- 7 months ago
Rafael Pedroza faces Ramon Cardenas in the main event of a Shobox :The New Generation Triple Header in a Super Bantamweight fight
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00:00Welcome back to San Antonio. You know this city is one of the great sports cities in America
00:04and that includes an epic evening in our own sport of boxing. It was a magical night here
00:11in San Antonio. Here's Steve Farhood with more. It happened 30 years ago and it was the first
00:19big event here at the Alamo Dome. How big a fight was Pernell Whitaker, Julio Cesar Chavez? Well,
00:25both future Hall of Famers were world champions. Better yet, Whitaker was ranked as the second
00:29best fighter pound for pound in boxing and Chavez with an amazing record of 87-0 was ranked first
00:36and the fight drew more than 60,000 fans. That's second all-time for an indoor fight in the USA.
00:42Only the Ali Spinks rematch drew more. I was ringside and the atmosphere was magical. It was the kind of
00:47historic, hugely anticipated fight that stopped the world. The showdown itself, Whitaker boxed
00:53magnificently, especially over the second half of the fight, but the judges scored a draw.
00:59It was a bad decision, but an amazing night.
01:05Thank you, Steve. And I think boxing people all over the world still talking about that decision
01:10and still pretty much in unanimity thinking it was a bad one.
01:14Well, back here at the Boeing Center at Techport in San Antonio, it is time now for our main event
01:19of the evening. This one's scheduled for 10 rounds. It is in the Super Bantamweight Division and it features
01:24Panama's Rafael El General Pedroza and San Antonio native Ramon Dinamita Cardenas.
01:31And the crowd starting to react to their first look at the hometown guy. Ramon Cardenas will have the crowd in his corner tonight.
01:38As he prepares for his toughest test of day as a professional. For Cardenas at 27 years of age, this is his seventh year as a pro. For him, the time is now.
01:45He comes off a victory. That was in a tune-up fight back in May, but he's fought only once since mid-2022.
01:52And the crowd starting to react to their first look at the hometown guy.
01:55And the crowd starting to react to their first look at the hometown guy. And the crowd is now.
02:02And the crowd in his corner tonight as he prepares for his toughest test of day as a professional. For Cardenas, at 27 years of age, this is his seventh year as a pro.
02:08For him, the time is now. He comes off a victory. That was in a tune-up fight back in May. But he's fought only once since mid-2022.
02:15Cardenas had over a hundred amateur fights and he won a bronze medal in the 2014 National Championships.
02:22He also appeared in the quasi-professional World Series of Boxing that same year.
02:27This will be his 24th pro fight. The previous 23 have been divided between the U.S. and Mexico.
02:34Cardenas' best win came in July of last year. That was when he won a unanimous decision over 20-2 Michel Banquez.
02:41He'll need more of that magic tonight against Rafael Pedroza.
02:46As to his style, Cardenas, who has good skills and some power, says he'll adjust to the style of his opponent.
02:54Brian, let's go behind the numbers with Ramon Cardenas.
02:57Well, wait for it here. Although Cardenas made his 2015 pro debut in the same weight class he fights tonight,
03:03he's been all over the place competing in three different weight divisions over the past 14 months alone just looking to land big fights.
03:10A little bit of a soft spar. Cardenas has fought better competition in recent years.
03:16He didn't start out that way, though. All nine of his first ten pro opponents had losing records,
03:20including eight who had two wins or less at the time he faced them.
03:23And dicey-dicey, Cardenas' lone defeat, a majority decision to Danny Flores in 2017,
03:29looks a lot worse when you consider it was Flores' only victory over a 26-fight stretch to end his career.
03:36And the other half of this fight, Rafael El General Pedroza.
03:51He'll fight in the United States for the first time tonight.
03:53He's a native of Panama City, Panama.
03:55And he brings an amateur career with him of more than 100 fights.
03:58Pedroza will turn 27 eight days after this fight.
04:02Brings a perfect 15-0 record to the ring with him.
04:0511 of those 15 wins have come by way of knockout.
04:08All his fights today have been in his home country of Panama.
04:13He's been an active fighter over the last year, though.
04:15Tonight he fights for the third time this year.
04:17His last fight in May, a lopsided ten-round decision over 22-1.
04:22He earned a Betancourt.
04:24Pedroza is trained by Juan Mascara, the former Panamanian super-welderweight and super-lightweight champion.
04:31As to his style, echoing his opponent, he says he's got no particular game plan,
04:36but he'll adjust to whatever Cardenas might do.
04:39So, BC, let's go behind the numbers with the general, Rafael Pedroza.
04:43Thanks, Barry.
