Last week at the Laredo Civic Center in Laredo, Texas, a sold-out crowd of over two thousand hard-core, ravenous boxing fans were treated to a great night of boxing as Recon Garza Promotions, in association with Los Dos Laredos Boxing Productions and Cestus Management put on the “Friday Nite Rumble”.  The fight card featured several action packed jaw dropping knockout bouts.  There was never a dual moment throughout the evening and here is how it all went down.

The opening bout was an exhibition featuring San Antonio , Texas native, and Cestus Management fighter Robert “Nighthawk” Luna Jr. who took on tough Mexican amateur standout Jorge Suarez.  Luna Jr. (145 pounds) was originally slated to make his pro debut but when his scheduled opponent dropped out at the last minute, Suarez (151 pounds) was brought in for the exhibition. 

From the opening bell, both game Latino combatants exchanged heavy leather with Luna Jr. landing the harder and more effective blows.  The crowd roared as the “Nighthawk” raked Suzarez with hard uppercuts and vicious body blows.  Suarez responded with some of his own artillery but Luna Jr. countered well off of the ropes.  After three exiting rounds, the masses cheered Luna Jr. and Suarez’ gutsy performances.   

The action continued as Laredo ’s own Eduardo “Eddie” Ramirez (130 pounds) faced San Antonio ’s Jesse “The Bullet” Santibanez (130 pounds) in a four round rematch.  The battle quickly got underway as Santibanez appeared to be a man on a mission and began to immediately impose himself on Ramirez with stiff jabs, hard hooks, and powerful crosses.  Towards the end of the opening round, “The Bullet” stunned Ramirez with a hard right hand which sent “Eddie” reeling into the ropes.  Ramirez had his moments in the contest but was overall being dominated Santibanez.  “The Bullet” appeared to be well on his way to a knockout as in the third stanza, Santibanez was landing hard, clean power shots which were hurting Ramirez. 

Halfway through the round, a clash of heads caused a deep gash above Santibanez’ right eyebrow which immediately began to flow blood into his right eye.  Upon further inspection, Doctor Manuel Gonzalez stopped the bout as he deemed that Santibanez, who was clearly dominating, could not continue due to the injury.  The bout was ruled a no contest.     

The next bout featured another Laredo native as Gabriel “El Canas” Hernandez faced Nuevo Laredo , Tamaulipas , Mexico resident Nicolas Ramirez in a four round bout.  The crowd cheered on as soon as the first bell rang as “El Canas” went on the offensive and began to bang some hard shots to Ramirez’ body.  Midway through the first rounds, Hernandez landed a devastating shot to the ribcage area that caused Ramirez to kneel on the canvas wincing in pain.  The referee reached the count of ten awarding Hernandez a first round knockout victory.     

The fourth bout featured undefeated Ohio resident Marc Salser (135 ½ pounds) taking on veteran trial horse Natalio Ponce (141 pounds).  Salser (5-0-0 w/5 kos) picked up the pace early on and smashed Ponce (13-27-0 w/8 kos) with vicious right-hand haymakers to the face. Ponce ( Laredo , Tx ), used his veteran’s guile and attempted to outmaneuver the younger and fresher Salser over the course of the four rounds. 

This was not to be as in the third round, Salser broke through with a one-two combination which sent Natalio crashing to the canvas where he would remain as the referee reached the count of ten.  It was a good win for a young, up-and-coming lightweight.     

The fifth contest was a special one as a Laredo, Texas/Nuevo Laredo, Mexico fighting family tradition continued when Rodolfo “Cobrita” Gomez (146 ½ pounds) stepped into the ring and faced veteran Jose Reyes (146 pounds) from San Antonio, Texas.  “Cobrita” has the benefit of being managed by worldwide management powerhouse Cestus Management.  Gomez’ manger Gina Iacovou, and Advisor Mike Michael flew all the way from New Jersey to personally support their first Latino signing’s pro debut. 

