Day two results 2012 Boxers for Christ National Tournament
At the conclusion of his bout with David Vasconcellos at the 2012 Boxers for Christ National Tournament on December 15, Jermaine Powell was joined by his family.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Day two results from the 2012 Boxers for Christ National Tournament at the San Diego Combat Academy on Convoy Street in San Diego are as follows:
In Bout #1, it was Julius Ballo (top left, right side) getting the win over Xavion Douglas. In the top panel, right side, Ballo poses for a photo with his sister. Below he is joined by his father and grandfather. Photos: Jim Wyatt
In Bout #1, 9/10 year-0lds, 70 pound finals, Julius Ballo of the Undisputed Fitness and Training Center, El Cajon, got the upperhand by forcing his opponent, Xavion Douglas, of Rhino’s Boxing, Vista to be continually back-peddling. Despite the difference in their skill levels, Douglas showed amazing grit by hanging in there right up until the final bell.
(top panel) After getting the win over Luis Monarrez (l) in Bout #2, it was Ivan Guardado’s turn to pose for photos, first with his father, then with his coaches.
In Bout #2, 13/14 year-0lds, 95 pound finals, Ivan Guardado of the ABC Mongoose Gym, San Diego gained the victory by being amazingly accurate and at the same time more elusive. His opponent, Luis Monarrez of the Victory Boxing Gym was given a boxing lesson.
Monarrez’s talented team, led by Coaches John Determan and Servando Perales, had come all the way from Omaha, Nebraska for this tournament. The video below offers some insight into this special group of people.
In Bout #3, it was Steven Mendoza (R) getting the win over Abdullah Nematjanov.
Bout #3, featuring 15/16 year-0lds in the 119 pound Novice class, had big bangers Steven Mendoza of the Sons of God Boxing Club going up against Abdullah Nematjanov of Old School Boxing, San Diego.
With their fierce exchanges and neither boxer letting up, there was a distinct danger of the heads clashing. In the end, Mendoza proved to be the more accurate of the two and did finish strong in the third and closing round to gain the victory.
In Bout #4, it was Brandon Ariza (R) of Victory Boxing Club, Omaha, Nebraska getting the victory over Adrian Gutierrez of the Bound Boxing Club in Chula Vista, CA. Photos: J. Wyatt
Bout #4 was a semifinal match featuring two Elite 152 pounders, Adrian Gutierrez of the Bound Boxing Gym, Chula Vista, CA going up against Brandon Ariza of the Victory Boxing Gym, Omaha. With these two crafty boxers, it was a real game of cat and mouse and despite the local crowd pulling for Gutierrez, the judges felt the decision should go to Ariza. It appears more credit was given to Ariza for his punches to the head than to Gutierrez who landed far more shots to the midsection.
In Bout #5, it was Jehmon Norris (R) of City Boxing getting the RSC (Referee Stops Contest) win over Anthony Villanueva of Old School Boxing, San Diego. Photo: Jim Wyatt
Bout #5, a finals match for 132 pound, 15/16 year-olds, had Jehmon Norris of City Boxing, a veteran of 11 bouts, dominating Anthony Villanueva of Old School Boxing in only his second bout.
This one didn’t go very long. After two eight-counts and Villanueva received a nasty welt under his right eye, referee Will White called for a RSC (Referee Stops Contest) stoppage.
In the above photos, Jessica Juarez is on the left, Leslie Barreras on the right.
Bout #6 was an Off Tourney contest between two female 90 pounders, Leslie Barreras of Cital Boxing & Nutrition, San Diego going up against the more experienced Jessica Juarez of USIAA. Juarez took control early and landed punches at a 2-1 clip. The fact the scrappy Barreras had to fight the majority of the bout off her back foot, gave Juarez an advantage.
In the top photo we have David Paul (R) the winner in Bout #7 over Max Duran. In the photo below is Wilson Guzman (L) who got the win over Dextor Escobar in Bout #8.
Bout #7, another Off Tourney match, featured two 190 pounders with granite chins, Max Duran of World Crown Sports and David Paul of LA Sands. This was one of those scary bouts featuring wind-ups and thuds. There was so much activity that the captivated crowd went silent as they watched with mouths wide open. Along the way, Duran slowed just enough to give Paul the edge in the punch stats.