04:44How big will Pedroza's jab play a role tonight?
04:47Well, in his last fight, that win over Betancourt in May,
04:49Pedroza attempted 712 jabs, the third-highest total in super-bantamweight history
04:55in fights that were tracked by Copybox.
04:58How about the chin, though?
04:59Although Pedroza has stepped up his level of competition of late,
05:02he has been knocked down three times in his first 12 pro fights,
05:05all versus fighters who now hold losing records.
05:08In dial-long distance, Pedroza has gained plenty of experience over the last two years.
05:12He's boxed into the seventh round in each of his last four fights,
05:16including two which went the full ten-round distance.
05:19All right, with that, we are set for our main event.
05:22It is Rafael Pedroza and Ramon Cardenas.
05:25Super-bantamweight were scheduled for ten rounds.
05:28With that, let's take it back to the center of the ring once more
05:30for the introduction of the fighters in this.
05:32Our main event here again is Lupe Contreras.
05:35We continue at the Boeing Center at TechCorp.
05:39This is Showbox, the new generation proudly presented to you by Samson Boxing.
05:45Paco presents in association with Davies Entertainment, the Gomez Law Firm, and Showtime.
05:52Our officials at ringside for the World Boxing Association supervising is Julio Time.
05:57Our judges scoring the action are Mark Colloy, Corey Santos, and John Shirley.
06:05At the sound of the bell, the men in charge of the ring, referee Rafael Ramos.
06:11And now, on this Mexican Independence Day weekend, San Antonio!
06:17We find out quién es el más macho.
06:23This is the main event of the evening.
06:26Ten rounds at stake.
06:28The WBA Continental Latin American Super-bantamweight title.
06:34Presenting first, the fighter standing in the red corner.
06:37He enters wearing black with gold trim.
06:39He weighed in at 121.75 pounds.
06:42Tonight, he enters the Showbox ring for the 24th time as a pro.
06:47with an outstanding record of 22 victories.
06:50One lone defeat, 11 of those victories coming by way of KO.
06:55Repping the Alamo City!
06:59San Antonio, Texas!
07:02Ramon!
07:04Dinamita!
07:07Cardenas!
07:09Presenting his opposition in the blue corner.
07:15Wearing black with red and white trim, he weighed in at the Super-bantamweight limit of 122 pounds.
07:21And he enters an undefeated professional with 15 victories.
07:2611 of those victories coming by way of KO.
07:30Tonight, making his U.S. debut from El Martillo, Panama!
07:36Rafael!
07:37Rafael!
07:38El General!
07:39El General!
07:40Pedrosa!
07:41You guys received a brief instruction.
07:43Good luck!
07:44Good luck!
07:45Good luck!
07:46Take a look at the tail of tape for the main event.
07:47We talked about Pedroza's reliance upon his jab.
07:49That helps when you've got a 5-inch height advantage and a 6-inch advantage in terms of reach against Cardenas.
08:04And for the final time, the rules of the fight, no standing eight count, no three-knockdown rule, and in case of an accidental foul, the fight is official after four rounds.
08:25And here we go, round one of this 10-round fight, and Cardenas says he's got to come to him, and he does have to come to him because he's got a bigger opponent with a big jab.
08:37He's got to get inside that jab, and the other side of that coin is when he's done that, sometimes when he's gotten in trouble.
08:42Take a look at the amateur experience.
08:45Similar in terms of total amounts of fights.
08:48Pedroza, a former Panamanian national champion.
08:51He's gone a little bit deeper on the international level, though, than Cardenas.
08:56And there's the pro experience.
08:58The advantage for Cardenas in terms of total fights and rounds.
09:07Good counterpunching so far by Cardenas.
09:11And we see Pedroza trying to establish that long jab.
09:17He's got a five-inch reach advantage and height advantage too.
09:20Yeah, he's 5'11 to 5'6 for Cardenas.
09:25You know what?
09:26I'll tell you, it doesn't look like he's that much taller than Cardenas.
09:29It doesn't really.
09:30Right?
09:31Push.
09:32Push.
09:37I'm just reaching in, touching him.
09:39Pedroza said he's going to kind of see what's in front of him the first round, and any fight of his that we've watched,
09:46he's a slow starter.
09:47Good left hand from Cardenas.
09:49Push.
09:50Push.
09:51Push.
09:52Push.
09:53Well, that got him in.
09:54I believe when he gets in there, he needs to stay in there and just keep turning him,
09:56and blocking and countering the combinations from different angles.
09:59Push.
10:00Push.
10:01But it's the first round.
10:02That's a combination from Cardenas again, and he got out without getting hit.
10:05Push.
10:06Push.
10:07Push.
