Josh “Pitbull” Torres, left, prepares to throw a right hand against Todd Manuel during The Rumble at Revel pro boxing card Saturday night. Torres won by unanimous decision. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal)
Todd Manuel is a tall, awkward welterweight boxer who switches repeatedly — or, at least, did Saturday night — from a right-handed stance to southpaw.
It’s not clear Josh Torres ever quite figured him out.
No matter. Albuquerque’s Torres outworked Manuel over six rounds to take a victory by lopsided unanimous decision at Revel Entertainment Center.
Torres improved his record to 25-7 with 14 knockouts. Manuel, of Rayne, Louisiana, is 21-22-1 with six KOs.
Saturday’s main event, an eight-round flyweight bout between Albuquerque’s Matt Griego-Ortega and Puerto Rico’s Bryan Aquino, ended in startling fashion with a victory for Griego-Ortega by fourth-round TKO.
Aquino said afterward it was a clash of heads, not a punch, that sent him to the canvas late in the fourth. Griego-Ortega said the same. But referee Rocky Burke, not having seen the clash of heads, had no choice but to rule it a knockdown.
Aquino beat Burke’s count but was in obvious pain and didn’t demonstrate to Burke’s satisfaction that he was ready to continue, prompting the stoppage.
Griego-Ortega is now 13-0 with nine knockouts. Aquino is 12-3 with six KOs.
After Torres’ victory, the popular Albuquerque fighter said Manuel’s awkwardness and his switching stances made for a difficult fight — though not one that was close. The judges scored the bout 60-54, 59-55 and 59-55 for Torres. The Journal saw it 59-55, giving Manuel the third round.
“He was lengthy and rangy, and I didn’t expect him to fight the majority of the fight southpaw,” Torres said.
Manuel is listed on boxrec.com as an orthodox (right-handed) fighter, and Torres said he fought in a right-handed stance in most the film he’d seen on him.
“I knew he’d fought a couple of fights southpaw, so I knew he’d switch,” Torres said. “But I didn’t think he’d spend the majority of the fight (left-handed).”
It didn’t make for a pretty fight, but Torres said he’ll happily take the victory.
“At the end of the day you just have to dig deep and do what you have to do to win,” he said. “(Manuel) pulled out the dog in me.”
In undercard bouts:
- Maximus Moya, Albuquerque, 131.8 pounds, defeated Jazzma Hogue, Fruitland, 134, by four-round majority decision.
Moya (3-0, two knockouts) had scored first-round knockouts in his first two bouts against inexperienced opponents. Hogue (4-11-1, no KOs), a professional boxer since 2010, gave him the first test of his pro career, crowding him and denying him punching room.
Staying patient, Moya slowed Hogue’s advance with body work and finished strong in the fourth round with a barrage of flush right hands — a round he needed, it turned out, to get his hand raised. The judges’ scores were 40-36, 39-37 and 38-38; another round scored Hogue’s way would have produced a split draw.
The Journal scored it 39-37 for Moya, giving Hogue the second round.
“He was really up in my face. I was just trying to do the work I could do, get the job done,” Moya said. “Definitely a learning experience. … You’ve got to get used to it, because there’s a lot of tough fights out there.”
- Steve Trujeque, Albuquerque, 117.2 pounds, defeated Jose Vialpando, Albuquerque, 118, by second-round TKO.
In the night’s opening bout, a Trujeque victory seemed unlikely after Vialpando dropped him with a big right hand early in the first round. But Trujeque rose at the count of eight and had the better of the action the rest of the way.
The second round was all Trujeque, as he pounded away at the head and body with little response from Vialpando. Referee David Rios called a halt at the 2:40 mark.
The bout was Trujeque’s pro debut. Vialpando is 0-2.
“That’s the story of my life,” Trujeque said in the ring after the fight. “I get knocked down and I get back up.”
