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Boxing: Sanchez beats human battering ram
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They say opponent Chris Overbey was a former world kickboxing champion.
But last night at Isleta Casino against top Albuquerque welterweight Ray Sanchez III, he did everything but kick.
Overbey slapped, ran, grabbed, hit, held, wrestled and butted.
He did everything but box in his eight-round bout against Sanchez on the Top Rank card televised by Telefutura.
Somehow Overbey, of Sidney, Ohio, survived to take Sanchez the distance.
What was expected to be a safe comeback fight for Sanchez, coming off a nine-month layoff and a hand injury, turned out to be a bizarre learning experience.
Sanchez, unable to find a comfortable rhythm through eight rounds, won nearly every round while he spent most of his time trying to protect himself from colliding into the forehead of a human battering ram.
But the victory didn't come the way in which he's accustomed.
In the fourth, Sanchez got his chance to land a clean left, putting the man known as "Freight Train" on his caboose. Overbey was down again one round later - another left - but proved to be a master survivor, tying up Sanchez while landing fouls galore. In the eighth, he was deducted a point by referee Rocky Burke for hitting and holding.
Though unable to fight his fight, Sanchez (19-1, 14 KOs), still won most rounds on all three cards over Overbey (8-6, 2 KOs) by scores of 77-73, 77-72 and 79-70. The Tribune had it 79-70.
"What happened in there?" Sanchez was asked.
"You tell me," was his answer. "He was a rough, tough fighter and it would've been a frustrating fight for anybody."
Overbey's best shot?
"His head," said Sanchez. "He butted the heck out of me - that was definitely his best shot."
Although unable to land as often as he wanted to, Sanchez said his hand held up.
Sanchez said he'd like to fight again in June or July, preferably against a foe within the realm of his chosen sport.
You know, a boxer.
"I want Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.," says Sanchez. "I don't care if it's one, two or three fights away - I want him."
The main event of Friday night's card, between Jesus Soto-Karass (16-3-3, 13 KOs), of Los Mochis, Mexico, and Gilbert Venegas (10-4-3, 7 KOs), of East Moline, Ill., resulted in a high-action draw.
The two traded often, with Soto-Karass landing more punches, and measuring his right hand while Venegas' power shots landed with more impact. A point deduction for a low blow thrown by Soto-Karass in the 10th round altered the course of the cards to read 115-112 for Soto-Karass, 114-113 Venegas and 114-114.
Soto-Karass retained his World Boxing Council Continental Americas welterweight title in the draw.
A point deduction also altered the outcome of the co-main event, between El Paso's Carlos Madrid (8-3-3, 2 KOs) and unbeaten Oxnard, Calif., fighter Brandon Rios (15-0, 9 KOs). Scores read 57-55 Madrid, 59-54 and 57-56 for Rios, but Madrid lost a point in the sixth round due to a deduction by referee Tony Rosales for holding without warning. The deduction caused Madrid to lose by split verdict rather than draw with Rios.
Other results: Las Cruces junior middleweight Austin Trout (10-0, 8 KOs) punished Abdias Castillo (10-21-1, 7 KOs), of Austin, Texas, through six rounds for a unanimous verdict; Santa Fe bantamweight Anthony Vialpondo (2-0) outpointed Richard Flores (1-5), of Houston; Duke City super bantamweight Marcos Acosta (2-0) floored Anthony McGee (1-2), of McKinney, Texas, in round three, and took a unanimous decision; featherweight Miguel Angel Garcia (8-0, 6 KOs), of Ventura, Calif., won by TKO over Carlos Zambrano (8-16-1, 1 KO), of Kimball, Neb., at 2:45 of round two.
