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San Diego Lightweight Prospect ‘Too Slick’ and Powerful
Juan Angel Zurita (June 26, 2004) 
Chula Vista, CA – On Thursday, June 25, 2004, San Diego lightweight prospect Ernest ‘Too Slick’ Johnson improved to 15-0 (7) by crushing tough Mexican Genaro Medelo 18-8 (17) in two quick rounds before an enthusiastic crowd of 600+ at San Diego County Swiss Club aka Swiss Park. Focused and eager to please his hometown audience, Johnson came out in boxer mode and used his lightning rod jab and superior footwork to befuddle Medelo from the outset. At the midpoint of the round, Johnson walked his aggressive opponent into a sneaky counter right hand, which sent him to the canvas and caused a cut outside his left eyelid. Medelo rose and didn’t appear to be seriously hurt. As the round waned, Johnson again put Medelo on the canvas courtesy of another well setup counter right. This time Medelo rose on shaky legs, but was saved by the bell. Bloody and desperate, Medelo turned the tide a bit to start the second as he increased the pressure scoring nicely with several right hands and solid body shots. But his success was short-lived when he walked into the finishing shot, an explosive right, which put him on the canvas for the third and final time. Official time was 1:47 of the second round. Johnson, who is currently ranked #13 by the NABF at lightweight, now looks towards bigger fights that will help propel him up the ratings.

The supporting bout of the evening matched up welterweight Rafael Ramirez 15-3 (4 KOs) against the always durable veteran Justo Almazan 13-38 (3 KOs). On paper the match looked like a horrid mismatch, but it was far from it. Ramirez, once a top San Diego prospect, hadn’t fought in two years and Almazan had split a pair with Ramirez in 2002. Shaking off the thick cobwebs, Ramirez employed a stick and move strategy to pull out a close six round unanimous decision. The victory wasn’t an easy one though. Ramirez had his hands full throughout the entire bout as Almazan’s pressure and pouncing body shots provided him with plenty of fits.

In undercard action, cruiserweight Carlos Ibarra 4-0 (2 KOs), 2001-03 Armed Forces Champ, went to war with pesky Tanzanian Moses Motovu 1-1-1. Ibarra and Motovu went toe-to-toe on even terms trading vicious hooks for the first half minute of the bout until Motovu landed a two-punch combo which knocked Ibarra into the ropes and onto the canvas. To no avail, Ibarra complained to the ref that he’d been downed by a slip. Immediately thereafter, an enraged Ibarra attacked Motovu and hurt him with a thudding left hook. Ibarra then proceeded to dominate the rest of the round. The heavy action carried over to round two where Ibarra began to have more frequent success ripping combinations to Motovu’s head and body. Towards the end of the round, Motovu landed a great combination to Ibarra’s face to alert him that he was still very much in the bout. Round three provided similar fireworks punctuated by an explosion when Ibarra landed a monster left hook which seriously stunned Motovu. Sensing that his man was in grave danger, Ibarra went in for the kill raining lefts and rights to his opponent’s head. Soon the ref stepped into to stop the barrage and save the helpless Tanzanian. Seconds later Motovu fervently complained about the stoppage and had to be restrained by his cornerman.

Local featherweight Anthony Salcido 2-0 (1 KO) wasted no time in annihilating Wyoming’s Chris Eberspecher 1-2-1. Salcido and Eberspecher felt each other out for a good minute before Salcido landed a left hook which buckled Eberspecher. Salcido had no plans of letting Eberspecher off the hook, jumped on his man, and ended matters with a four-punch combination to the body. Eberspecher spent several minutes on the canvas before walking out of the ring.

Welterweights Antonio Soriano 5-0-1 (5 KOs) and Ramon Ortiz 1-5-1 battled to a controversial four round draw. For most of the fight Soriano tamed Ortiz with his tight defense and vicious uppercuts, however, the judges appreciated Ortiz’s aggression. Most in attendance disapproved of the verdict.

Notables in attendance: Terry Norris (former WBC & IBF Junior Middleweight Champion), Danny Perez (former WBO Welterweight Title challenger), and Eddie Sanchez (currently upset highly rated Jose Celaya).

The card was promoted by Fight Nite San Diego in Association with Don Chargin Productions and Coors Light. It marked the fourth show put on by the promotion within the last seven months.
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