10:08Push.
10:09Push.
10:10Push.
10:11Push.
10:12Push.
10:13Push.
10:14Push.
10:15Push.
10:16Push.
10:17I mean, even though he fought all over the world, Pedroza, you know, when he was an amateur,
10:22the first round.
10:23But this is his first fight fighting out of Panama.
10:25There's got to be some kinks in there, so he's got to be nervous.
10:28Might take him a couple of rounds to loosen up.
10:30Especially fighting in San Antonio.
10:32This is Gardena's hometown.
10:34He's got the crowd behind him.
10:35Oh.
10:36Cardenas really doing a good job in this first round.
10:39Cardenas not only doing a good job getting inside, he's landing clean with these hooks.
10:43Yeah, I see this.
10:45Raul, you're a man of style.
10:48Did you ever consider the rat tail in your pro career in the ring?
10:51No, I never did.
10:52No.
10:53I did have the duck tail in high school.
10:56He made the rat tail, duck tail.
10:58Remember that?
10:59But I never fought.
11:00I never fought with the duck tail.
11:03I see rat tail.
11:04I think Hall of Famer, Costa Zoo.
11:06I think Lucas Matisse.
11:07I think a certain swagger of knowing the style that you fight in and what you're willing to do in the ring.
11:12He started this one when he lost his first fight and he said he's not going to cut it until he loses another fight.
11:18Yeah.
11:19Actually, he said it was down to his waist.
11:20You know, he had to trim it down.
11:21Yeah.
11:22Peace.
11:23Peace.
11:24Peace.
11:25Good first round for Cardenas.
11:30How did you feel his power?
11:41You good?
11:42All right.
11:43You're looking way stronger than him and your rights are obviously working a lot.
11:47Right?
11:48They're kind of easy.
11:49Now, you've been throwing your right when he's a little bit higher, but he's getting low, right?
11:54Yeah.
11:55That's when you should try to sneak him in.
11:57Okay?
11:58Yeah.
11:59But when he gets low, he does have that long jab.
12:02Okay?
12:03So just make sure that he doesn't catch you with it.
12:04We had an opportunity to talk to Romain Carter.
12:07That's about what he needs to do in his fight.
12:08Here's what he had to say.
12:10You caught him like two times.
12:11I'm going to start breaking him down.
12:13But right hands to the body, automatically my jabs to the body.
12:17And I'm going to just keep working the body in the first few rounds.
12:20And I know, little by little, I'm going to start breaking him down.
12:25Good job.
12:26Of course, he did more damage going upstairs in that first round.
12:34But I did see him throw that lead hand to the body, which got him inside.
12:41I would like to see him, when he gets inside, stay more in there and do more damage to the body.
12:50Right now, he's fighting a very smart fight.
12:52He's not just rushing in there.
12:53No, he's actually, he's, he's, you know, he is a boxer counterpuncher.
12:58And that's what exactly what he's doing right now.
13:00And there's a left-handed.
13:01Drops.
13:02Pedrosa.
13:03Perfect shot.
13:05Now that's a wake-up call.
13:12Wow, it was perfect, a clean shot.
13:17I don't believe Pedrosa's really hurt.
13:20There's another chopping right hand.
13:22From Cardenas.
13:23And now, Pedrosa to a little bit of retreat.
13:25That was as clean a shot as you were going to see.
13:31Pinpoint.
13:32Very accurate.
13:33Another good right, right hand from Cardenas.
13:38Cardenas still open to those counter shots there as he just ate a right hand.
13:42I'm sorry, excuse me, uh, Pedrosa.
13:45Another sharp right hand from Cardenas.
13:48And another left hand and drops it.
13:50And that's it!
13:51It's over!
13:52Something about Cardenas in San Antonio.
13:5610-0 as a professional in his home city.
13:59That was a sensational performance.
14:02I would bet you to say even Cardenas didn't expect that.
14:11He looked so relaxed when he let those combinations go.
14:14Like, he was in balance.
14:17When you land shots like that, he was very relaxed, very poised.
14:21I didn't see no tension in Cardenas.
14:24And that's what happens when you just go in there and very focused and relaxed and let your punches go.
14:32Just let them flow.
14:33It didn't even look like he was loading up.
14:36No!
14:37It was in balance.
14:38Good balance.
14:39It goes without saying, guys, Cardenas' rat tail will live on for at least one more fight.
14:45Absolutely!
14:46I have to say, his responsibility of head movement and defense to get inside that jab,
14:51despite standing so close to Pedroza, is what set up those power shots.
14:56Yeah, absolutely.
14:57And he didn't rush anything.
14:58He was very patient.
14:59Not at all.
