‘Macho Man’ Jr. Returns to the Tank with a Knockout Win

 

By:  Jeff Townsend 9/17/06
Bayareasportsdrive.com
Published by Al Reyes-BASD

 Fighting at the heaviest weight of his career, Hector ‘Macho Man’ Camacho, Jr. displayed his fast hand speed and great agility over an overmatched opponent in garnering a much needed win.   Camacho Jr. (42-2-1, 24 KOs) of Orlando, FL knocked out George Klinesmith (22-13-3, 13 KOs) of Steubenville, OH at 1:37 of the 3rd round in the main event at HP Pavilion’s Fight Night at the Tank.  Camacho looked quite impressive in scoring four knockdowns in just three rounds.  In fact, in two of the knockdowns, Klinesmith turned around after getting hit before he went to the canvas.   

Camacho Jr. is a fighter that fans love to hate and there was a strong chorus of boos from the crowd to greet him upon his walk to the ring.   This 8 round middleweight fight was the second time Camacho Jr. has fought at the HP Pavilion in the past six months.  This venue represents a step down since he is usually featured on nationally televised fight cards in bigger venues.     

Camacho Jr. started out the fight expertly moving around his opponent, using his southpaw style and considerable hand speed to his advantage.  He was able to step to one side of Klinesmith, land a few punches and then move away quickly.  Klinesmith is a tall fighter with an awkward style who seems to lack some of the fundamental skills needed to be a successful fighter.  Klinesmith was knocked down in the first round but it seemed to be more of a slip than from a punch that sent him down. 

In the second round, Camacho Jr. turned it on and dropped Klinesmith twice.  Klinesmith was able to beat the count both times and finished out the round.  Camacho Jr. knocked Klinesmith down again midway through the third round with a strong uppercut and that marked the end of the fight.  The referee had seen enough and called an end to the fight. 

 Camacho Jr. celebrated after his knockout win but his career is definitely at a crossroads.  He was knocked out in this last fight against Andrey Tsurkan (23-2), marking the first time he has ever been knocked out and only his second loss.  Including his fight against Klinesmith, the last three out of his last five fights have been scheduled for only 8 rounds.  Eight round fights are usually reserved for fighters who do not have very much experience, not fighters such as Camacho Jr. who have been in 45 fights. 

 Conditioning now seems to be a major impediment for Camacho Jr. to regain his status as a real contender in the boxing world.  Camacho Jr. surprisingly weighed in at 167 pounds for this fight, looking quite thick and out of shape.  This is the same fighter who started his career at junior welterweight (140) and has fought most of his fights at under 150 pounds.  Camacho Jr. weighed a full 15 pounds more than his last fight which was just three months ago.   Intrigue and drama always seem to follow Camacho Jr. and that looks to continue to be the case.   

 

Gilroy’s Kelsey Jeffries Gets Her 3rd KO of Her Career

 

Kelsey ‘The Road Warrior’ Jeffries (35-9-1, 3 KOs) of Gilroy, California came determined to scored a knockout in her fight against Stephanie Dobbs (22-23-3, 13 KOs) of Moore, OK and that is exactly what she accomplished.  Jeffries started the fight with non-stop punches and continued doing so until the referee stopped the fight late in the 4th round of a scheduled 6 round super bantamweight bout, giving her a TKO win.    

Dobbs was unable to land very many punches due to Jeffries’ barrage of jabs, body shots and right hand punches.   While never being knocked down, Dobbs clearly was taking some punishment from the large number of punches that Jeffries was landing.   

Scoring a knockout in front of the San Jose crowd was especially meaningful for Jeffries since this was only the third time she has knocked out an opponent in 45 fights. In addition, this was the 11th time that Jeffries has fought in San Jose so this clearly was as close to fighting at home as possible.   Jeffries has become a crowd favorite in San Jose due to her numerous appearances, gritty style and non-stop action. 

 

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A very special thanks to the HP Tank and (Public Relations) Jim Sparaco

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