SAN ANTONIO – Leija/Battah Promotions returned for their first boxing event of 2019 Thursday night. The fight was broadcasted, in conjunction with Roy Jones Jr. Promotions, on UFC Fight Pass and featured many local fighters, including undefeated boxer Kendo Castaneda as the main event.
Castaneda put his WBA NABA Super Lightweight title on the line as he faced Eudy Bernardo in a 10-round super lightweight bout.
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“Tremendo” Castaneda told KSAT 12 Sports last week that he was not intimidated by his opponent. That all changed Wednesday afternoon after the weigh-in.
“I noticed it Wednesday when I starred in this eyes during the face-off,“ Castaneda confessed to KSAT after the fight. “I saw that he (Bernardo) feared no man. Right there I knew I was going to have a tough time with this guy.“
Castaneda controlled the fight early on but Bernardo began to land many power punches starting in the sixth round. The fighter from the Dominican Republic even look satisfied with his performance after each round.
"I started a little tense," said Castaneda. "He was tougher than I thought. He was strong, he was taking shots, he was tough to put out."
Bernardo had his best effort in the ninth round but Castaneda countered late to edge out his opponent. The same happened in the tenth and final round.
In the end, the three judges at ringside had Castaneda winning by unanimous decision by scores of 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93. Castaneda improves to 16-0 with 7 knockouts. Bernardo has now lost 4 of his last 5 fights in the United States.
“I dominated most of the rounds. My corner helped me balance that tame and wild side of me. I just stayed explosive and calm throughout it all and I felt that got me the win.“
According to Roy Jones Jr. Promotions, viewers from 73 countries were streaming the fight from Cowboys Dancehall. Promoters seemed pleased with Thursday’s results and could be hosting another fight night before the start of summer.
The co-main event featured another local fighter. Xavier Wilson faced John Arellano, a fighter who has won all nine of his fights by knockout, in a 8-round lightweight bout.
Arellano, who is from Austin, spent a lot of his time dodging punches from Wilson and at the same time, use a lot of theatrics to engage the crowd. Even as Wilson continued to be the aggressor, it didn’t phase Arellano one bit; he hardly raised his arms to defend himself even as Wilson advanced. Arellano made it seem like everything Wilson did had no affect.
That kind of fighting may have influenced the judges scoring: Arellano won by split decision and as a result, Wilson suffers his first career defeat.
Also fighting Thursday was San Antonio’s own Joseph Rodriguez against Darryl Hayes, a fighter who has only won one fight in the last three years.
The fight started with a lot of shots from Hayes, who appeared to win the first few rounds and that got the attention of Kendo Castaneda, who was looking on before his fight. Anyone who attended the match could clearly hear Castaneda yelling tips to his lifelong friend in the ring.
"When I hear 'Mongoose' I know it's him," said Rodriguez. "We go way back man. We've known each other since we were 8-9 years old. We're real good friends, we're like family. I did hear him and it does motivate me and pumps me up."
Rodriguez appeared to get the edge as the fight progressed and after the six-round lightweight bout concluded, Rodriguez won by split decision.
"I knew I had won but I was a bit freaked out at the split decision," said Rodriguez. "I knew Hayes was throwing more punches but I was putting on the pressure and landing better shots. But this is boxing, it all makes me go harder and makes me learn from my mistakes."
Rodriguez, who graduated from Harlandale High School, improves to 15-0-1 and 2 knockouts.
San Antonio’s own Henry Arredondo faced Jahaziel Vazquez in a 4-round junior featherweight fight. Arredondo delivered a lot of powerful combinations in the first round and then ended the fight 1:17 in round two when he delivered a massive left hook that sent Vazquez to the canvas. It was clear that Vazquez was not going to get up and the fight was over. Arredondo improves to 2-0 with 1 knockout.
Making his professional debut Thursday was San Antonio’s own Raymond Guajardo, who easily defeated his opponent Leonardo Mendez, who was also making his pro debut. Guajardo landed many power punches in the first round, knocking down Mendez once. Guajardo then ended the night early, knocking down his opponent 58 seconds into round two and this time Mendez did not get up. Guajardo improves to 1-0 with 1 knockout.
Twitter/Instagram: @LeijaBattahPR @KendoTremendo @JosephMongoose
Daniel P. Villanueva has worked with KSAT 12 Sports for over 15 years and is an award-winning sports producer. To submit story ideas, email sports@ksat.com.