15:00Everything was set up.
15:01Brilliant performance.
15:03There's no criticism at all.
15:08I wonder how Steve had his card.
15:10Woo!
15:13That was a bolt of electricity inside this arena on that first knockdown.
15:18And how about Cardenas finishing the job in front of the home fans?
15:23I mean, that was, as you said, that was as good as it gets.
15:27I've been talking about coming in here with a plan and executing your plan.
15:30I really wonder if Cardenas, even in his own mind, thought, I'm going to get him out of there in one round.
15:37Cardenas said the big words.
15:38He said, Pedroza's record looks padded.
15:40He's never fought in the States before, never fought out of his home country.
15:44He fought in a style that showed you he had the confidence to do exactly what he did.
15:49Mike!
15:50Mike!
15:51I told you.
15:52He did everything that he set out to do, and he did extremely well.
15:55I told you.
15:56The brilliant to lose.
15:57I told you.
15:58The brilliant to lose.
15:5911 consecutive victories now for Ramon Cardenas from that one loss in his career back in 2017.
16:04It's all about the rat tail.
16:05All right.
16:06Let's go up to Lupe Contreras, who will make an official.
16:09Lupe, you got it.
16:10Whoever it is.
16:11I don't care.
16:12Y'all got to see you next.
16:13Ladies and gentlemen, here at the Boeing Center at Techport, this bout concludes with an official
16:17time of one minute, 22 seconds of round number two, your winner by way of knockout.
16:24And now the new WBA Continental Latin American Super Bantamweight Champion, Rip Ensananto, Ramon
16:37Dinamita Cardenas.
16:41And why not?
16:51I mean, he came here with an idea, and he executed the idea, and he did it not only in impressive
16:58fashion, but he did it quickly.
17:01That's as good a performance in a main event and following a game plan as we have seen on
17:06this series in quite a long time.
17:08And you heard him say now, bring on anybody, I'll take anybody.
17:11Well, maybe not anybody.
17:13But, Raul Marquez, this was as impressive as we've seen in a while.
17:18I agree.
17:19I tell you what, here we see how we did it.
17:21There's that left hook, pinpoint, very relaxed, wasn't rushing.
17:26The balance.
17:27Look at the balance.
17:28He went to the body with the right hand, then turned the left hook over the top, put
17:34him down.
17:35He was very hurt.
17:36He was very surprised.
17:37I don't see it again.
17:38I tell you what, I don't think, I mean, I didn't expect this fight to go that quick.
17:42I don't even think it's corner.
17:43I don't think the people expected that.
17:45But that's what hard preparation does.
17:47You know, I know he works hard.
17:49I know his trainer, Chato Martinez, I've talked to him during the week.
17:54He said, man, he's really been working really hard for this fight in the gym.
17:58And it showed that, you know, he's learning, getting better.
18:03The most important thing about it, Barry, how relaxed he was.
18:06And he just let his punches flow from a good distance and good balance that put his opponent down, Pedrosa.
18:15Yeah.
18:16I think it was very impressive performance.
18:18And needless to say, now he's a very confident fighter.
18:22And the thing that I find interesting as well is the fact that he didn't really have Pedrosa hurt, I don't believe, with the first knockdown.
18:30So he didn't rush anything afterward.
18:33The second one, of course, not only hurt him at the end of the fight.
18:36Well, he knows he rocked him, you know.
18:38But then what I like about it, he didn't rush things.
18:40He took his time.
18:41He peppered him with a jab.
18:42He touched him with a jab.
18:43And then he landed the combinations that he wanted to land, you know.
18:47And he was very accurate the way he landed.
18:49It's all about the balance and the way he was relaxed, Barry.
18:53So it was a great win.
18:55And you saw him calling out whoever.
18:57He said he wants to fight whoever.
18:59The king in this weight class is Inouye.
19:02We talked in the fighter meetings about Inouye.
19:04He's willing to fight a guy like Inouye.
19:06There's also another guy named Marlon Tapales, who I believe is going to fight Inouye and get all the belts.
19:13But we saw a very hungry Cárdenas fight in front of his hometown.
19:18Incredible win.
19:19Incredible knockout.
19:20I mean, he's on fire right now.
19:22And he's calling anybody out.
19:23He's got so much confidence that he's calling a guy like Inouye.
19:27I was just going to say.
19:29And Inouye's a monster.
19:30I'm not a fighter.
19:31But I will tell you, I don't want any part of Inouye.
19:34But Cárdenas, you never know.
19:36Let's turn to Brian Campbell now.
19:37Brian, you know, one thing that's really interesting to me, and you and I have talked about this.
