NeX Panamá Canal 21: Ricardo Núñez vs. Jeremy Triana & Jaime Arboleda vs. Elysson Márquez RBR

Was that a knockdown for the Panamanian Ricky Hatton, missed by the ref?!? That was definitely a flush 1-2 between the eyes that caused Pedroza to step backwards, and his glove seemed to brush the canvas as he steadied himself.

 

10-9 for the underdog, outworking his vastly less experienced foe (Pedroza has boxed about 10% as many pro rounds as Hidalgo - 15 vs. 145)

 

Round 2

Pedroza is laying back and waiting for Hidalgo to come swarming in, head down and fists hurled upward in turn like potato sacks being loaded on a cargo ship. Pedroza keeping up the goalposts, bending forward as needed to soak up body shots on his elbows, using his long spindly legs to creep outside and then unroll a jab into the upper face of Hidalgo. A few lashing rights and quick love-tap hooks from Pedroza from mid-range, but mostly working behind the counter jab. Nice flush hook late stiffens Hidalgo after catching him square on his temple.

10-9 Pedroza

19-19 (arguably ought to be 19-18 Hidalgo, though)

 

Round 3

Pedroza is using right hand lead feints now to keep Hidalgo shy and honest on the outside, firing and then pulling them as they're exiting the chamber and continuing to move laterally seeking the best angle from which to actually throw. Hidalgo lowering his output considerably, not jumping in as much to swarm, and consequently getting outpointed by a large margin, caught by the long jabs of Pedroza with occasional hooks stuffed into the side of his mandible with thudding impact. Hidalgo tries circling and jabbing with the much longer and rangier opponent but gets the worst of it.

10-9 Pedroza

29-28 Pedroza

 

Round 4

Pedroza is working in uppercuts now, folding his long arms up and spiking Hidalgo in the chest and lower chin after winding up and cranking himself inside with maximum torque, now getting the best of Hidalgo even in his own wheelhouse on the inside. Hidalgo at present has no answer for the uppercuts and is actually the one now seeking to create some distance, there uncertain what to do and so jumping in with ill-aimed line drive rights, missing over Pedroza's shoulder and getting countered.

10-9 Pedroza

39-37 Pedroza

 

Well...so far it was a pretty auspicious start for the PRH, but it has all gone downhill since. I mean, he is yet to get turnbuckled with a check-hook like his idol, but this is going badly for him. It actually resembles Hatton vs. Collazo, if you had to pick a parallel showing (I thought Ricky lost that fight)

 

...and no sooner do I say that, when, all of a sudden...

KO5!!

(wasn't a check hook, rather a check right uppercut on the sternum as Hidalgo was rushing in; Pedroza just slid his feet back, landed the punch and sucked all the wind from Hidalgo's lungs, causing him to face-plant down and out)

 

El General is raw and needs to work on his defense (now dropped - unofficially or not - in the 1st round of two consecutive fights, against guys with close to .500 records, even if they both are somewhat better than you'd think with those records) but he could develop into something. Tools are there.

 

This is so far better than any ESPN2 undercard I've seen this year.

 

I just don't get why, obscure and unknown fighters or no, when I post a free stream for live boxing on a weeknight and tag people's usernames in posts, they don't flood in to check it out. Like wtf are you doing on a boxing forum, then? Is posting in that Deontay Wilder/Manny Pacquiao/GGG/PED thread really more satisfying than watching some live fights?