Battle Star XVI November 12 2003

Battle Star XVI November 12 2003

Event was held at Ameristar Casino in Kansas City

Review by Mark Graves

Leroy Childs (7-0) vs. Darren Reese (1-5)

1^st rd was all Leroy. Darren was knocked down twice in 2^nd rd. Both knock-downs were caused by accumulation of punches. Each time Darren really fell for protection. The fight ended via TKO at 2:29 of the 3^rd rd. Reese actually quit after delivering a low-blow to Childs.

Rico Lane (13-0) vs. Juan Ramero (4-1)

Juan threw more punches in the 1^st rd but that is not saying much. Rico picked it up in the 2^nd. Lane continued to dominate the 3^rd rd with a real nice group of combinations midway through the rd. Juan however simply asked for more. The 4^th rd was Lane’s as well. As the round was going I commented, not much on Rico’s punches. Then out of the blue, Power for Rico!!! Juan was hurt but made it through the rd. Great fight overall with more good punches by Rico. Unfortunately Rico could not get the KO.

Francisco Diaz (8-1) vs. R. D. Bryan (3-1)

This was the best fight of the night – even better than Lane/Ramero because both fighters had quicker/harder punches. I thought Diaz did more each rd but the fight ended in a majority decision for Diaz 59-57 with a 57-57 mixed in. Diaz threw great combinations with speed and power.

Mary Ortega (23-1-1) vs. Liz Drew (?)

Nice technical rd for Mary in the 1^st while Liz surprised me with her fighting ability. Mary won the 2nd rd but it took finishing with a good Left-hook. There were a lot of punches thrown in the 2^nd. It was all Mary in the 3^rd rd as she began to dial Drew in. Mary was in control up to this point but Liz changed that with a nice 4^th rd and won the rd. Both fighters seem to take the 5^th rd off because not much happened. They obviously were saving up the 6^th and final round. Good action with Mary finishing with a flurry for the 6^th rd. Mary won the fight 59-55 on two cards and 60-54 on the other. Liz was better than I expected. She took every punch without a hitch and caught Mary a few times; however, Mary was just too much.

Marco Ramirez (15-0) vs. Randy Dobbs (3-11)

This fight appeared to be an audition fight for Marco as some national figures were in attendance. Marco did not disappoint. Ramirez was very elusive in the 1^st rd. The 2^nd rd was all Marco. He had good technique on his punches with a step and turn of hips during execution of each punch. It began to get ugly in the 3^rd rd when Dobbs got warned for low-blows. That continued in the 4^th rd when 2 points were taken from Dobbs due to the low-blows. The low-blows were taking affect on Marco as he began to slow down. Not much happened in the 5^th because of Marco’s slowing until another low-blow disqualified Dobbs. Marco looked good until the low-blows began to take their toll.

Donovan Castaneda (1-0) vs. Kenny Manual (3-24)

This was supposed to be the first fight of the night but ended up last. I cannot even remember what happened. I think Donovan won with a KO in 1^st but I am not sure.