Gabriel Bracero Needs Better Opposition
By Robert Brizel, Real Combat Media Correspondent
Brooklyn,NY–Inside the ring after Gabriel ‘Tito’ Bracero stopped Johnnie Edwards in the fourth round, trainer Tommy Gallagher noted “We need to find Gabriel some better opposition.” From his mouth to God’s ears. BoxRec lists Bracero as standing 5′ 7″, and Johnnie Edwards as 5′ 4″. In ring vision reality, Bracero appeared to stand over a foot taller than the pint-sized Edwards, which translated into an ugly, sadistic and brutal beating for a few rounds until Bracero finished Edwards along the ropes. Referee Eddie Cotton finally stopped the slaughter at 2:40 of the fourth round.
The preliminary bout to the Will Rosinsky versus Otis Griffin main event of a ten bout card at Roseland Ballroom in New York City on December 19, 2012 promoted by DiBella Entertainment, Bracero versus Edwards was a miserable excuse to sell tickets worse than the Larry Holmes win over Muhammad Ali in the previous era. Chants of “Tito, Tito!” quickly died out due to a display of ring torture more worthy of Julius Caesar’s cabinet watching from stands of the Coliseum in Rome.
Tito Bracero has absolutely no knockout power under normal bout circumstances without extra power training from John Schaeffer. This ‘impressive’ performance is not likely to raise Bracero’s stock or profile in the light welterweight division, or enhance his chances of his dream bout at Barclay’s Center against Danny Garcia. Lou DiBella will have to better than this match, which looked worse than Thomas Hearns pounding on a tomato can! Welterweight contenders aren’t worried here.
Bracero had considerable height and reach advantage in this bout. The tiny Edwards could not get inside, so all he could do was counter and hold until he was spent. Then when he was broken down, he was ready to go. Edwards took a beating so severe he was already talking standing eight counts early in the first round, and kept getting pushed to the canvas when ever he got tangled up with Tito. Bracero was reduced to throwing single jabs, and then getting tangle tied up by the smaller Edwards. So small was Edwards, in fact, even Bracero’s worse jab had the power effect of an iron cannonball hitting a puffed up brown lunch bag with a sonic boom.
Bracero was careful to throw his carefully placed jabs out of the range of Edwards, whose record includes a knockout win over former world champion Freddie Norwood. Obviously Norwood made the mistake of trying to fight Edwards in close. Edwards, now 15-6-1, 8 knockouts, Jacksonville, North Carolina, was a National Golden Gloves finalist and a four time Armed Forces champion in the amateurs. Good enough to beat up talentless fellow soldiers, but not enough to overcome the sort of height and reach disadvantage damage at the highest professional levels as Pipino Cuevas took in his brief 1980 WBA title bout against taller Thomas Hearns.
As for Bracero, now 21-1, 4 knockouts, Brooklyn, New York, there was one bright spot. Bracero wore a beautiful pair of red white and blue boxing trunks with the Puerto Rican Star emblazoned with ‘Macho Camacho’. While certainly Hector Macho Camacho will not be forgotten, Bracero’s incredible ‘victory’ over Edwards will most certainly not be missed. Bracero should try to fight Breidis Prescott, Omar Figueroa, Roberto Ortiz, Armando Robles, Vernon Paris, Ashley Theopphane, Kaizer Mabuza, Ruslan Provodnikov, Karim Mayfield, Joan Guzman, Mike Alvarado, Mike Dallas Jr., a rematch with DeMarcus Corley………or somebody of a step up fighter quality opposition who will put Bracero (if he beats one of these name fighters) in a better position for Lou DiBella to land him a world title fight.
Edwards, a loser of 5 of his last 7, is listed as a featherweight by BoxRec, a testament to his being a better fighter at 125 pounds. Edwards was good enough to retain the NABA title by 12 round decision over former IBA World Featherweight champion Angel Chacon in 2007, perhaps an indicator even smaller fighters like Edwards can still function normally in the lower weight classes, but have more trouble much above 130 pounds. Even 5′ 6 1/2″ Manny Pacquiao would look like a tall giant next to Edwards. Still, Edwards can probably still hold his own against lesser caliber opponents, but not at the upper echelons where he will only get hurt. Edwards is game, but the height and reach disadvantage he has too overcome is too severe.
At 5’7″. Gabriel Bracero might actually appear short against some tall fighters.
At 5′ 7″, Mike ‘El Cangri’ Ruiz, one of New York City’s more popular welterweight fighters, has lost a number of fights to taller fighters able to exploit height and reach advantage. Still, amazingly (and much like the Edwards upset of Freddie Norwood) Ruiz actually stopped former welterweight contender Paul Delgado in the tenth round of their bout in July 2012 in an upset. Safe to say, though, Edwards had no chance of getting lucky with Bracero, but took his chance anyway and got plastered.
Result: Gabriel Tito Bracero TKO 4 Johnnie Edwards (2:40), welterweights
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