Bout #8 had Wilson Guzman of the Grace Boxing Club in Palmdale, CA going up against Dextor Escobar of Temecula Boxing in the Novice 132 pound semifinals. This was another bout with nonstop action. Early on Guzman was issued an eight count and a knockdown soon followed. Both boxers were winding up with big lefts and solid rights.
Even though Escobar’s punches appeared to be quicker and harder, it was Guzman who got the next knockdown. With all the brawling going on, plus their lack of defense, the crowd was really into this contest. In the end, it was Guzman getting the nod from the judges.
Mulapi Estani (L) gets the win over Miguel Sanchez in Bout 9.
Bout #9 had Miguel Sanchez of the United Boxing Gym going up against Mulapi Estani of the Tiger Smalls Boxing Team, San Diego, in the Novice 132 pound semifinals.
Early on, it appeared Sanchez’s stiff jab might be enough to keep Estani at bay but that turned out to be just wishful thinking. Nobody keeps the tireless Estani at bay for long. Like in all his previous bouts, Estani kept up the pressure and before long was inside Sanchez’s grill delivering more than enough blows to take over the point lead.
After defeating Jermaine Powell of the Febela Chavez Boxing Club in Bout #10, David Vasconcellos (L) of South Coast Boxing had his arm raised by referee Hondo Fontan.
Bout #10 had David Vasconcellos of South Coast Boxing going up against Jermaine Powell of the Febela Chavez Boxing Club in Long Beach in the Novice 141 pound semifinals.
In the early exchanges Powell was definitely getting the better of Vasconcellos. He’d use these quick two and three punch combinations, then quickly clinched or covered up. The Battle Royale continued on with the momentum switching ever so slightly. In the end the close decision went to the more consistent Vasconcellos who gained the favor of the judges by winging these big overhand rights.
In an amazing come from behind victory, Scott Torres of Temecula got the win over Ricky Hood (R) of the Tiger Smalls Boxing Team, San Diego. All photos: Jim Wyatt
Bout #11, a semifinal match in the Novice 141 pound category pitted Scott Torres of Temecula against Ricky Hood of the Tiger Small’s Boxing Team. The two had met before at the Encinitas Boxing show in February, a well-contested match won by Torres.
As is generally the case, the rematch eclipsed the previous bout as far as excitement. In Round #1, it appeared Torres, an implacable southpaw, had met his match. Hood, the taller righty, did a great job of mixing up his attack while avoiding the return fire. Before long, the normally durable Torres had a bloody nose and was walking into punches. An eight count was issued after he took six unanswered blows.
After securing both the first and second Rounds, it appeared Hood had an insurmountable lead. At this point, Torres came on like a Rocky Balboa or perhaps a Jake LaMotta in that movie Raging Bull. Ignoring the blood that was everywhere, the momentum suddenly switched. Hood was either tiring or attempting to put the match in cruise control. I like others didn’t think it was possible for Torres to overcome the early deficit, but then we didn’t have the punch clickers to assist us. Even though Hood had taken the early rounds, the judges awarded enough points in that final stanza for Torres to pull off the gutsy, never say die comeback.
Andrew Sanchez (L) the eventual winner of Bout #12 and Terence Edwards (R) have their arms raised by referee Hondo Fontan as the crowd applauds their efforts.
Bout #12, a semifinal match-up in the 152 pound Novice category had Terence Edwards of Old School Boxing, San Diego going up against Andrew Sanchez of the Duarte Boxing Club. With their lack of hand speed, both boxers were able to block each other’s punches. Since Sanchez landed the majority of the meaningful blows, he was awarded the victory.
(top photo) After defeating Miguel Vargas (R) of the Febela Chavez Boxing Club in Bout #13, Berlin Kerney IV had his arm raised by referee Will White. He later posed for a photo with chums from his gym, Gabriel Hernandez (C) plus Julius Ballo and his dad.
Bout #13, a semifinal match-up in the Novice 165 pound category, had the 29 year-old Berlin Kerney IV, the head boxing coach of the Undisputed Fitness and Training Center in El Cajon, going up against Miguel Vargas of Febela Chavez in the city of Long Beach, CA.
This was a mismatch from the start. Scoring the bout, Kerney took round one, 8 points to one. In Round #2 it was Kerney 8-4. Sprinkle in an 8-count, a knockdown and referee Will White was soon calling for a RSC (Referee stops contest) ruling.
