In the most hotly contested bout of the evening, it was the 6’2″ tall JorgeAlberto “El Chihuas” Brito of Tijuana, doing battle with the even taller 6’4″ tall Juan De Jesus Angulo Gonzalez of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico.
Bout #1 featured another giant among men, the 6’1 1/2 inch tall, 28-year-old ex-Marine Darnell Price (3-0) (right) from San Diego (Global ID 898670) taking on Brandon Acuna from Sonora, Mexico (Global ID 868304).
With Price’s height and reach advantage, you have to hand it to Brandon Acuna (0-2) for taking on such a formidable task of challenging Price, who not only benefits from his Marine Training, multiple tours of duty in combat areas, plus he spent time on the All Armed Forces Boxing Team.
Clinching was one of the desperation techniques employed by Acuna to slow down Price’s formidable attack.And so it began, Brandon Acuna’s frequent visits to the canvas.Maybe you’re right, this does seem like a hopeless cause.“Once a Marine always a Marine” as we see Darnell Price pointing to his Marine insignia.Here we have veteran referee Angel Mendez raising the arm of the victorious Darnell Price. At the conclusion of the bout, the proud coaching staff of head trainer Vince Parra and co-trainer Eddie Locco from the Pacific Training Center wanted a photo with their protege.In Bout #2, it was Benjamin “Big Ben” Alvarez (right) from San Diego, Calif. by way of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, by way of San Antonio, Chile making his Pro debut at 190 lbs. against fellow cruiserweight Jorge Luna (left) Global ID 885858 (0-1) from Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico who also weighed in at 190 lbs. Unlike Alvarez, it appeared Jorge Luna would have preferred to go at it at a slower pace but Alvarez would have none of that and went hard and fast at his opponent. Before long there was Luna taking a knee in round one and getting clobbered by a nasty left hook in round two. After a left hook to the body, we again saw Jorge Luna dropping to the canvas.After the stoppage which came at the 2:06 mark of round 2, we see a jubilant Ben Alvarez, now (1-0, with 1 KO) as a Professional Boxer, having his arm raised in victory.It couldn’t possibly be the happiest moment in his life, but it appears it ranks up there. Bout #3 was a Flyweight contest between two 18-year-old, 112 pounders., 5’8″ tall Salvador Cervantes (Global ID 369354, record 1-0) (right) from the Black House Boxing Gym of East Los Angeles, facing the 5’5″ tall Rigo “Riguito” CruzCebreros (left) (Global ID 861918, record 2-2 from Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico. Whereas Cervantes did mention that he had had 35 Amateur bouts, Mr. Cruz never mentioned his extensive acting classes. Here we see Rigo Cruz rolling around on the canvas after being clobbered by the fast hands of Salvador Cervantes.Referee Angel Mendez (center) awaits the announcement of Salvador Cervantes’ victory.The very happy and proud Team Cervantes gathers around their star boxer, Salvador Cervantes (2-0), to celebrate his second victory.Bout #4: To honor basketball great Kobey Bryant, the 5’10” tall, 135 lb., 23-year-old James “Fresh Prince” Earle Global ID 899435 (3-0) of San Diego by way of West Chester, Penna., wore this impressive attire for his bout versus the 26-year-old Jesus Isidro “Apples” Gomez Global ID 894028 (0-3) from Sonora, Mexico, a victim of three straight stoppages. Earle shows his quickness as he immediately goes on the attack against Jesus Isidro Gomez. Jesus Isidro “Apples” Gomez went down early (just 41 seconds into round #1) after the fireballer James “Fresh Prince” Earle landed his barrage of lethal punches.Help fill in the verbiage regarding our oh so serious discussion in regards to world affairs. How about using this: “Wow! That was certainly quick. I had this idea I wanted to run by you. Do you do side work? I have this annoying son-in-law who’s been playing around on my daughter.
Nothing too dramatic… just a warning. A shot to the midsection, later on perhaps a black eye or two.
“I’m not saying yes or no, but that would straighten him out. Is that the air conditioning tech in Tijuana? Sounds like this problem runs hot and cold.”
