By Marco Bratusch
The awaited, vacant European (EBU) welterweight bout between unbeaten Kerman Lejarraga (25-0, 20 KOs) and an experienced boxer like Bradley Skeete (27-2, 12 KOs) lasted less than five minutes as the local banger won by second-round technical knockout at Bilbao Arena. The main event topped a MGZ Promoions card in northern Spain, where all the three local fighters involved in championship fights came out victorious.
Skeete started very active using his left jab, looking to stay away using his footwork while Lejarraga wanted to gain the mid range to land some big, looping hooks. The local man, loudly cheered by his fans, found a heavy right cross to the jaw at the beginning of round two that dropped Skeete for a count of seven. The Briton was soon forced to take a knee after few seconds by a heavy left hook to the body landed by the local hero, whose power confirmed to be a no joke. Again, Skeete managed to stand up but was still clearly hurt and Lejarraga showed no mercy to end matters soon with other vicious blows to Skeete’s mid-section.
That was enough for Belgian referee Daniel Van de Wiele that called the fight off after he saw the towel flying in from Skeete’s corner. Lejarraga becomes the new European welterweight champion in fashion with a statement victory over a normally durable opponent.
At a packed Bilbao Arena in Bilbao, northern Spain, the co-feature bout for the vacant European Union (EU) featherweight title went to the local man, Andony Gago (19-3-3, 6 KOs) over the previously unbeaten Frenchman Geoffrey Dos Santos (11-1). Gago earned it by a unanimous decision but the fight was all but easy for him, who was forced to go toe-to-toe all night by a competitive, rugged Dos Santos who got two points deducted by Belgian referee Philippe Wouters.
After a first minute of mutual studying, both men wasted no time to begin a two-sided action brawl, with Dos Santos who was cut early at the edge of his right eyebrow from an accidental clash of heads. Gago, a former national champion, appeared to be the busier and the more aggressive man while Dos Santos boxed more as a counterpuncher but embraced the idea of remain in the pocket. They went on mixing with one another and Gago landed some crisp uppercuts from the inside in the second round. In round four, Dos Santos started to come forward with bad intentions, landing some good straight punches to Gago’s body and marking his foe’s face with another – apparently – accidental headbutt to level out the field. The Frenchman continued to take control of the center of the ring in round five, often awaiting for Gago’s initiative to respond from his side. The local man fired back in round six with some wild combinations that outweighed the more accurate work made by Dos Santos. In round nine, both men lost their already little composure and traded wild shots, widely open in their guards. The referee warned Dos Santos for the “last time” not to use his head too much during the frequent, short-distance actions. Both co-challengers kept swinging providing an interesting, grueling clash, counting on the accumulation of punches as neither one got serious power in his hands. Gago looked fairly tired at the end of the tenth round as he took some clear punches from the away boxer, however did not stop his output. Dos Santos seemed hurt in round eleven and fell to the canvas after a shove from Gago. The referee correctly ruled it a slip but after a few seconds he finally took away a point from Dos Santos because of the improper use of his head. However, a spirited Dos Santos continued to charge as a bull and the Frenchman put himself in serious risk of being disqualified. The all-out bloody war coninued in the final round, with Gago heavily marked on his face but showing a great heart mixing with his foe until the end. Referee Wouters took away another point from Dos Santos midway in the final round that could be a determiner on the scorecards. At the end of a brutal, bloody twelve-round battle, the judges at ringside had it 112-114, 112-115 and 111-117 all in favor of the local man, Andony Gago.
In the third title fight presented by MGZ Promotions in Bilbao, Spain, 27-year-old junior middleweight Jorge Fortea (16-1-1, 5 KOs), a substitute for countryman Isaac Real, scored a unanimous decision win over Panama’s Azael Cosio (21-7-2, 18 KOs) to win the vacant WBC Latino 154-pound belt after ten rounds. Scorecards were 98-91, 95-94, 96-93 for Fortea. Just before the fight, all-time great Robert Duran was invited on to the ring to receive a thunderous applause from the 10,000 fans in attendance.
It was Fortea’s third fight after his comeback that followed his TKO loss to Kelvin Dotel back in 2015. The Spaniard won the first round, then he almost had Cosio stopped in round two as he heavily pummeled him with crisp, accurate punches. However, not only Cosio managed to weather the storm, he also started to come forward in round three landing some big shots. Cosio grew his confidence up while Fortea looked tired after his massive effort of the second round to close matters. Fortea restored his action with some body punches in round five, but was still Cosio the attacker, more dangerous man at this point. The taller Fortea made his jab working in round six but he spent a lot of time walking away with his hands low in a no-brawl attitude. Cosio slowed down too in round seven as his pressure became more predictable, although remaining steady. Fortea turned southpaw at times during round eight to land some clinic right jabs before he measured the canvas with reasoned steps in order to make Cosio miss. The Panamanian could not deliver anymore as he appeared less polished than before. So the fight, after a strong starting, became a classic match between a steady but predictable pressure fighter and a better, quicker but conservative boxer who did just enough to win the last rounds without taking unnecessary risks.