19:40We have fighter meetings the day before the fight.
19:42And every now and then you can look across the table and say, this guy's legit.
19:46This guy's got a chance.
19:47And I think we did that with Cárdenas.
19:49Well, I mean, you've got to be careful what you ask for with a moxie of Cardenas.
19:52And our fighter meetings, like Raul said.
19:54Cardenas said, I wanted to fight the pound for pound King Inouye when he moved up and fought Stephen Fullen.
19:59I wanted to be that first opponent.
20:01You hear that from a young prospect again.
20:03You say, hey, slow your roll.
20:04Be careful what you ask for.
20:06I know that wasn't Inouye in there.
20:08That was an unbeaten opponent who had some hype behind him.
20:11And for Cardenas in front of his home fans to get him out of there in fairly vicious fashion.
20:16Two knockdowns here in round two.
20:18That's a statement performance.
20:20That's an asterisk you put next to that name.
20:22That when we're talking about this division moving forward, don't forget about this guy's name.
20:26No, it wasn't a gimme either.
20:28As we said, I don't think he really hurt Pedroza with the first one.
20:31I thought that was a flash knockdown.
20:32A good one, but nonetheless a flash knockdown.
20:34So he really was a little bit patient before the second one.
20:37The second one combination just knocked him down and done.
20:40But he doesn't get inside unless he has studied Pedroza.
20:43Pedroza lives and dies with that jab.
20:45He averages 36 more attempted punches per round than the division average.
20:49Look at the poise of Cardenas to get inside that jab, move his head, and put him in position
20:55to land the type of punches that do exactly like that.
20:58Knock people down, get the fans out of their seats.
21:00It just so happens that this hometown boy still undefeated in San Antonio.
21:05All right, before we get out of San Antonio, let's take a look back on what was a very
21:08interesting evening of boxing here on Showbox, the new generation.
21:12Our first fight of the evening, Freddy Rojas Jr. against Saul Bustos.
21:17Bustos tried, really no match for Rojas tonight.
21:20Well, look, you can say, well, his opponent wasn't throwing enough, wasn't coming after him.
21:24Freddy Rojas disciplined him, landing combinations, landing clean shots, doing what he wanted to each
21:29and every round, an impressive performance.
21:32Miracle Cuejo came here with a reputation as a big banger.
21:35Well, he had a lot of good shots, but he could not get Rudy Garcia out of there.
21:39Nonetheless, walks away with a very convincing, unanimous decision.
21:43If there's anything overcritical to say, Cuejo tried too hard for a knockout in the second half,
21:48looking to load up with big shots, but you see the volume, you see the toughness and the power.
21:53Don't sleep on this kid.
21:54All right.
21:55Speaking of don't sleep on, we talked about Ramon Cardenas and what he did in the first round.
21:59Rafael Pedroza came here with a reputation as a banger.
22:03Everybody thought this guy was going to be something special.
22:06Guess what?
22:07We all said this could be a fun fight if Cardenas makes it one.
22:10Did we expect exactly this to overwhelm Pedroza in two rounds in this fashion?
22:16No, but we are not taking notice.
22:18All right.
22:19Coming up next, catch an encore presentation of all access Canelo versus Jermell Charlo.
22:25Episode two, get a look into the preparation to build up for this historic showdown of boxing superstars.
22:32And next Saturday night, September 23rd, Bellator 299 coming your way live from the iconic three arena in Dublin, Ireland.
22:41The five fight card is headlined by undefeated Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen as he defends his title against the UK's number one challenger, Fabian Edwards.
22:51It all gets underway at 4 p.m. Eastern, 1 o'clock Pacific with the preliminary bouts on the Bellator and Showtime YouTube channels beginning at 11 o'clock Eastern, 8 Pacific.
23:05And on Saturday, September 30th, live on Showtime pay per view, another mega fight featuring two of boxing's best fighters, four division world champion and boxing's most recognizable name.
23:19Saul Canelo Alvarez puts his undisputed super middleweight championship on the line against undisputed super weatherweight champion Jermell Charlo.
23:30A mouthwatering matchup pitting two undisputed male champions against each other for the first time ever.
23:37Well, that's a wrap for us for this edition of Showbox, the new generation.
23:42The executive producer of Showbox is Gordon Hall.
23:45Showbox is produced by Richard Gaughan and directed by Rick Phillips.
23:50So for my partners Raul Marquez, Brian Campbell, Steve Farhood and the best crew in sports television.
23:57I'm Barry Tompkins saying so long from San Antonio, Texas.
24:07So for my partners, I'm an amazing singer.
24:09I'm Barry Tompkins saying so long to, in a shitty name and 포 Bur
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