Jesus Isidro Gomez still appears to be bothered by that blow to his chest. James Earle is joined by his proud trainers Vince Parra (left) and Eddie Locco (right).Bout #5 featured the highly thought of18-year-old bantamweight,5’6″ tall, Jorge Alberto Villegas (right) (7-0, 7 KOs) from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, Global ID 859718, who now has manager extraordinaire Frank Espinoza guiding his career. Villegas’ opponent, the 32-year-old Arcadio Salazar (11-24-3), Global ID 422010 from Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico was said to be a step up in competition. How so? Salazar had those 24 losses and hadn’t won a fight in almost seven years. Plus, he’s even shorter than Juan Carlos Morales Lee, the shortest referee in the sport. With further checking of records, we discovered the combined record of Villegas’ first seven opponents was 3 wins, 41 losses and 3 ties. Now, despite the difference in their ages, size, Salazar was considered an upgrade. It all sounded so intriguing.
“Wow! That didn’t take long!” That’s likely what people were saying when they saw Salazar drop to the canvas early in round one after getting clubbed by a counter left hook.
Then, in Round four, our hero was again on his back after getting clobbered on the top of his right shoulder. Yowza! This time, it appeared Salazar had himself a major injury to the shoulder, perhaps a broken collar bone. Such an injury involves severe pain and almost immediate swelling at the site of the fracture. The only good news? In most cases involving a broken collarbone, there are no limitations once that fracture heals.Since no one could fully grasp the pain Salazar was experiencing, you had to admire the compassion of the fans who were watching as he twisted about in pain. Soon one Doctor plus two trained medics were on the scene assisting the injured Salazar.And just as you might witness in a New York Theatrical production, there was Salazar backup on his feet for the curtain call. Hats off to the 32-year-old, 14 year veteran Arcadio Salazar, who patiently waited around so as not to spoil or diminish his young rival’s accomplishment. Bout #6 had local favorite, 26-year-old welterweight, 5’10” tall Elias “Ingles” Diaz (right) of San Diego (6-0 with 4 KOs, Global ID 775459) taking on the 17-year-old Edwin “La Sombra” Salcido (left) from Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mex. (3-1, 2 KOs, Global ID 871947).
Here we see the 17-year-old going down for a second time. This is a prime example of why the Boxing Commissions in the U.S. will not allow a boxer under the age of 18 to compete in the Professional ranks. Why? The great majority of teens of Salcido’s age have not fully developed.
Plan and simple, this match was ill-conceived and by the timekeeper’s clock only lasted until the 1:42 mark of round #2 when Salcido basically threw in the towel when he failed to get back up on his feet after a knockdown.
The bout officially goes down as a TKO victory by way of referee stoppage. Before leaving the ring, Elias Diaz took time for a photo with three of his supporters, Juan RamirezCutman4Hire, his manager Jorge Marron and his father/trainer Greg Diaz.Bout #7 had 24-year-old Jorge Alberto “El Chihuas” Brito (right), Global ID 730255, Record (13-1, 8 KOs) of Tijuana facing (for the very first time) a taller opponent in 6’3″ tall, 31-year-old Juan de Jesus Angulo “El Aguado” Gonzalez (left) Global ID 395065, (20-12, 13 KOs).After Gonzalez went down the first time, we got to see his one of a kind mouthpiece, the color of which is banned in the U. S. because you can not be certain if the boxer is bleeding.
After putting up a creditable challenge, Gonzalez was finally counted out at the 1:35 mark of Round 4. What made Gonzalez such a challenge for Brito? According to ex-boxer Chris Martin, who was one of the color commentators for the live streaming of this show on Best In Boxing, it was the way Gonzalez kept frustrating Brito with his clinching tactics and the way he threw his wide ranging (devastating at times) punches as if he were a pitcher in major league baseball. Truth be told, Brito was clobbered more than once by these punches that for Brito appeared to come out of nowhere.
At this point, the in-vogue, stylishly dressed ring announcer Pablo Flores along with the lovely show hostess/ring card gal came front and center to announce the stoppage which came at the 1:35 mark of Round #4
Shortly after Gonzalez was counted out, we see the joyous Jorge Brito having his arm raised on high by referee Juan Morales Lee. It was finally time to celebrate.
