Next round
Alex Saucedo says he is on the mend after his epic fight last month.
Blood streamed from above Alex Saucedo’s right eye. Worry streamed from his spirit.
Fighting in his hometown, on a Top Rank boxing card that could elevate him to a world championship bout, Saucedo’s face was in danger. So were his dreams.
Saucedo had been battering Lenny Zappavigna in a junior welterweight fight in Chesapeake Arena on June 30. But Saucedo had gotten a little lax in the fourth round. He threw a lazy jab and a lazy hook, and suddenly Lenny Z pounced with an overhand that bloodied Saucedo’s face.
And the fight of the year was on.
I’m no boxing expert. I’ve been to three or four boxing cards in my life and haven’t really followed the sport since the ‘70s, when the ring was ruled by giants in stature and spirit.
I’m no boxing expert. I’ve been to three or four boxing cards in my life and haven’t really followed the sport since the ‘70s, when the ring was ruled by giants in stature and spirit.
But I know raw brutality when I see it. I know when I see a fight that makes lovers of the sweet science cheer and critics of the sport grimace. And that’s what I saw from the Saucedo-Zappavigna fight.
When Saucedo rallied to pound Zappavigna enough to prompt Lenny Z’s corner to throw in the towel with 29 seconds left in the seventh round, both boxers were bloody messes. A variety of boxing aficionados called it the fight of the year. Called that ferocious fourth the round of the year, since Saucedo appeared well on his way to ending it there, until he was caught by that Zappavigna overhand that ignited a Lenny Z flurry of punches.
The fight looked like something out of Hollywood, where you’d say no way could a match get that brutal in real life. No way would boxers or handlers or officials or police or honorable citizens let the blood flow to the horses’ bridles.
But they did. When it was over, Zappavigna announced his retirement, and Saucedo remained on track for a world title fight against Maurice Hooker.
Saucedo knows how close he came to losing that chance.
“It was pretty brutal,” said Saucedo, who walked into a boxing gym on OKC’s south side at the age of nine and has been a rising star in the 15 years since.
“Toughest fight I’ve been in. I was worried at the time. I was trying to fight back, but I was also hurt from that right hand. It kind of stumbled me. I was hurt and worried.”
But remember the old F. Scott Fitzgerald quote about the very rich: “They are different from you and me.”
Same goes with boxers. Few are willing to climb into a boxing ring. Fewer are willing to remain. And fewest keep fighting when the blood pours and the pain soars.
Count Saucedo — and Lenny Z, for that matter — among the fewest. Unwilling to let go of that dream, no matter how barbaric it strikes most of us.
“These kinds of fights are the kind of fights that prepare you mentally for those championships fights against the elite guys,” said Saucedo’s trainer, the renowned Abel Sanchez. “They prepare you and make you understand what those fights are going to be like.
“We don’t know until we experience a fight like that. The elite guys, they have something you want and it took them a long time to get it and they’re not going to give it up just like that.”
Sanchez said he never was worried that the fight might be stopped because of Saucedo’s cut. If they were going to stop the fight for humanitarian sake, they would have
stopped it earlier, to save Zappavigna. But Sanchez said he was worried that Saucedo might lose control.
“What I was concerned about was Alex taking matters into his own hands,” Sanchez said. “He tried to go out and get the fight over with (in that fourth round). I didn’t want him to go crazy like he did, but Alex, he’s a warrior.”
Saucedo says he’s recovering well. He took five stitches over his right eye. He plans to resume training soon, though sparring will have to wait awhile and give that face a chance to mend.
“We both put on a show,” Saucedo said. “It was one of those fights you don’t see anymore. Two warriors that went at it. We both took punishment … Nowadays, you see a lot of technical fights.
“I’m getting so many messages from people from all over. They said it was the best fight they’ve seen in their lives. We made ‘em boxing fans, they enjoyed it so much. We left it all on the ring.”
Saucedo certainly left a lot of blood on the canvas. But not his hopes and dreams. Those, Saucedo took with him on a night that will be impossible to forget, for both those who love and abhor the ancient sport.