A crisp left hook rocked Molina back on his heels and he began to retreat. Arreola came toward him, moved left and corralled Molina into the adjacent corner. A left hook, a little push to get some room and a right hand later and Molina was down on the canvas, probably wondering what the hell just happened. Referee John Schorle reached the count of ten at the 2:30 mark and “The Nightmare” reigned supreme within one round.
“This fight was about I had to shut Don King the f**k up,” said Arreola to the Goossen Tutor media crew after the fight. “Earlier this week, he was talking about ‘wetback’ this and ‘wetback’ that. Well, this ‘wetback’ put his ‘wetback’ to sleep.”
King, who promotes Molina as well as Tavoris Cloud, made the comment “No more wetbacks are running up and down picking the fruits and things” during the final press conference as, I guess, a way of saying that Mexicans had moved up in the world. Arreola and, honestly, every Mexican I know, including this writer, was offended.
Folks, that’s our equivalent of the “N” word. Only we get to use it.
Arreola looked solid at 245 and after a 2011 that saw him fight five times, he is going to be stepping up his competition which means an exciting 2012 for all of us.
In the co-main event, Cloud, 24-0 (19), and Campillo, 21-4-1 (8), put on the leading candidate for “Fight of the Year” and certainly “Robbery of the Year” will follow.
The opening round was all Cloud. Campillo circled and circled but didn’t seem comfortable with the hard-charging champion. Cloud scored an out-of-nowhere knockdown with a clean right to the southpaw Campillo’s dome. Campillo was flat on his back but valiantly rose on shaky legs. Cloud rushed him, scoring another knockdown but the ropes held up the challenger. It seemed that this one would be a blow out.
But Campillo began working himself into the fight in the second. Staying behind his right jab, he sidestepped Cloud or walked him into combinations of a right hook to the body followed by a left to the face.
Campillo is now training with Pablo Sarmiento and it showed. Already a smart fighter, Campillo had the look of a well-conditioned one as well. Using his intelligence and technique, the fighter from Madrid, Spain outthought, boxed and fought Cloud for what appeared to be at least eight or nine rounds in the fight.
Cloud, Tallahassee, Florida, was no slouch. He seemed stunned by the resurgent Campillo in the second, not physically but mentally. Cloud fought in violent bursts. Campillo would box and move or get off a combination and Cloud would shell up, try to dodge and then attack.
As exciting as the fight was, back and forth throughout, the control seemed to be with Campillo. He was the puzzle to be solved all night, which Cloud never seemed to accomplish.
But in the end, Judges Joel Elizondo and David Robertson saw it 114-112 and 116-110, respectively, for Cloud. Judge Dennis Nelson gave Campillo a score of 115-111.
Showtime announcer Al Bernstein said afterward, “How this fight could be scored 116-110 on a judge’s scorecard is beyond comprehension. It’s one of the most egregious decisions I’ve ever seen.”
As quality a fighter and person as Cloud is, he did not win this fight. You can make a case for him landing hard shots and being the aggressor. Those things are true.
“I feel like I won the fight,” said Cloud. “I knocked him down a few times and was the aggressor throughout. I wanted to put him away but sometimes you get it and sometimes you don’t. I wanted to stay busy and be aggressive. I did that. He was a busy fighter and that’s what the crowd here in Corpus Christi responded to. The difference is I was landing the power shots and that’s what the judges responded to.”
But Campillo landed more punches, dictated how the fight was fought after the second and while he may have lost some rounds here and there, the overall picture was one of victory.
“I’m disappointed,” said Campillo, who was previously robbed against Beibut Shumenov. “This was one of the best fights of my career but this is not the first time it’s happened to me. He won the first but after that, I dominated. I won the fight, no question.”
Cloud’s face was roughed up. He suffered a cut over his left eye and his nose bled throughout. Campillo, nicknamed “Chico Guapo” (“The Handsome Man”) looked as he did when he entered the ring. I don’t normally judge the blood but in this case, I happened to also see the fight. It was an exciting and spirited effort- but Cloud did not win this one.
First, TAC Commissioner Dickie Cole forgets to book a drug testing lab for the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Marco Antonio Rubio title fight a few weeks back and now one of the worst robberies in recent memory occurs on his watch. What’s going on in Texas?
This could have been avoided. How? Well, for starters, we need experienced people working title fights. The two men scoring the fight for Cloud previously judged just one title fight between them. That is inexcusable. Perhaps Cole forgot to call the experienced judges.
The good news is that a rematch will likely be ordered. Note to the promoters: Anywhere but in Texas, please.
In the main event, Paul Williams, 41-2 (27), put it to Japan’s Nobu Ishida, 24-7-2 (9), for all 12 rounds, winning by scores of 120-108 across the board. Ishida simply could not decipher Williams, who started at long range, boxing smart, using his jab and rear left hand to stop Ishida in his tracks time and again. Ishida never got untracked, instead following “The Punisher” around all night, eating leather and offering up inside shots now and again.
It was a much better outing for Williams who fought last July against Erislandy Lara, receiving a gift decision of his own while looking less than himself. On this night, Williams looked focused and determined to box smarter than he has in the past. Appearing taller than his listed 6’1” frame with an 82” reach, Williams finally seemed to use his physical gifts. As the fight wore on (and no doubt Williams felt Ishida’s lack of power), the fight went inside where “The Punisher” has always felt more comfortable.
“It feels real good,” said Williams of the win. “Ishida is a tough fighter but we put in good work and we’re going to make it back to the top of the game.”
Where he goes from here remains to be seen. Big-name matches with middleweight champion Sergio Martinez to close their trilogy or James Kirkland are possible should both men win their upcoming matches. Williams is always an exciting and game fighter. The boxing acumen he displayed at times on Saturday shows that he has something left and it may be a problem for the two divisions.
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