The Main Event of the Evening Torres vs. Franco
Next up, Bout #8, the Main Event of the evening, featured the 23-year-old, 5’7″ tall, Global ID 775110 Kevin “Diamond Boy” Torres (15-1-1, 13 KOs) from Bellingham, Washington, facing late replacement 23-year-old, 5’10 1/2″ tall, Global ID 805941 Alejandro Almada “Peso” Franco (3-10, 2 KOs) from Tijuana who hadn’t fought since 12-21-18. Watching this bout reminded me of those greenskeepers on a golf course with their heavy duty Briggs & Stratton riding mowers going back and forth across the lush green landscape uninterrupted. After just one round and an additional one minute and 45 seconds into round #2, we saw Alejandro Almada Franco suddenly turn his back on his opponent and walk over to his corner. After feeling the awesome power of Torres’ blows, especially to his midsection,Franco needed time to ponder his fate. What was he mulling over in his mind as he rested his head on the top ring rope? Most likely: ‘This guy is way out of my league. Even if I had a lifetime to prepare, I couldn’t possibly be ready to trade blows with this power puncher.’ After getting no response from Mr. Franco, referee Juan Morales Lee had no other choice but to stop the bout and declare Torres the winner. After the ref pleaded with Franco (left) to join him in the center of the ring for the announcement of Kevin Torres’ victory, he did so like a true gentleman.
With his current notoriety, it has become more and more difficult for Kevin Torres’ management team to find someone, anyone, to face him in the ring. With the win Torres now improves his record to 16-1-1, with 14 KOs. The official time of the stoppage came at 1:55 of round #2.
Bout #9, a featherweight clash, had 20 year-old, 5’6″ tall, southpaw Japhethlee Llamido Global ID 861680, who weighed in at 126 lbs. (right) from Norwalk, Calif., with a record of 2-0 after recently defeating a gent by the name of Miguel Villalobos back on February 7, 2020 at this same venue, the Big Punch Arena in Tijuana, on a War Boxing Promotions show run by Ernesto Neri. Llamido’s opponent on this night (February 28, 2020) was the 31-year-old Jonathan Eduardo Gonzalez Hernandez (left) who had a record 0-2 and initially weighed in at 127.8 lbs. Hernandez’s Global ID is 701797. Originally from Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico, Gonzalez mentioned at the weigh-ins that he now lives in Tijuana.
To say Japhethlee Llamido is special might be a bit premature but he certainly has a ton of positive credentials from his days in the Amateur ranks and looked quite impressive against Gonzalez while doing a fair amount of showboating, reminding us of the great Roy Jones Jr. You can be sure, there was no lack of action in this bout with the knockout of Jonathan Eduardo Gonzalez Hernandez coming at the 2:59 mark of Round 4.Being that this was the very first time anyone had ever taken a photo of the future World Champion and his entourage (Yuk, yuk!) our photo shoot went on for quite a while.
In the final bout of the evening, Bout #10, they had the 5’6″ tall, 21-year-old Adrian Alvarado (1-0) Global ID#863490 (right) from Norwalk, Calif. facing the 5’5″ tall Guadalupe Quijada Garcia (0-4) Global ID 775746 from Sonora, Mexico. Just three weeks prior to this bout, Alvarado had made his Pro debut on February 7, 2020 at the very same venue, the Big Punch Arena, against a gentleman by the name of Claudio Duarte Global ID# 916354 on a fight card promoted by War Boxing Promotions under the management of Ernesto Neri.
At this late hour, one can only imagine what one or both of these boxers were thinking: “Alright already, let’s get this show on the road.”And so the concerns for the boxers’ safety became apparent after referee Angel Mendez discussed Guadalupe Garcia’s first of many slips/falls to the canvas.
From the looks of this photo, it appears Guadalupe Garcia had every intention of fighting his opponent, Adrian Alvarado, on one knee. Thank goodness referee Angel Mendez was quick to respond.
The fall after AngelAlvarado delivered the first of many punches to send Garcia to the canvas was ruled a knockdown.This action photo, which we had hoped would be in focus but wasn’t, is further proof of Adrian Alvarado’s amazing hand speed. After landing his right uppercut to Garcia’s chin, we saw Alvarado immediately pull back on that right hand in a defensive posture. After that uppercut, Guadalupe Garcia became dazed and went straight to the canvas.
Guadalupe Garcia tried his best but couldn’t regain his full faculties in time to prevent the early stoppage by referee Angel Mendez.
After Guadalupe Garcia regained consciousness and returned to his feet, ring announcer Pablo Flores proceeded with the acknowledgement of Adrian Alvarado’s KO victory.
It seems like only yesterday when the younger version of Adrian Alvarado, was showing off his boxing skills in the USA Amateur Boxing LBC 33 shows.
