Reilly Nurses Cut, Outlasts Archuleta to Win Decision

Pepe Reilly beat Randy Archuleta by unanimous decision in a four-round junior welterweight bout Saturday night at the Olympic Auditorium.

But the Glendale resident wouldn’t have won any beauty contests.

Reilly, 22, suffered a bruised forehead and an inch-long gash above his left eye from a head butt in the second round. The gash bled for the rest of the bout.

“What concerned me was my vision,� said Reilly, who was rushed into the locker room for stitches immediately after the fight. “(Blood) kept getting in my eye and I couldn’t see.

The 5-foot-11 Reilly (6-1) had a height advantage, but he had trouble finding his rhythm in the first round against Archuleta (6-9), of Selma, Calif. Reilly found his mark in the second, connecting on a variety of body punches. He had Archuleta against the ropes when they accidentally butted heads.

“I saw the blood spurt out and it went right into my eye,� Reilly said. “(Archuleta) kept coming in and I had a little trouble keeping him out because of the cut. I felt in control most of the night, but that changed everything.�

The 140-pound Reilly had Archuleta staggering from a combination to the head in the third. However, the cut, which was bandaged, reopened and began bleeding even more heavily.

There were few punches by either fighter the rest of the way. Reilly, his face and chest covered in blood, dodged Archuleta in the fourth round and had his stockier opponent chasing him around the ring. Reilly was merely nursing the cut until the final bell.

“The fans didn’t like it but I just tried to finish the fight,� Reilly said.

Reilly, who lost to Joshua Renteria in August, got his previous victories by knockout. Archuleta, who returned to boxing last year after a six-year layoff, has never been knocked out.

“My plan was to concentrate on his body,� Reilly said. “I didn’t getting excited about head punching because I knew he’s never been down. The few times I hurt him was with body punches.