Jose ‘Tito’ Sanchez stared down a red-hot prospect killer at the end of the fourth round.
The moment came after the unbeaten featherweight threw a blistering 147 punches all while complaining of discomfort with the wrap around his right hand.
It spoke volumes of his overall performance as he turned away the stubborn challenge of recent prospect-slayer Walter Santibanes over ten rounds. Scores were 99-91, 99-91 and 98-92 for the Cathedral City-based Sanchez in their Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN main event Thursday evening from Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.
Phoenix’s Santibanes entered the fight with two straight wins over opponents who were heavily favored to win. The one that caught the attention of Golden Boy was his stunningly one-sided points win over previously unbeaten Manny ‘Gucci’ Flores on June 8 in this very venue.
Flores is trained by Joel Diaz, who also guides the career of Sanchez. No scouting report was necessary, however, as Santibanes was straightforward in his attack. He forced a blistering pace in the opening round but was no match for Sanchez’s heavy hands which quickly and permanently changed the course of the fight.
Santibanes was moved across the ring from the vicious body attack laid down by Sanchez. He landed the right hook downstairs and came up top with his straight left in round two and throughout the fight though Santibanes never wilted.
Sanchez—who is co-promoted by Miguel Cotto Promotions—informed Diaz after round three of pain in his right hand. It was learned that the cause was a hand wrap that was too tight, to which the veteran cornerman repeatedly urged his charge to ignore the pain and fight through it.
The advice was heeded by Sanchez, who nearly tripled Santibanes’ punch output in a brutally one-sided round four. Santibanes showed world-class grit as he rode out the storm, though Sanchez continued to throw at an alarmingly high rate.
Santibanes found his second wind in round eight, a rare frame where he was able to control the tempo and outwork Sanchez during their frequent exchanges. Sanchez appeared to punch himself out and repeatedly pawed at his swollen left eye.
Sanchez was reduced to arm punches but found a way to dig deep and rock Santibanes late in round nine. Santibanes responded but found himself outgunned as Sanchez let his hands go in the final ten seconds of the frame.
Santibanes had to gather himself after he was rocked midway through the tenth and final round. Sanchez was on the mark with his right hook upstairs and to the body, but it was a left hand that froze his opponent. Santibanes stormed right back but just didn’t have the power on his punches to fend off a determined Sanchez who closed strong in his Golden Boy debut.
Sanchez advanced to 12-0 (7KOs) with his third win of 2023, all coming in different parts of The Americas. The year began with a knockout victory in Panama before his biggest victory to date, a third-round knockout of Carlos Caraballo after giving away the first two rounds of their July 12 clash in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico.
Santibanes fell to 12-3 (2KOs) with the defeat, which snapped an eleven-fight unbeaten streak. He sputtered out to a 2-2 career start before he claimed ten wins and a No-Contest spread out over two comebacks in 2014 and again in 2022.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox