Daly City's Julaton defends belt against Alcanter

Feb. 25, 2011Ryan MaquianaCSNBayArea.com
Neither a questionable scale nor the absence of her world renowned trainer could deter WBO super bantamweight champion Ana Julaton from enjoying her Bay Area homecoming party, as the Daly City native earned a unanimous decision over Franchesca Alcanter on Friday night.A boisterous crowd packed Richmonds Craneway Pavilion to capacity as The Hurricane, normally a speedster by trade, surprisingly pressured the bigger Alcanter into the ropes and unleashed combinations that scored frequently.With four-time Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach stuck in Hollywood due to scheduling conflicts and a scale that peculiarly determined that Julaton weighed 116.5 poundsa staggering 5.5 under the 122-pound limitThe Hurricane was forced to adapt to the situation.Displaying the guile and heart that made her a champion, Julaton passed the test with flying colors.Some things may happen unexpectedly, said Julaton (8-2-1, 1 KO), whose black and orange trunks matched the Giants baseball jersey she donned in her ring entrance. Sometimes you just have to stick to the basics, put your head down, and go to work.We were prepared for the event that Freddie wouldnt be able to make it, added her advisor, Angelo Reyes, who assumed chief second duties in Roachs place. It even happened in the past with Manny Pacquiao when Freddie had prior commitments with other fighters. Ana was working with Freddie as late as Wednesday, and he gave us the right gameplan. We just had to execute it, and we did.Alcanter (18-10-1, 9 KOs), a former world title challenger at featherweight and junior lightweight, seemed to enjoy a natural size advantage, having weighed in a full two pounds heavier at 118.5. However, she was unable to utilize it as Julaton called on her superior speed and defense to avoid Alcanters vaunted right hand throughout the first six rounds.In the seventh round, a looping left from Julaton followed by a right cross down the pipe found Alcanters chin and elicited the crowds approval. By then, Julaton sensed her foe weakening and began to stalk Alcanter behind her signature stiff left jab.However, to Alcanters credit, the game fighter refused to fall. The challenger returned fire until the final bell, but it was not enough to take the belt away from a resolute Julaton.Scores were 96-94, 98-92, and 97-93 in favor of the defending champion.Were going to the Philippines for our next fight, said promoter Allan Tremblay. After that, well be back in North America for the summer.To give an idea of the treatment Julaton will receive for her next fight in the Asian archipelago, almost six million Filipinos tuned in to watch her two previous bouts. For this fight, estimates ran as high as 11 million viewers worldwide.Im looking forward to having a title fight in the Philippines in April, added the champ, who will enjoy yet another ticker-tape parade through the streets of Manila in the next few days. I just wanted to thank the fans in the Bay Area for coming out and supporting me.In the boxing undercard, San Carlos resident Mighty Bruno Escalante (2-0-1, 1 KO), notched a second round stoppage of Martin Sandoval, (0-1-0), an MMA veteran who was making his pugilistic debut. A short counter left hand from the southpaw Escalante floored Sandoval at the end of the first round. In the following frame, another left cross put Sandoval on the canvas a second time, prompting referee Ray Balewicz to call a halt to the bout at 1:05.I was just trying to set him up with the jab, said Escalante. I was able to hit him with a perfect shot both times.He only had ten minutes to glove up and get ready, but he executed the plan perfectly, added his trainer, Brian Schwartz. The show also featured three kickboxing bouts.Dee Al-Hadi outworked Marc Toledo en route to a 30-27 unanimous decision on all three scorecards.Gaston Bolanos stopped Ike Spears at 0:32 of the third round with a series of punishing kicks to the legs and body.Xavier Vigney knocked out Gary Grant at 1:40 of the first round to cap the fight portion of the evening, which was followed by musical performances from American Idol semifinalist Sway Peala, singer AJ Rafael, and rapper Nump Trump among others.