‘Chuy’ Rodriguez Wins California State Junior Welterweight Title

‘Chuy’ Rodriguez Wins California State Junior Welterweight Title

By: Jeff Townsend, Boxing writer of "Bay Area Sports Drive"
Bayareasportsdrive.com 7-15-07

In an action-packed fight, Jesus ‘Chuy’ Rodriguez (15-2, 5 KOs) from Salinas, California won a ten round unanimous decision over Hector Alatorre (14-2, 5 KOs) from Tulare, California in the main event at the San Jose Civic Auditorium Saturday night. In his 11^th fight in 20 months since taking a three year lay-off, Chuy Rodriguez continued on the comeback trail while winning the California state junior welterweight (140) title.

Chuy can best be described as a volume puncher with good boxing skills. He led the action all night, snapping out a good jab in order to get close enough to Alatorre so he could land solid punches. Chuy threw a good mix of punches and was busier throughout but really excelled when he would throw hard shots to the body. Alatorre seemed to be hoping that the fight would turn into a brawl so he would not have to deal with Chuy’s consistent jab but that never happened.

Along with effective boxing skills, Chuy used good foot movement to move in and out of range. He used the jab more as an excuse to get close enough to Alatorre instead of working behind the jab in order to land combinations. Chuy would throw a jab, get close enough to land a few quick punches and then move away in order to avoid being hit.

The fourth round saw the best action when Chuy landed a few hard right hand leads to Alatorre’s head to start off the round and then worked Alatorre to the body by landing two solid left hooks to the body later in the round. The rest of the fight was more of the same, with the many Rodriguez fans chanting ‘Chuy!’ throughout the night.

On paper, the main event looked to be a match-up of two evenly matched opponents with nearly identical records, facing off to see who was the better fighter. ‘Chuy’ Rodriguez came in with a record of 14-2 while Alatorre’s record stood at 14-1. Both fighters had racked up 5 KOs in their professional career and were very close in age (Chuy is 27 years old, Alatorre is 25).

However, a seasoned boxing observer might have seriously questioned Alatorre’s ability to be a top contender based on his recent performances. This fight with Chuy was his first since suffering the first loss of his career. In that fight seven months ago, Alatorre lost an eight round unanimous decision to light-hitting Edgar Vargas (10-3, 1 KO).

In July of last year, Alatorre won a controversial eight round decision against Lowell Brownfield (now 10-4). One month later, he barely won a four round split decision against a fighter who came into that fight with a record of 7-13-1. Lastly, according to published reports, Alatorre was close to competing in a Mixed Martial Arts event on July 19, which calls into question his dedication to the sport of boxing.

In the end, all three judges scored it the same, 100-90 for Jesus ‘Chuy’ Rodriguez. With a clear and convincing win against one of the best opponents he has faced, Chuy seems ready to move on to challenge even better opponents.

The co-main event between Eloy Perez (8-0-1, 1 KO) and Carlos Musquez (3-1-1, 3 KOs) was scratched from the card the day before the fight. The California State Athletic Commission prevented Musquez from fighting and suspended him due to an undisclosed medical condition.

‘The Riot’ boxing series, promoted by Jerry Hoffman, traditionally has been held in Monterey twice a year and has always been known for great matchmaking. Sellouts and exciting fights are usually expected at these events. This was the first event held in San Jose and Hoffman’s involvement was very evident. He is literally a one man show handling nearly all aspects of the event – promoter, matchmaker, ticket seller, media relations contact and even handling the ring announcer duties. The next ‘Riot Boxing’ event will be held back in Monterey on October 26, 2007.