Results from the Felix Castro Memorial Boxing Show at Alliance
“Bout of the Day” featured Jorge “Tito” Ruiz of the Alliance Training Center in Chula Vista being challenged by Genaro Gamez of Ocean’s Boxing of South San Diego. Photo: Jim Wyatt
Saturday, September 15, 2012, was an extremely busy day in the world of boxing, commencing with an outstanding USA Amateur Show at the Alliance Training Center in Chula Vista organized by their head boxing coach Sergio Melendrez, and then we had the Premium TV Networks, HBO and Showtime, battling it out to get every boxing fan to watch their spectacular shows.
As busy as they normally are, it must have been quite a chore for the esteemed trainer Melendrez, his son Adrian Melendrez and their staunch supporters, among them the Adams brothers, Carlos and Andres, Big Joe Delgadillo, Chris Martin and all the fine ladies who helped pull off this wonderful show.
Of course they had an ulterior motive, a profound one – October 8, 2012 marks the second anniversary of the passing of the extremely popular Felix Castro, an 18 year-old boxing champion and dear friend. Castro died unexpectedly of accidental causes back on October 8, 2010 and his gym has plans to make this boxing show, The Felix Castro Memorial Boxing Show, an annual event.
They even had Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis in house to sign autographs. In case you didn’t know it, Davis is a mixed martial artist who fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s light heavyweight division where he’s currently ranked #6.
Now on to the show’s results:
Bout #1, featured Ismael Beltran of the Victory Boxing Academy going up against Victor Barragan of Escondido. If these two gents were being paid for every punch thrown, they’d be rich. Throughout their contest, you had Beltran standing tall and Barragan staying small. Barragan hung in close while Beltran kept angling his punches from side to side and down at the ever attacking Barragan.
Late in Round #1, Barragan was issued an eight count after Beltran put together a solid combination. At one point their exchanges became so heated they continued well after the bell. After leaving it all in the ring, it was the more effective Beltran getting the decision.
In Bout #1, it was Ismael Beltran (L) of Victory Boxing Academy getting the decision over Victor Barragan (R), an Independent from Escondido, CA. Photo: Jim Wyatt
Bout #2 featured Anthony Munoz of the Undisputed Fitness and Training Center in North Park going up against Steven Cazares of the Legacy Training Center in Vista, CA.
The first round went to Munoz based on a 5-2 edge in power punches. Cazares relied far too much on his weaker jab. In Round #2, Munoz got careless and was caught by a few shots to the head, but overall his landing of these big overhand rights had to impress the judges. With the final round almost dead even, Munoz came away with the victory.
In Bout #2, it was Anthony Munoz (L) of Undisputed Fitness and Training Center in North Park getting the nod over Steven Cazares (R) of the Legacy Training Center, Vista, CA.
Bout #3 featured Joseph Torres of Victory MMA going up Raul Meza of the host gym, the Alliance Training Center. The opening round went to Torres who was the more accurate of the two. After Meza found his rhythm, he made a huge comeback in Round #2. This development made Round #3 oh, so important and by this time Torres had been reduced to just the weaker arm punches while Meza finished strong. This bout was won on the basis of conditioning.
After their fine performance in Bout #3, Joseph Torres (L) and Raul Meza (R), the eventual winner, had their arms raised by referee Will White. Photo: Jim Wyatt
Bout #4 featured 20 year-old Jorge Ruiz of Alliance going up against 17 year-old Genaro Gamez of Oceans Boxing in South San Diego. The same Jorge Ruiz who gave Prince Tiger Smalls his first loss and competed south of the border. The same Jorge Ruiz who had sparred with U. S. and Mexican Olympians and top professionals.
Up till this point, Gamez had been impressive but on this day he was stepping up in class. Plus, he was about to box in a much larger ring which would favor the taller opponent and make him even harder to corral.
But that’s why they play the game – you never know what’s going to happen until boxers face each other.
In Round #1, it appeared Ruiz would take control by utilizing that head-snapping jab and he soon had himself in a nice rhythm. But then Gamez started to cut off his escape and before the round ended, he had landed two dandy left hooks that got everyone’s attention.
From that point, Gamez got better and better at this chasing exercise and closed off the escape routes.
Then came another left, this one a straight left, followed by a right uppercut that resulted in the referee calling for a stoppage to issue an eight count.
With Gamez’s confidence growing, he started landing the even more aggressive combinations. Two additional eight counts were issued to Ruiz in Round #3 to insure victory.
At the conclusion of Bout #4 referee Will White raises the arms of both Jorge Ruiz (L) and Genaro Gamez (R). Photo: Jim Wyatt
Awaiting the results of Bout #4, Genaro Gamez (R), the eventual winner, poses for a photo while his opponent, Jorge Ruiz (L) stands nearby. Photo: Jim Wyatt
Bout #5 had Jesus Laguna of the National City CYAC going up against Gilbert Roybal of Oceans Boxing in South San Diego, CA, another big man versus little man battle.
This was one of the closest matches on record. With the punches coming nonstop, it was difficult to keep track of the scoring. In the end, the judges had Roybal well ahead.
In Bout #5, it was Gilbert Roybal (R) of Ocean’s Boxing getting the decision win over Jesus Laguna (L) of the National City CYAC. Photo: Jim Wyatt
Bout #6 featured Eduardo Gonzalez of Bound Boxing going up against Jose Ponce of Oceans Boxing.
Even though Gonzalez was constantly on the attack, it was Ponce landing the more accurate short right and left counters to take over the scoring in round #1.
By Round #2, it was Gonzalez starting to make some headway. He out-muscled the shorter man and started tagging him with some really hard shots to the head.
In Round #3, the boxers’ conditioning took center stage and it was clear Ponce had begun to tire. The two eight counts issued to Ponce virtually sealed the deal for Gonzalez.
In Bout #6, it was Eduardo Gonzalez (L) of Bound Boxing in Chula Vista, CA getting the win over Jose Ponce (R) of Oceans Boxing in South San Diego. Photo: Jim Wyatt
Bout #7 featured Elias Diaz of Diaz Boxing going up against Adrian Gutierrez of Gutierrez Boxing. Since both boxers have competed either nationally or internationally for years, and both come from boxing families of the highest pedigree, this was another of the highly anticipated matches.
According to my scoring, Gutierrez won the first round by the slimmest of margins. After that first round, it was all Diaz, who proved to be the more accurate and the busier of the two. With both throwing so many scoring blows, often to the midsection, it made the use of a clicker an absolute necessity.
In Bout #7, it was Elias Diaz (L) getting the victory over Adrian Gutierrez.
Bout #8 featured Jesus Gamez of Alliance going up against Carlos Mora of ABC Mongoose, San Diego, CA.
Gamez held the advantage in this one, benefitting big time from his use of leverage, height advantage and the fact he is a southpaw, a very accurate southpaw. Even though Mora got inside on occasion, he couldn’t maintain this posture long enough to tilt the scoring. After Mora was issued two eight counts in Round #2, the final verdict was never in doubt.
At the conclusion of Bout #8, Jesus Gamez (L), the eventual winner, and Carlos Mora (R), wait with referee Will White for the judges’ decision. Photo: Jim Wyatt
After her grueling battle with Australia Alatorre in Bout #9, Grecia Bautista poses for a photo with her coach/mentor.
At the conclusion of Bout #9, the winner, Australia Alatorre, poses for a photo with her coach Brian Llano.
Bout #9 featured the young ladies, Grecia Bautista of Pinzon Boxing going up against Australia Alatorre of Alliance. This was another nonstop battle where you kept thinking, ