Growing Pains For ‘Mighty’ Mike Arnaoutis, Scores Decision
by
Frank Gonzalez
2/19 - Friday night at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez California, “Mighty Mike” Arnaoutis upped his record to 13-0-2-6 KO’s as he defended his NABO Jr. Welterweight Title, taking on the unheralded, former Lightweight,
Roberto Santa Cruz (11-3-2 KO’s).
The Greek pugilist has been a hot property as of late, fighting six times in
2004 and showing improvements with each performance. Arnaoutis is a fairly
slick boxer with fast hands, who recently added some sneaky power to his
arsenal.
Roberto Santa Cruz has not fought since May of 2003. He gave a poor
account
of himself in his first two rounds of televised boxing. He hardly threw
a
punch. After two rounds of target practice, Arnaoutis looked to
referee,
Jack Reiss as if to ask, “Is this guy going to fight or what?”
For the Main Event on ShoBox, it looked like a lousy match up favoring
Arnaoutis from the start. Santa Cruz was not a competitive and gave the
impression that he was only be there to make Mike look good. The fans
were
not getting their money’s worth and booed loudly after the second round
was
more boring than the first. But in the third round, something wonderful
happened—Santa Cruz decided to fight.
* * *
The Fight
Round 1
Santa Cruz kept his guard up and his work rate down. Arnaoutis was the
only
one fighting as he popped his reluctant opponent with jabs and
combinations
that were finding the mark. 10-9 Arnaoutis.
Round 2
Santa Cruz rarely threw a punch and the crowd jeered. Arnaoutis did his
job,
worked his jab, and landed unanswered punches frequently. The fans were
booing and Arnaoutis stepped up his output to quell the crowd. As the
round
came to a close, Arnaoutis looked to the referee as if to ask, “Is this
guy
here to fight or just stand there?” 10-9 Arnaoutis.
Round 3
Santa Cruz seemed to get the message that he was in the ring to fight
and
finally unleashed some offense. He caught Arnaoutis on the nose with a
right
hand that had to hurt. Surprised, Arnaoutis got busy, popped his jab
and
took the fight to Santa Cruz, who was suddenly fighting back. As the
round
progressed, Mike’s nose got redder and started swelling. While he
didn’t do
enough to win the round, Santa Cruz did some damage. But Arnaoutis
scored
more. 10-9 Arnaoutis.
Round 4
They boxed, with Arnaoutis popping his jab and throwing occasional
combinations. Santa Cruz came alive again and landed a big left hand
that
shook Arnaoutis. Out of nowhere, Santa Cruz was suddenly the aggressor,
backing Arnaoutis up and scoring with left, right combinations. Santa
Cruz’
herky-jerky movement made him tough to defend as his punches came from
strange angles. At one point, Santa Cruz pressed Arnaoutis into the
ropes
and Arnaoutis slipped. It was rightly ruled such. Suddenly, there was a
fight going on. Whenever Santa Cruz would throw punches, he was landing
and
the crowd was screaming. He assaulted Mike with a flurry of punches
against
the ropes. The fans cheered wildly when the bell rang as Santa Cruz
convincingly won his first round. With a bloody nose and a confused
look,
Arnaoutis walked to his corner. 10-9 Santa Cruz.
Round 5
They traded punches in the center ring. Santa Cruz connected with a big
right hand that stunned Arnaoutis, who boxed his way out of trouble and
popped Santa Cruz with some pitty-pat shots of his own. Santa Cruz
landed
another big right. Arnaoutis had a concerned look as Roberto’s
confidence
was rising. The energy in the arena was pumping adrenaline into Mike’s
opponent. Santa Cruz was awkwardly effective as he pressed Arnaoutis
into
the ropes. Arnaoutis, who was spitting blood, got caught with a big
right
hand that slammed him into the ropes in a way that forced me to believe
that
if it weren’t for the ropes, he’d have fallen onto the scorer’s table.
The
blow left a gash on the bridge of Arnaoutis’ nose. It should have been
called a knockdown but the referee didn’t make the call. I did. 10-8
Santa
Cruz.
Round 6
Santa Cruz had turned the tables and was now the hunter, crashing
Arnaoutis
into the ropes and wailing on his body and head with awkward punches
that
came from all over the place. Arnaoutis dotted the canvas with bloody
spit
as he boxed his way out of trouble with lessening authority. Arnaoutis
scored some shots late in the round but not enough to win it. 10-9
Santa
Cruz.
Round 7
Arnaoutis boxed better and landed some solid combinations, including a
stinging left uppercut followed by a nice body shot that backed Santa
Cruz
up. Santa Cruz became aggressive late and backed Arnaoutis into a
corner,
where he let loose the leather. But it was too little, too late and
Arnaoutis did more to win the round. 10-9 Arnaoutis.
