“La Cobra” Destroys, Porter and Satybaldinova Draw In Commerce, CA

By Felipe Leon

COMMERCE, Ca.-In front of an energetic crowd in the ballroom of the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Casino, just as few miles from her hometown of East Los Angeles, 29-year-old bantamweight Adelaida “La Cobra” Ruiz scored her fourth win of her career with a brutal knockout over first timer Brenda Enriquez. The four round contest was the main event of a seven bout fight card presented by Ed Holmes’ All-Star Boxing on Saturday.

Ruiz (4-0, 1KO) went pro last year after a 10 year hiatus away from the ring to start a family but you wouldn’t know from seeing her cool, calm and collected as she bided her time against the game Enriquez (0-1) of West Haven, Utah.  Enriquez was willing to trade with Ruiz despite her disadvantage in height but Ruiz was patient as she looked to score her right hand behind a quick jab.

Near the end of the first round Ruiz scored a solid right hand that made Enriquez stumble and take a couple of steps back.  “La Cobra” looked to swoop in for the kill but ran out time.

It didn’t take long in the second stanza for Ruiz to pick up where she left off Enriquez made it easier for her as she was willing to exchange.

That was her lethal mistake.

While both threw hard and fast combinations, Ruiz got there quicker and more potent sending Enriquez down with a left hook to the chin followed with a right hand.  The tough Enriquez beat the count but on wobbly legs and “La Cobra” didn’t hesitate to go for the kill with Enriquez’s back to the ropes, Ruiz scored another left hook that sent Enriquez crashing through the ropes and nearly completely out of the ring.

At the 53 second mark of the second Enriquez was put to sleep and it took several minutes with the help of the ringside doctor to regain her composure.

“I did get worried because that’s the last thing I would want is to (permanently) hurt someone,” said Ruiz after the fight. “The way I seen her drop to the floor was very scary. I give Brenda all my respect.”

After finding that Enriquez was fine Ruiz spoke about her future goals.

“Next I want to do a six round fight. No more four round fights,” said Ruiz.

Porter and Satybaldinova Fight To a Draw

Local favorite Lisa Porter (1-1-2) just can’t catch a break.  The lightweight originally from San Diego but fighting out of Sun Valley, California, got a raw deal against first timer Aida Satybaldinova (0-0-1) of Hollywood, CA, by way of Astana, Kazakhstan, in the other featured female bout of the night.

After four spirited rounds, the judges scored it a split draw with a judge scoring 39-37 for Porter, another with the same score but for Satybaldinova and the third and even 38-38.

Porter was coming off a tough majority decision loss last December against San Antonio, TX’s Silvia Barrios for the NABF lightweight title while the fight marked the first for the Kazakh fighter in the United States.

Satybaldinova came out like a bat out of hell in the first round throwing punches with no rhyme or reason but in bunches.  After a sloppy first round Porter found her rhythm and when she was able to keep her distance scored with a precise jab followed with a hard right hand.

“I knew she was going to come in as a brawler as she did,” a very disappointed 29-year-old Porter said after the fight.  “I had an idea she was going to be aggressive, throw a lot of punches, not have a lot of head movement.”

Ignoring the jab, Satybaldinova lunged in scoring hooks to body followed with overhand rights to the head of Porter. The local favorite kept looking for her distance and scoring the right hand but it proved to be more difficult with the lunging style of the Kazakh.

“A lot of jab and movement. I like my style, it is aggressive.  I like to give a show, I am not afraid to fight so next time I need to work on my jab,” Satybaldinova, 30, said matter-of-factly after the fight of what she needs to do in her next fight to win.  “For me it wasn’t a problem.  She wasn’t difficult for me.”

By the third round it was evident Satybaldinova was not going to box but instead brawl lunging in with a long hook from the outside and once in close attacked the body or clinched.  Porter tried to create some distance since once there she would score first and better but seemed hesitant to let go because of the Kazakh’s pressure.  Near the end of the round Porter scored a big right hand but Satybaldinova kept coming despite Porter peppering some shots to the body.

“She was more sloppy than I thought she would be so there were times I caught my rhythm and had good distance and I was able to hit her,” Porter said of what was working against her opponent.  “Sometimes she came in rushing in.  I know I am good boxer, I have had a couple of tough fights so I don’t know, I guess its back to the gym and work on it again.”

The fourth and final round was the best for Satybaldinova pressuring Porter for the two rounds, staying in front of her and erasing any opening for Porter to create the room to score the right hand that worked best in the first half of the fight.

“I am very happy because it was my debut in the USA,” Satybaldinova said of her performance.  “My dream is to be a world champion, I sleep and think about it, I eat and think about it, this is my life.  I don’t think I was bad today.  I felt good. I know what I need to be a champion and I will work hard, next time I will win.”

(Photo by Al Applerose)