By Carlos Irusta

CORDOBA, ARGENTINA, It was not brilliant, it was not bad. Friday night: a little chilly in the beginning, with some sparkles in the middle and cold in the late hours. KO TO DRUGS started at Super Domo Orfeo Stadium (Capacity: 12.000) with a couple of good fights, continued with a butchery and finished five hours later with only a little crowd still watching the last bout.

In the main event, Vicente Mosquera, from Panama (24-1-1, 12 KO) decisioned in 12 Argentinian José Pablo Estrella (38-10-1, 1ND, 16 KO) retaining his super feather WBA belt. Pabon scored 116-112 for the challenger while Garcia and Martinez gave Mosquera 116-112 and 117-111.

“Estrella lost by his attitude”, said former world champion Pablo Chacon to BoxingScene.com. “Yes, I was in his corner, but I know which is the difference between make a good fight and to win it. Mosquera was more aggressive, connected punches to the body all the time and keep punching all the rounds. I love the counter puncher style (I was, so, like that), but if you don’t connect the three minutes of each round, it’s difficult to win”. Chacón is retired from boxing for a detached retina and now, is teaching boxing in Las Heras, Mendoza, and his Hometown.

The hero of the night was another Chacon boxer, Juan Carlos Reveco (12-0, 4 KO) who decisioned Venezuelan Freddy Beleño (23-3, 15 KO), capturing the junior fly WBA Fedelatin belt. Counterpunching, yes, but without reservations, Reveco won in the best fight of the night.

Heavyweight local idol Fabio “La Mole” Moli looked like “El Toro” in “Harder they fall”: with his face totally brushed up, he suffered a couple of knock downs in front of Taras Bidenko from Ukranie (18-2, 10 KO). While the crowd roared like in a Roman Circus, Moli received a brutal beating, until the bout was stopped in 6th round. Badly cut, Moli said he is not quitting boxing. He is 33-6, 20 KO. The fight was for the Fedelatin heavyweight belt. Bidenko made a clever fight in front of a man very slow and past of his prime.

In the other bouts, Venezuelan Nehomar Cermeño (10-0, 7 KO) scored a unanimous victory over Leonardo Fernandez, from Argentina (12-3-1, 6 KO), for the bantam Fedelatin belt. Nelson Linares (Venezuela, 12-0-1, 6 KO) defeated by points, unanimous, by Aladino Alanis (Argentina, 21-8-3-1 ND) in a Fedelatin welter championship bout. Cesar René Cuenca, 26-0, 1 KO, defeated José Alfaro from Nicaragua (14-2-0-, 1 ND, 13 KO) in the middle of a crowd of boooos.

The crowd was about 4.000 people and the level of fights were not the best, with Reveco as the figure, Nehomar Cermeño the best prospect, Bidenko the not loved winner, Mosquera the shadow of himself, Cuenca the ring-runner who, at first, threw punches in his first big fight and Linares and Alanis out of sintony.

Two world champions from Cordoba, were honored. Santos Laciar, three times world champion received the “Pascual Perez” super belt, and Gustavo Ballas, the first super fly WBA champion, with a trophy.

The WBA people left Argentina with satisfactions, and of course they are planning for next year, the 16th Edition of KO TO DRUGS.

Until next year, folks!