Nixon Thermithus (L) of LA Sands, Los Angeles gets the win over Josh Ramirez (R) of the Santa Maria PAL Gym in Santa Maria, CA. All photos: Jim Wyatt
Bout #14 was a Finals match-up in the 201+ pound, Novice category between Josh Ramirez of Santa Maria PAL and Nixon Thermithus of LA Sands.
With their size and muscle, these guys remind you of Hercules. From the outset, Thermithus used brawler tactics, cut off the ring to roughhouse, used an elbow now and again and punched so hard the sound reminded me of a car crash. Whenever he got sloppy, the tough Ramirez responded in kind. In the end, Thermithus delivered more blows to get the win.
After defeating Jose Vigil, Genaro Gamez poses for photos with Vigil, his coach Tony Contreras (photo top left), his brother Rey Gamez and father Luis Gamez.
What a difference a year makes. Bout#15 was a semifinal match-up in the 132 pound, Elite category between up and comer Genaro Gamez of the United Boxing Gym and the veteran Jose Vigil of North County Boxing who was in the last year’s finals. Over the past few months Vigil has not been devoting the normal attention to his training. And as they say, if don’t give Boxing its proper respect, it can be like a marriage that soon falls apart.
That’s what happened on Saturday when the younger Gamez was masterful in his match against the older Vigil. In Round #1, Gamez outscored Vigil 10-3. Then, in Round #2, Genaro was penalized two points for a low blow. He responded by pummeling Vigil all the more. As a result the referee issued Vigil an 8-count.
Gamez repeated the low blow offense in Round #3 and was penalized another two points. Apparently, Gamez was so far ahead in the scoring that the penalties had literally no affect on the final tally.
The above photos show Adrian Vega (R) of Coachella getting ramped up about his big win over Alex Celaya (L) of USIAA, San Diego in Bout #16.
Bout#16 was an Off tourney 95 pound match-up between Adrian Vega of Coachella and Alex Celaya of USIAA. Since Vega was the busier of the two and far more accurate, he came away with the victory.
Up top, we have a photo of Elias Diaz (R), the eventual winner in Bout #17, along with his opponent Brian Salomon (L). Below is Keoki Anaya (R), the eventual winner of Bout #18. and his opponent Robert Herrera (L). All photos: Jim Wyatt
Bout #17 featured Elias Diaz of Bad Boxing of Chula Vista in a truly scrappy match against the veteran Brian Salomon who was representing Pound 4 Pound Boxing in the 141 pound Elite Semifinals.
Diaz looked his best when countering off a Salomon miss. In Round #3 this strategy paid big dividends and referee Rick Ley had to step in and issue Salomon an 8-count. At that time, he had landed three straight lefts followed by a powerful right. Oddly enough, the hardest shot of the match came at the final bell.
Bout #18 featured Keoki Anaya of World Crown Sports, Oxnard, CA going up against Robert Herrera of the Powerhouse Gym. The bout turned out to be the most monotonous, irksome bout of the entire day.
Why? Anaya must have been watching that Gamaliel Diaz versus Takahiro Ao WBC Super Featherweight world title fight from Tokyo, Japan. In that match, the veteran Diaz had this strategy of “I go, you don’t go.” The strategy involves getting in your licks and then holding your opponent so he can’t respond. It worked for Diaz and on Saturday it worked for Anaya as well as he came away with the victory over Herrera.
Anaya was holding so often, it became the norm. Referee Rick Ley picked up on the strategy and issued a warning, followed by a second warning. Eventually, he penalized Anaya two points. In Pro Boxing, that would be a sufficient deterrent but not in the Amateur ranks. Herrera was already well behind in points when that penalty was issued. It almost borders on the strategy that certain boxers have of throwing blows well below the belt. Their phony sorry and touching of the gloves does little to ease the pain.
Final bout of the day was an add-on featuring a gent by the name of Darius (L) and a gent by the name of Dato (R) from the Santa Monica area. Names have yet to be clarified
In the final match, another Off Tourney grouping, they had two gents that still need their names to be verified, a Stanley Darius (in the Blue Corner) and Jon Dato from the Santa Maria Boxing Gym in Santa Monica, CA. in the Red Corner. Dato’s strong finish gave him the victory.
Sunday’s finals results from the Boxers for Christ Tournament are dead ahead.
