country got to see the out-right thievery that took place at the Hard Rock Hotel for the second go-around. Simply put, Campillo slapped the you-know-what out of Shumenov the whole night. There is nothing disputed about this decision- it was criminally bad. Judges Patricia Morse Jarman and Jerry Roth (who saw the fight, 117-111 and 115-113, respectively) should be under review, at the very least. Judge Levi Martinez scored the fight 117-111 for Campillo.
Like the WBA’s new light heavyweight champion’s initials, this was B.S.
- I have to admit, I thought Curtis Stevens would simply out-class Jesse Brinkley in Reno. But the exact opposite took place. “Showtime” was prepared for a sprint (as he predicted an early KO) but Brinkley was ready for the long haul and he took apart Stevens, even scoring a pair of knockdowns. Stevens had the advantage in physical tools, but unfortunately for him, Brinkley, had the professionalism and steadiness.
- Chris Avalos is quickly becoming one of the most exciting young prospects in the sport. The hard-hitting bantamweight stopped Juan Nieves in four rounds. But here’s the thing, for all this talk of how fast he can be moved, I ask, what’s the rush? Avalos is just 15 fights in and just turned 20 years old. Isn’t this a marathon and not a sprint? What’s the rush?
As fun as he is to watch, Avalos still has some holes defensively and I would steer him away from real cuties and crafty counter-punchers- at least for now.
TKO BOXING
I thought Peter Manfredo Jr. put on a solid workmanlike performance in decisioning Matt Vanda over ten rounds at the Mohegan Sun. He looked like he can carry 160 pounds pretty well, at this stage of his career. I know there is some talk of him fighting Danny Jacobs in the near future, but I think a fight against the likes of John Duddy or even a rematch against Sergio Mora would make more sense. Even now, Manfredo can still put a few butts in the seats.
On that same show, “The Sharpshooter” Matt Remillard impressively stopped Rafael Lora in three rounds in their rematch for the NABF featherweight belt. Remillard is now 21-0 with 12 stoppages and he is developing pretty nicely. I’ll say it right now, I’d pick him to beat IBF champion Cristobal Cruz right now.
FINAL FLURRIES
The Shaw-riff tells me that he’d love to make a Maidana fight for “The Desert Storm” now that Golden Boy has also reached out to Zab Judah on behalf of Maidana. I’ve been told by another source that Judah might also be in the running to face Tim Bradley...I don’t know, I get the funny feeling that Kelly Pavlik-Sergio Martinez does not happen on April 17th...Hard to make a real definitive statement on Erislandy Lara’s performance against Grady Brewer, whom he beat by 10th round KO. I mean, who ever looks good against that guy?...J’Leon Love, who made his pro debut at the Mohegan Sun, scored a first-round KO over Vince Burkhalter. He looks like a prospect you might want to keep your eye on...Joseph “Leggo My” Elegele notched another first-round knockout, this time, over Chris Russel, on that same show. I haven’t seen much of him, but I’d like to see more...If I had a vote, Kurt Warner would be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame...Yeah, this whole Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl, they may want to re-think the whole thing...Big win by the Lakers on Sunday. For the first time really this season, they showed some championship grit and toughness on the road...Any comments or questions can be sent to k9kim@yahoo..com... twitter.com/stevemaxboxing…
