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 News from Around Banderas Bay | November 2006 
"El Cuadrangular" Muay Thai at Señor Frogs
 Bob Cohen - PVNN
| | Newly crowned welterweight champion Adalid "El Diamante" Mendieta has his hand raised in victory as the judges decision was read. | 
| | It wasn't the 10,000 peso first prize, but the prized championship belt that was the big reward for Mendieta. | 
| | The ring was filled as Mendieta was presented with the belt, trophy and other prizes. | 
| | Hugo Solorio, a future star after he won in a 2nd round TKO. | 
| | Fight action in the main event, dominated and won by Adalid "El Diamante" Mendieta. | 
| | Earlier fight action in the amateur division; notice that protective head gear and pads are worn in amateur bouts. |
Leave it to Carlos Solorio to put together a quality fight card and one will have an entertaining and exciting night of Muay Thai boxing. Carlos outdid himself as he moves up in the ranks of promoters, as he presented "El Cuadrangular" Thursday night in a packed house at Señor Frogs in Centro.
The concept of the four man elimination fight for the Mexican welterweight championship was to pick the four best fighters in the division, have a random draw to select the matchups and let the fighters provide the show. The winners of the first two fights would meet for the championship and the losers would fight for third and fourth place. This writer has been to at least a dozen Muay Thai events and this was "as good as they get".
The participants were Sergio "El Poli" Castro of the Round Dragon Manzanarez Gym in Puerto Vallarta, Adalid "El Diamante" Mendieta of Gold's Gym in Puerto Vallarta, Arturo "El Frances" Dumaine of KML Pinsinchai Gym in Irapuato and Ernesto "El Finito" Valdez of Lanna Gym in Puerto Vallarta. The stage was set with the Mexican Commission at ringside with the championship belt and trophy, the Hysteria girls in the ring presenting the contenders and a packed house. Solorio spared no expense as this was truly an extravaganza, with the support of over twenty sponsors.
The draw dictated that the first match was between "El Finito", a local favorite who has been in many battles locally and Dumaine, the invader from Irapuato. As is his style, "El Finito" started slowly in order to "feel out" his opponent, which is a dangerous tactic in a three round bout. If he loses the first round, he would have to win the final two rounds to claim victory. Valdez is a counter fighter; he lets his opponents hit first and then counters with his own attack. The first round was extremely close and appeared to be a draw. Valdez came out in the second round as the aggressor and fought the same way in the third and final round, appearing to be the winner. But we have the human aspect of the fight game; judges and although it was obvious that "El Finito" was the winner, the first score announced was 29-28 in favor of Dumaine. The next two cards read 29-28 in favor of Valdez and he advanced to the championship bout in a split decision.
The second elimination fight saw a recent inactive Adalid Mendieta fight against a familiar face, Sergio Castro of the Manzanarez camp. Mendieta appeared cocky and disinterested, obviously because he knew he had the tools and ability to win the fight. He totally dominated Round One, countering with quick hard and precise kicks and punches. He easily took the round and it took just 17 seconds into Round Two for Mendieta to quickly assault his opponent into a helpless state and ring referee Armando Tapia quickly stopped the bout, giving Adalid the TKO victory.
Fans were anticipating a thrilling championship fight, as both warriors had similar styles; wait for their opponents attack and then counter with their own. But first up was the match for third and fourth place, which never did occur. Castro did not make the weight and if he fought was facing a fine that would have been equal to his night's pay and his corner decided to forfeit and let him take the 2000 pesos purse. Third place fighter Dumaine received 3000 pesos.
The awaited championship match began and Valdez quickly opened a cut under the eye of Mendieta, which seemed to fuel his attack even more. He almost immediately knocked down his opponent for a standing ten count as the fight continued and easily won the first round by a 10-8 score, meaning that "El Finito" would need to win the remaining two rounds for a chance at victory. He did start the second round strong, but as the round continued he ended with virtually nothing as Mendieta built an insurmountable lead.
The third round bell sounded and a punch opened up a blood all over the face of Mendieta, but the taste of his own blood did nothing more than lead him to a brutal assault of his opponent, a trait seen by many champions. The final bell sounded and although appearances looked like Mendieta was beaten, he obviously scored a huge victory. In fact after the bell, he was so fired up; he wanted to fight even after the final round, which was not bad sportsmanship but just the heart of an emotional champion. The scorecards were read and he was indeed an easy victor, winning 30-26, 30-25 and 30-25.
An emotional scene was celebrated in the ring and the two warriors embraced in a show of good sportsmanship. Officials then presented the prize checks and the trophy and the important belt to the winner. Valdez, still dazed, received 5000 pesos for finishing second and the emotion filled Adalid received 10,000 pesos and the prestigious championship belt for the victory.
There were seven undercard amateur matched before the main event and all entertained the crowd. Winners were Jose "Gallo" Gutierrez of Lanna Gym, Carlos Palomera of Lanna Gym, Raul Herrera of Memo Gomez Gym in Guadalajara and Jesus Alvarado of Memo Gomez Gym, Alejandro "Jandro" Lopez of Lanna Gym. The final amateur bout was won once again by Carlos' younger brother Hugo, who at 18 years old is undefeated and plans to turn pro in a year after more seasoning. Hugo is a quick, strong and calculating fighter and the future should be bright for him.
The night was a complete success, as gyms and fighters talked about upcoming matches. "El Cuadrangular" helped confirm Puerto Vallarta as a main venue for future fight and many will be bigger and better. We expect to see some champions fight here in the upcoming months. Congratulations to Adalid Mendieta for his dominating victory and newly acquired championship! |
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