By David Finger

It is a popular urban myth that if you stumbled upon a group of kids paying a pickup game of baseball in an empty field somewhere in the Dominican Republic, that there would most likely be a major league scout for the Yankees or Rangers sitting on a trash can in the corner to see if he could find himself a future All-Star. Well, for one night in October, the urban myth became a reality, only this time for the sport of boxing. Shaun Boxing Promotions hosted an action packed card with free admission for the attendees of the 36th Annual Congress at the Barcelo Bavaro Convention Center in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. With eight fights in total, and six being for WBO regional belts, it was the perfect opportunity for sixteen young fighters to make a statement in front of some of the most important boxing “scouts” on the planet. From major promoters, to nearly every WBO official, and even undisputed world champion Terrance Crawford, there was no question that this was going to be a great opportunity for all of the young fighters on the card.

And perhaps no young star shined quite as bright as 17-year old prospect Kaipo Gallegos of Las Vegas. Gallegos, an amateur standout, elected to turn pro young and take the Vasyl Lomachenko route, jumping right into the deep end of the pool. In only his second professional fight he fought seventeen fight veteran Misael Vasquez and then followed it up with a bout with Maryl Cabrera, who came into that fight with a 27-7 record.

On paper it looked as if his opponent last night was a step down, with only six professional fights Diomedez Ramirez didn’t come into the fight with a substantial advantage in experience. But what he lacked in experience he made up for in toughness and overall boxing ability. Early on the talent of Gallegos, 129.9, was evident, with a lightning fast jab and the ability to move and set up his punches as well as any fighter in the top ten. But Ramirez, 128.8, was also fighting for a chance to play in Yankee Stadium, and showed he had the ability to time his American foe with the counterpunch when Gallegos would jump in. However, despite those flashes, it was clear that the effective counter shots were simply two few in number to change the momentum. That coupled with the angles and ring generalship of Gallegos saw him build up a solid lead on the scorecards. By round four Gallegos began to dig in with his punches with more authority, snapping the head of Ramirez back in the closing seconds of the round, and by round six the end would come from a shot nobody had seen all night: the uppercut. With a less than minute left in the round, the southpaw Gallegos landed an explosive uppercut that nearly lifted Ramirez off the canvas before sending him to his knees. Ramirez was up and indicated a desire to continue, but Gallegos unloaded on the Dominican prospect and sent him to the canvas a second time moments later. That promoted the Ramirez corner to climb onto the ring apron with a white towel, leading to the fight being waved off by referee Eddie Claudio at 2:47. With the win Gallegos captured the WBO Youth 130-pound title an sees his record improve to 3-0-1, 3 KOs. Ramirez sees his record fall to 5-2, 4 KOs.

In a highly anticipated fight on the undercard, Mexican slugger Jorge Garcia Perez won the WBO Intercontinental Middleweight title with a unanimous decision victory over undefeated prospect Angel Cruz of Dominican Republic. Cruz came out attempting to box but the 30-fight veteran in Garcia-Perez wisely applied moderate pressure early on, coupled with an effective body attack, and remained a picture of composure throughout the fight. Although the first two rounds saw the Dominican visibly land some effective shots against the Mexican, by round four it was all Garcia Perez as he dropped Cruz with a right cross counter. Although Cruz survived the round, and did fight back well in round five and six, the Mexican again had another monster round in the seventh, hurting Cruz with another right hand that had Cruz badly hurt and covering up. Cruz was able to initiate a clinch and survive the round, but by then it was clear that he needed a miracle to turn the fight around. Another overhand right sent Cruz to the canvas in round nine, cementing what was a dominant win for Jorge Perez Garcia, who won the WBO Intercontinental belt and improved his record to 27-4, 22 KOs. Cruz saw his record fall to 10-1, 9 KOs.

In a ten round super-middleweight fight Cuban boxer Ernesbadi Begue won a ten round split decision over Colombian Juan Diego Ortiz to capture the WBO Latino title. Begue seemed to be in trouble early on and when the Colombian dropped him in round seven with a perfectly timed right hand it seemed as if the wheels were coming off of the Cubans big league dreams. Although Begue was rocked in round eight and it looked for all the world as if there was no way the title was not going to Colombia after the fight, what followed could only be described as one of the most disastrous finishes to a fight in recent memory. Early in round eight Ortiz has a point deducted for a low blow, and in round nine Ortiz had as disastrous a round as a fighter could have, getting knocked down twice (including once as the round came to a close). Although it didn’t appear that Ortiz was seriously hurt after round nine, it did prove to be a shot of adrenaline for the Cuban and he fought aggressively and effectivly in the final round, cementing the decision on two of the judges scorecard (96-91 and 94-93). One judge had Ortiz winning by a score of 95-92. With the win Begue improves to 10-0, 6 KOs while Ortiz falls to 7-1, 6 KOs.

In an eight round fight between Dominicans for the WBO Youth title at 126-pounds, Miguel Queliz won a close unanimous decision over fellow undefeated prospect Yermi Peralta. Scores were 77-75, 77-75, and 78-74 for the Queliz, who improves to 7-0, 1 KO. Peralta’s record falls to 10-1, 6 KOs.

In an exciting women’s fight, Colombian Laura Wollenman won the WBO International 112-pound title win a unanimous decision over Venezuelan Debora Rengifo. Rengifo was aggressive but the Colombian nonetheless was able to respond effectively enough to th pressure of Rengifo to win the decision on all three scorecards (97-93, 98-92, sand 98-92). With the win Wollenman improves to 8-1, 3 KOs while Rengifo falls to 19-12-1, 11 KOs.

Opening the night was what was suppose to be a WBO Latino Middleweight championship fight between Marcos Osorio, 160, and Colombian Dormendes Potes, 162. However since Potes came in overweight the vacant title could only have been captured by Osornio if he won, which he didn’t. Two judges scored the fight 96-92 while one judge scored it a tad bit closer at 95-93, all for Potes, who sees his record improve to 14-4-1, 10 KOs. Osorio suffered his first loss and now sees his record stand at 11-1-1, 8 KOs. Since Potes can’t leave with the title, the WBO Latino championship remains vacant.

In an eight round fight Franklyn De Paula, 116, won an eight round decision over Wanel Lara, 113.5. It was one of only two fight featuring two Dominican fighters and one of only two fights where a WBO regional belt was not on the line. Judges scores were 78-74, 78-73, and 77-74 for De Paula, who improves to 8-1, 6 KOs. Lara sees his record fall to 7-2, 5 KOs.

In another fight that didn’t feature a WBO belt, Connecticut based contender Chordale Booker put on an unexpected display of power as he blew out Dominican bomber Julio De Jesus in the second round. Referee Oscar Pena stopped the fight at 1:36 of round two after Booker unloaded on a badly wounded De Jesus in the corner. With the win Booker improves to 21-1,10 KOs while De Jesus falls to 27-7 24 KO.