By: Sean Crose
ShoBox: The New Generation returned Friday night with a three-fight telecast live from Atlantic City, New Jersey. It kicked off with a scheduled 8 round bout in the welterweight division where the 17-0-1 Janelson Bocachica took on the 24-1 Roiman Villa. Bocachica came out aggressive in the first, while Villa remained patient for the most part.
A series of thunderous blows from Villa at the beginning of the second put Bocachica on the canvas. Bocachica beat the account and Villa went bankrupt. Bocachica subsequently lost his mouthpiece three times, giving him some much-needed time to recover, but also costing him a point on the scorecards.
To his credit, Bocachica survived the round. However, Villa continued to press in the third. He also landed dull blows to the head and body. It seemed in the room that perhaps all Bocachica could do at that moment was survive. However, Bocachica WAS surviving, no matter what type of effective aggression Villa faced.
Villa kept cutting his man in the fifth while Bocachica continued to play. By the sixth, it was clear that each man had less energy than before in the fight. Both fighters exchanged leather in the seventh. The eighth was competitive, although it was difficult to see Bocachica winning without knocking out or stopping Villa outright.
Villa simply landed the hardest punches in the eighth and final round, helping him win a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards.
Next, Bernard Torres (16-0) faced Frency Fortunato (13-1) in a scheduled 10-round featherweight bout. The considerably taller Fortunato looked better in the first when he threw his jab, but Torres began to employ effective aggression in the second. Torres kept trying to pierce through Fortunato’s defense in the third. The fourth was somewhat intense, as Fortunato put Torres on the canvas, although Torres beat the count.
Frency Fortunato landed well with straight one-two combinations in the fifth, while Torres had his moments. Each man shot heavy leather in the sixth. The fight remained close and exciting in the seventh. By the eighth, the action was starting to slow down a bit. Still, Torres was able to shake the man out of him late in the round.
Torres pressed the action in the ninth. The tenth and final round saw Torres throwing punches furiously, while Fortunato threw his own hard shots. In the end, the judges gave Fortunato the victory by split decision.
It was time for the main event, a scheduled ten-round junior welterweight bout between Joseph Adorno (16-1-2) and Hugo Alberto Roldán (21-0-1). Things got off to an exciting start with Roldan moving forward and both men quickly getting down to business. Roldan continued to charge forward in the second, keeping the pace of the fight fast. Adorno, however, was able to score a quick knockdown.
Alberto fought intelligently defensively in the third, landing well on occasion and keeping Roldan from attacking him regularly. Alberto seemed to have shaken his man at the end of the room. By the time the fifth came around, it was Alberto who was pressing the action. Roldan continued to fight at a high-energy pace in the sixth, but it was Alberto who had the upper hand.
Things were slowing down a bit by the seventh as each man fought at a deliberate pace. Alberto relied on his jab to take him to the eighth, although Roldán continued to push the action. Alberto maintained his defensive strategy in the ninth. The tenth and final round saw Alberto try to get past his shoulder as Roldan charged ahead of time as he had for much of the fight.
The judges ruled in Alberto’s favor in a unanimous decision verdict.
