Marrufo uses big punches to beat Torres

Sanchez overcomes foe’s fouls for win

Jose Marrufo played the role of spoiler, and he proved that the outcome of his first fight with Albuquerque’s Josh Torres was no fluke.

Marrufo won a majority decision in the headlining bout at MCM Elegante Hotel on Saturday night.

Marrufo consistently outworked the popular Duke City boxer, winning by 78-75, 78-74, 76-76 on the judges’ cards.

Two years ago, Marrufo and Torres battled to a draw as Marrufo’s volume punching clearly curried some favor with the judges. This time, the extra hustle paid off.

“It was a great fight, and Josh is a good boxer with a bright future,” Marrufo said.

Marrufo (10-5-2) eschewed the jab, and instead piled up the points with big rights and lefts to take a comfortable lead into the later rounds.

“I just had trouble getting my punches off,” Torres said, who was not as disappointed as one might think after a defeat.

Torres (15-6-2) started to let his hands go in the latter stages of the seventh round and had his best moments in the final round when he knocked Marrufo off balance, and scored a flash knockdown with less than 10 seconds in the fight.

Unfortunately for Torres, it was too little, too late.

“I didn’t box like I should have,” Torres said.

In the co-main event, Albuquerque junior middleweight Jose Sanchez (6-1) overcame several fouls from Arturo Crespin (13-8) to capture a decisive unanimous decision victory.

Sanchez swept all three cards by 60-51 counts.

“I know I only had six fights coming in, but I had a lot of amateur fights,” Sanchez said, speaking about the professional experience difference between him and Crespin.

Sanchez found a home for his straight right and left hook to the body all night. Crespin’s only consistent answers to Sanchez’s accurate punching were consistent fouls.

Sanchez never lost his cool as Crespin had points deducted in the second and sixth rounds, and a knockdown of Crespin in the sixth sealed the win.

“Hard work just pays off,” Sanchez said. “I’d like to get my rematch with Josh Torres.”

Earlier in the evening, Sanchez’s younger brother, Jason, propelled his unbeaten career with a tougher-than-expected sixth-round knockout of El Paso’s Juan Guillen.

Jason Sanchez (8-0) looked to make quick work of Guillen, knocking the Texas native down twice in the opening round with hard body shots.

To his credit, Guillen effectively counterpunched his way back into the fight.

“I didn’t think it was going to last as long as it did,” Sanchez said. “I hit him with some good shots, but he kept coming forward.”

The end came at 1:17 of the final round when Sanchez staggered Guillen with a right uppercut, and after a volley of punches while Guillen was on the ropes, a hard left hook to the body sent Guillen (7-5-1) to the canvas for the final time.

“It was a good experience for this stage of my career,” Sanchez said. THE REST OF THE UNDERCARD: In the opener, Albuquerque featherweight Jesus Pacheco (6-5) used effective body punching to earn a unanimous decision over late replacement Sergio Najera (1127-2) of Tijuana, Calif. Pacheco dedicated the victory to his grandfather, who is currently in the hospital. Bosque Farms’ Katie Ramirez (0-1-1) and San Antonio, Texas’ Briana Gonzalez (1-0-1) battled to a fourround draw in the lone women’s fight of the evening. In a heavyweight rematch from 13 months ago, Gallup’s Ronald Baca (8-3) duplicated his win over Manuel Otero (2-7), displaying crisp counterpunching to sweep the judges’ scorecards. Albuquerque featherweight Jose Osorio (6-3-1) picked up his third career knockout victory stopping Gabriel Braxton at 1:08. Osorio used a beautiful right-left combination to put Braxton’s lights out.