Story by Stephen Roche

Photos by Javiel Centeno/www.Ringsidepics.com

Legendary boxing icon, and arguably one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters of all time, Roberto Duran pulled off a highly successful debut to his promotional career at Club Cinema in Pompano Beach, Florida, on this action-packed Saturday night of boxing. DRL Promotions, with Team Freedom Promotions, put together a solid card of boxing, showcasing great up-and-coming talent to the gracious crowd in attendance.

The main event of the evening featured bantamweight action, as Jose “Miau” Nieves of Carolina, Puerto Rico, put his undefeated record on the line by facing hard-hitting Tomas Rojas of Veracruz, Mexico, in a 10-round war.

From the opening bell, Nieves appeared to have the edge in speed and ring generalship, as many of the southpaw’s unanswered jabs and crosses found their mark on the face of Rojas. By the end of the fourth round, it seemed evident that this would be a lopsided match-up, as the valiant effort displayed by Rojas was simply not enough to better Nieves’ superior ability.

However, despite appearing to be outclassed, Rojas refused to relent, and unloaded a storm that found Nieves on the canvas with about a minute left in the fifth round. Clearly rocked by the assault, Nieves managed to regain his composure and fought his way through the round. Apparently hungered by his success in the fifth, Rojas came out strong in the sixth, and was able to drop Nieves, yet again, about 30 seconds into the round.

Surprisingly, Nieves again quickly regained his wits, and was steady on his feet just seconds after tasting the canvas. However, Rojas now had his confidence, and the latter rounds seemed to feature two fighters more evenly matched than what was earlier the case.

Despite tasting the canvas twice, Nieves was the better fighter on this night, and retained his well-earned undefeated record via unanimous decision, improving to 15-0-2, while the tough as nails Rojas falls to 22-7. The scores were 95-93, 97-92, and 96-92.

In the co-main event of the night, welterweight Hicklet “El Marielito” Lau of Havana, Cuba was matched against undefeated, and highly regarded, Richard “La Lamina” Gutierrez of Arjona, Colombia for a 10-round contest.

Both fighters came out swinging from the opening bell, to the roaring delight of the bipartisan crowd in attendance. From the onset, it became apparent that this was a great match-up of two warriors with comparable skills who preferred to use only phone booth portions of the ring.

There was obviously tension between the fighters, as the third round was packed with vicious inside exchanges, and flagrant taunting, by each pugilist. Neither fighter seemed to get the better of the exchanges, until Gutierrez punctuated the close of the third round with a blistering uppercut that opened up a nasty gash above Lau’s left eye.

This seemed to be a defining turning point of this contest, as Gutierrez now assumed the role of aggressor by charging the defiant Lau. Although bleeding badly, Lau scoffed in the face of adversity, and continued welcoming the attack from Gutierrez, managing to get the better of many of the exchanges. Gutierrez clearly rocked the game Lau midway through the sixth, and started to dominate the contest with superior power and more orthodox defense.

The latter rounds favored Gutierrez, as Lau’s defense dropped further; clearly the result of the fatigue and barrage of power shots he absorbed throughout the war. Both fighters resumed to earlier action by the tenth round, and the war closed with each fighter flailing power shots at the other.

Although a very tough contest to score, Richard Gutierrez emerged the victor by majority decision, with scores of 95-95 and 96-94 (twice), improving his perfect record to 21-0. Lau’s record falls to a misleading 19-17-2.

In an exciting match-up of undefeated super featherweights, Roberto Astacio of La Romana, Dominican Republic, faced Troy Harden of Melbourne, Florida, in a six-round contest.

Each fighter seemed willing to trade toe to toe throughout this brawl, with Harden appearing to fare slightly better in most exchanges. Harden seemed to do just enough to get the win by majority decision, improving to a flawless 4-0. Astacio was handed his first defeat, falling to 5-1. Judges scorecards read 58-56 (twice) and 57-57.

In light middleweight action, undefeated Yukeno “Little Tyson” Andino of Rio Piedra, Puerto Rico, met Adam Ortiz of Tallahassee, Florida, for a scheduled six rounder. Andino enjoyed a significant advantage in overall power, as he made an easy night by battering the very game, yet very outclassed, Ortiz. To Ortiz’s credit, he managed to withstand the blistering assault without touching the canvas, but Andino emerged the victor by shutout, with scores of 60-53 and 60-54 (twice). Andino’s record improves to 4-0, while a bruised Ortiz falls to 1-2.  

Light welterweights Tomodre King of Fort Worth, Texas, and undefeated Hector Sanchez of Rio Piedra, Puerto Rico, squared off in a scheduled six-round contest.

Sanchez’s significant height and reach advantage was the determining factors in this bout, as he was able to keep King at bay with his left jabs and looping hooks upstairs.

King certainly had his moments in spots throughout the bout, but Sanchez easily emerged the victor by unanimous decision, with scores of 59-55 an 60-54 (twice). Sanchez retains his unblemished record by improving to 7-0, while King falls to an unflattering 3-12-5.

In heavyweight action, Lenroy Thomas of Jamaica secured his first professional victory by knocking out Miami’s own Jason Ellison with a blistering body shot at 1:26 in the opening round. Thomas’ record improves to 1-1, while Ellison’s professional debut ends in defeat, leaving him with a painful 0-1 reminder of a devastating punch.