Round 8
Santa Cruz pressed the action, banging Arnaoutis with wild shots.
Arnaoutis
landed another good body shot, followed by a right jab that landed
cleanly.
Santa Cruz was winning the crowd over as he aggressively pursued
Arnaoutis
and scored enough to win another round and make it an ever-closer
fight.
10-9 Santa Cruz.
Round 9
Arnaoutis boxed well from the outside, popping shots and regaining
control
of the tempo. Suddenly, Santa Cruz was back to doing nothing as he
hardly
mounted any offense in the ninth as fatigue set in. Late in the round,
Santa
Cruz landed a solid right hand that pushed Arnaoutis into the ropes as
Santa
Cruz rallied but it just wasn’t enough to win the round. 10-9
Arnaoutis.
Round 10
It was all Arnaoutis, boxing circles around Santa Cruz, who looked
spent and
was only fighting in spurts. Arnaoutis landed a good body shot that
sapped
even more energy from Santa Cruz, who rallied in the closing seconds of
the
round but it was not enough. 10-9 Arnaoutis.
Round 11
They traded shots, with Arnaoutis getting the better of the exchanges.
Again, Santa Cruz, tired as he was, rallied late. The crowd loved it
but
again, it was just not enough. 10-9 Arnaoutis.
Round 12
Santa Cruz was fatigued as he threw wild shots that mostly missed.
Arnaoutis
was landing his shot and dominated the action in the last round with
effective aggression and cleaner punches. 10-9 Arnaoutis.
It was over. I added up my scorecard and had Arnaoutis up, 115-112.
The Judges scores were announced as follows:
-Ralph Mc Knight—114-114 Even.
-Dave Mendoza—115-113 for Arnaoutis.
-Dr. Jim Jan Kin—116-112 for Arnaoutis.
Mighty Mike had won by Majority Decision.
The crowd booed as Arnaoutis was named the winner. Roberto Santa Cruz
had
won them over. If the results of the fight depended on crowd reaction,
Santa
Cruz would have won. Watching an underdog rise up with a full heart is
inspiring. But the reality was that Arnaoutis had done enough to win
the
fight. He just didn’t win impressively. He knew it too and wasted no
time
exiting from the ring and into the locker room.
* * *
Coming into this fight, Arnaoutis was a heavy favorite and his attitude
was
borderline cocky from the opening bell. But by the end of the fight,
Arnaoutis did not look happy. Though he won the fight, he lost the
crowd.
This fight did nothing to improve the image of “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis,
who
boasted that he would knock Roberto Santa Cruz out early. His over
confidence proved to be no ally Friday night.
This fight was an excellent experience for young Arnaoutis because it
went
the distance. Rounds are experience. Experience is invaluable.
Arnaoutis
faced adversity but rose up to win the last four rounds and add another
W to
his resume. But, in some ways, this fight hurt Arnaoutis. The tapes of
this
bout will leave a blueprint for how other fighters might approach him
down
the line. It certainly exposed some of the chinks in his Armour, like
his
susceptibility to pressure.
To his credit, Arnaoutis kept his focus, used his boxing skills and
ultimately got the job done. Mighty Mike also showed some poise under
pressure and in the end, his superior boxing skills and stamina were
the
deciding factor in this victory.
Whatever mystique Arnaoutis might’ve gained had he won more
impressively,
went to Santa Cruz, who surprised everyone with a show of heart and the
spirit of a Warrior. Though he lost the fight, his stock went up. With
hard
work and more activity, he could become a notable prospect himself.
Hopefully Roberto learned a valuable lesson and maybe in his next
fight, he
won’t waste the first two rounds.
As for Arnaoutis, he’s good, but he’s still a work in progress.
* * *
In the entertaining, crowd-pleasing 'ShoBox: The New Generation' co-feature, undefeated Shamone Alvarez scored an impressive fourth-round TKO over Jose Medina.
Alvarez (11-0, eight KOs), of Atlantic City, N.J., is a fast starter known for ending his fights quickly. Of his previous seven knockouts, six came in the first round. So it was not surprising that Alvarez came out aggressively. But Medina was a guy also known for early knockouts, and that made for a terrific battle as the pair took turns connecting with scoring blows. Southpaw Alvarez was always a bit stronger, however, and he had Medina out on his feet in the third round from a straight right jab. After surviving a brief onslaught in the fourth, Alvarez hurt Medina again. The referee stepped it shortly thereafter at 2:24.
Medina (11-3, nine KOs) of Philadelphia by way of Caugas, Puerto Rico, was also known for early knockouts. Six of his nine stoppages came inside the fourth round. A durable sort, he was tough enough and showed plenty of heart, but Alvarez was too talented. Medina, who has never been knocked down, gave it his all, however.
* * *
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