It was a disappointing ending for a majority of the crowd that packed Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino’s Tewa Grand Ballroom for Holmes Boxing’s “Night of Fury.”
Española’s Antonio “Tone” Martinez lost the main event, May 12, by a split decision to Gabriel Rodriguez, which turned the pro-Española crowd into a frenzy.
The result was even more of a surprise, based on the defensive style that Rodriguez implemented throughout the fight, that went the distance in six rounds.
“I understand the defensive aspect of boxing, but he (Rodriguez) literally just ran, ran and ran,” Martinez said. “Everybody saw it. When we exchanged, all his shots would land on my gloves and I would land mine flush on his face.”
Despite his frustration in the decision, Martinez said the judges have a job to do and there was no hard feelings.
“It’s nothing against them,” he said. “How they see it and how we see it, it’s a whole different game, but I still respect them.”
Rodriguez saw things differently than Martinez — and believed his strategy worked to perfection.
“I knew coming in, that if I was able to stay away from his power punches, I’d stand a good chance.”
Martinez had won eight of his last 10 fights, but with the loss, he fell to 9-4-4. Rodriguez, who traveled all the way from El Paso, Texas, improved to 5-1 (all wins by decision).
Cordova woman wins
It wasn’t all disappointment for the crowd, who saw Cordova native, Leanna Martinez, take out Karin Solares by TKO in round No. 2 of the women’s super flyweight bout.
She improved to 3-0 (all at Buffalo Thunder) in a fight that was hers from the onset, as she was able to jump all over Solares early and often.
Despite Leanna Martinez’s momentum and control, it didn’t stop Solares from talking smack when she got bullied into one of the corners.
“I caught her with a punch and kind of wobbled her then I got her in the corner,” Leanna Martinez said. “At that point, she said, ‘Is that all you got?’ Then I lost my temper and stopped listening (to my coaches) and just let my hands go off until it was over.”
Solares’ team threw in the white towel at that point and Leanna Martinez celebrated with her team and the over-joyous crowd.
“It’s the best feeling in the world to have all of that support from Española,” she said. “They show up every time and when you hear them cheering you on, you have no choice but to get hyped (up).”
MMA fight
Several fighters made their debut, including Albuquerque’s Maurice “The Hulk” Jackson and Mark Jimenez from Santa Fe.
Jackson was 7-2 in mixed martial arts (MMA) and improved to 1-0 in his boxing career, defeating Jimenez by TKO in round No. 3.
The referee halted the bout when Jackson took control in one of the corners, landing punch after punch.
“I wasn’t surprised that it was called (early),” Jackson said. “If he didn’t call it then, it was just a matter of time, because I could see his (Jimenez) body just weltering away.”
Jackson explained that he felt that he was on a “higher-level” than Jimenez from the start, but it took him a little bit to relax and just fight the way he was trained.
“I just had to relax and get my feet under me,” he said. “My corner was telling me, ‘Your getting in there, your getting to the mark so just let your hands go.’ Once I did that, I just started finding openings.”
In the other preliminaries, Loretto Olivas defeated Jake McClain by KO in round No. 1; Steve Garcia defeated Marcus Rodriguez by TKO in round No. 1 and Aaron Martinez defeated Everado Lopez by unanimous decision.
It marked the 17th consecutive sellout for a Holmes Boxing event at Buffalo Thunder. Promoter Pat Holmes Sr. was called to the ring and congratulated on the accomplishment.
“I’m just a small part of this whole thing,” he said as fans cheered. “If it wasn’t for the fighters and the Pueblo of Pojoaque, then none of this would be possible.”