Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN Results:Lamont Roach, Jr. & Orlando Cruz Battle to A Draw

By: Ken Hissner

Oscar de Lay Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions with Miguel Cotto Promotions were at the Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot, San Juan, Puerto Rico, over ESPN2 Thursday night.

In the Main Event Super Featherweight Lamont Roach, Jr., 16-0-1 (6), of Upper Marlboro, MD, and southpaw Orlando “El Olimpico” Cruz, 25-6-2 (13), of San Juan, PR, ended in a 10 round draw.

Photo Credit: Hector Santos Guia

In the first round after a slow start Roach landed a pair of rights to the head of Cruz backing him up several steps. Cruz landed a lead left to the head of Roach. In the second round Cruz landed a left uppercut to the chin of a ducking Roach. Roach landed a lead right to the chin of Cruz. Cruz landed an overhand left to the head of Roach. Just prior to the end of the round Roach rocked Cruz with a lead right to the chin.

In the third round Cruz countered with a pair of left’s to the chin of Roach. Roach is being told by his trainer to throw more punches as he is outworked by Cruz. In the fourth round Roach landed a lead right to the mid-section of Cruz and got countered with a straight left from Cruz to the chin of Roach. Cruz landed a 3-punch combination to the body and head of Roach. Cruz caused a bloody nose on Roach.

In the fifth round Roach countered with a solid right to the chin of Cruz. Roach landed a right to the chin of Cruz but got countered by a Cruz left to the chin. Cruz landed a good right hook to the chin of the oncoming Roach. In the sixth round Cruz was out working Roach before getting hit with a counter right to the chin. Cruz landed a solid right hook to the chin of Roach. Roach landed a wicked right hand body shot to the mid-section of Cruz.

In the seventh round Cruz drove a pair of right uppercuts to the body of Roach. Cruz gets a cheer from the crowd after landing a jab followed by a left to the chin of Roach. Cruz landed a left to the chin of Roach. In the eighth round Roach landed a lead right to the chin of Cruz. Cruz came back landing three overhand lefts to the head of Roach.

In the ninth round Cruz landed a combination to the head of Roach. Roach landed a solid left hook followed by a right to the chin of Cruz buckling his knees and falling to the canvas as he backed up but the referee called it a slip. In the tenth and final round Roach lands a lead right to the chin of Cruz twice. Cruz comes back with a lead left to the chin of Roach. Roach missed with a lead right but landed with his left to the head of Cruz.

Scores were 97-93 Roach, 96-94 Cruz and 95-95 with this writer 96-94 Cruz.

In the co-feature Super Featherweight Jose “Wonder Boy” Lopez, 20-2-1 (14), of Carolina, PR, defeated Miguel Angel “Miguelito” Gonzalez, 22-4 (19), of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, MEX, over 10 rounds.

In the first round Gonzalez was cut over the left eye. He rushed in digging into the body of Lopez forcing him to the ropes. Left uppercuts to the body by Gonzalez had Lopez backed into the ropes as the round came to an end. In the second round Lopez was digging left hooks into the body of Gonzalez with one going low causing referee Robert Ramirez, Jr. to warn Lopez and again shortly there afterward. Gonzalez dug into the body but leaving himself open Lopez landed a straight right to the head of Gonzalez.

In the third round Gonzalez pushed Lopez against the ropes with a body attack. Lopez came back with a good left hook to the head of Gonzalez. Gonzalez came back with a left hook to the head of Lopez. Gonzalez lowers his head and digs to the body of Lopez. In the fourth round Gonzalez landed a flurry of body punches keeping Lopez on the defense with his back against the ropes. Both landed left hooks to the chin of one another.

In the fifth round Gonzalez dug into the body of Lopez who countered with a body flurry of his own. In the sixth round both boxers exchanged lead rights to the chin. Gonzalez drove Lopez into a neutral corner but got spun around with Lopez landing a flurry of punches. Backing up Lopez landed a solid left hook to the head of Gonzalez. Lopez ended the round the last ten seconds dancing away from Gonzalez.

In the seventh round Gonzalez backed Lopez into the ropes with a flurry of body punches ending with a solid left hook to the head of Lopez. Lopez countered well having his best round of the bout so far. In the eighth round Lopez turns to dirty tactics pushing Gonzalez with a straight arm into the ropes and laying on him but the referee warned Gonzalez for bending over. Lopez dances around the ring not looking to mix it up with the oncoming Gonzalez until the final seconds of the round landing a combination to the head.

In the ninth round Lopez continued to dance around the ring before stopping to counter with several punches to the head of Gonzalez throughout the round. In the tenth and final round Gonzalez missed with a wild right hand and got countered by a combination to the head from Lopez. Lopez continues to dance around the ring with Gonzalez asking him to fight. Gonzalez got Lopez into the ropes but got caught with a big right from Lopez on the chin near the end of the round. Lopez got away with too many fouls with warning from the ref.

The scores were 97-93, 98-91 and 99-91 for Lopez while this writer had it 95-95.

Middleweight 2012 Olympian Magdiel Cotto, 9-0 (7), of Comerio, PR, defeated Haitian Elie “Eli” Augustama, 6-8 (3), of Miami, FL, over 6.

In the first round Cotto landed a right cross to the chin of Augustama causing him to grab Cotto. The tall lanky Augustama dug a left hook to the body of Cotto. Cotto was the aggressor. In the second round Augustama dug a pair of right uppercuts to the mid-section of Cotto. Cotto landed a 3-Punch combination to the body and head of Augustama. Augustama stopped backing up and kept the fight in the middle of the ring landing jab’s and long rights to the body of Cotto who stayed in the counter punching mode.

In the third round Augustama continued to use his reach while back to moving around the ring. Cotto landed several overhand rights to the head of Augustama. Cotto pinned Augustama in a corner landing a flurry of unanswered punches. Augustama’s jab caused a cut under the left eye of Cotto. In the fourth round Augustama came out southpaw and pushing Cotto back with jabs. Cotto landed a left hook to the chin of Augustama causing him to go back several steps off balance. Augustama back to orthodox landed a left hook to the body of Cotto.

In the fifth round Augustama came out southpaw with Cotto driving him back to the ropes. A clash of head seemed to hurt Augustama more than Cotto. Back to orthodox Augustama got caught with a right hand to the head driving him into a neutral corner. Cotto walked right into a right to the head from Augustama while throwing a right of his own. In the sixth and final round Augustama lowered his head and dug into the body of Cotto. Cotto chased Augustama into a corner landing with several rights to the head of Augustama. Augustama ended the round countering with a flurry to the defensive minded Cotto.

Scores were 58-56 twice and 57-57 with this writer 57-57.