 As Gomez made his way into the ring with his father/corner man, former lightweight title contender Rodolfo “Cobra” Gomez and head trainer/uncle Manuel “Shotgun” Gomez (former welterweight title contender); the local’s deafening cheers filled the Laredo Civic Center.  As soon as that opening bell rang, Gomez (6’3”) immediately turned his full attention to the business at hand and began to work his amazing eighty (80") inch reach in the form of a hard, stiff left jab which quickly reddened the face of Reyes and constantly popped his head back.  Reyes, understanding that he had a large height and reach deficiency, began to charge in with his head in an attempt to rattle the “Baby Cobra”. 

This tactic proved ineffective as Gomez timed the rushes with one-two combinations and used lateral movement to step around his opponent.  Towards the middle of the first round, Gomez, with the composure of a veteran and ice in his vain, brutally ended the bout when he followed up a jab, right hand, left hook to the head combination with a perfectly placed left shot to the liver which made Reyes drop like a man who had been shot. 

Reyes beat the count but was immediately struck by the “Baby Cobra” and his venomous shots were just too much.  It was a great win for the 6’ 3”, nineteen-year-old Gomez as the hometown fans went absolutely wild.  This marked the start of the new fight Gomez generation.  It appears that Cestus Management, who is world renowned for being able to spot talent, has yet again struck gold with “La Cobrita”.  

The final bout of the evening was a ten round title match for the vacant IBA Latin Americas Heavyweight belt between hometown hero Hector “Hurrican” Ferreyro and San Angelo resident Osvaldo “Psycho Monster” Martinez.  Things were heated well before the fight as both Ferreyro (228 pounds) and Martinez (214 ½ pounds) shared words and showed their disdain for one another in the weeks leading up to the contest.  Once fight time was upon the thousands of fans in attendance, the atmosphere was completely electric. 

Ferreyro, who is now trained by former welterweight title contender Manuel “Shotgun” Gomez, looked like a fighter who was reborn in the opening round as he displayed boxing skills he never knew he had via a stiff jab and hard, straight right hands.  Gomez’ fight strategy was apparent early and executed to perfection as Ferreyro continually pumped the jab and utilized solid footwork to constantly keep “Psycho Monster” turning.  Martinez attempted to respond by firing hard haymakers but was not successful as Ferreyro simply kept his distance and struck Martinez with rights and lefts to the body and head. 

In the fifth round, Ferreyro’s controlled aggression and constant body attack began to show as Osvaldo Martinez appeared to be battered and was bloodied.  In the middle of the fifth, Ferreyro landed a big right hand which found its mark and sent Martinez to the canvas.  Osvaldo beat the count but was immediately put down again with a barrage of power punches.  The fight was eventually stopped in as Osvaldo “Psycho Monster” Martinez could no longer defend himself.  Ferreyro is now the newly crowed IBA Latin Americas Champion and is planning to defend his belt on December 5, 2008 in Laredo, Texas.

Mike Michael, Cestus Management’s chief advisor, said of the Friday Nite Rumble, “I told you to lock the doors and run for cover as tonight, Laredo boxing fans were treated to a special event.  They now have a hometown guy in Hector (Ferreyro) as a champion and a rising sensation in Rodolfo “Cobrita” Gomez to be excited about.”  Michael continued, “I found the local fans to be very knowledgeable about the fight game and know that they realized that with “Cobrita’s” talent, Manuel’s (Gomez) training ability and Cestus Management’s influence in the sport, it is only a matter of time before Rodolfo (Gomez) becomes a boxing superstar.  Make sure you stay tuned as Rodolfo “Cobrita” Gomez will be back in action in Laredo in December to give the fans another electrifying performance.”

Gina Iacovou, “Cobrita’s” manager, said, “It was truly a great feeling to be ringside at the beginning of the new fighting Gomez generation.  I really feel that this is the beginning of something special as Cobrita looked sensational under the tutelage of his uncle Manuel (Gomez).”  Iacovou added, “Rodolfo is such a natural talent and is humongous at 6’ 3” for 147 pounds.  With his fighting bloodline, physical attributes, and Cestus’ (Management) connection, we're confident that Laredo will be the home of another world champion!”

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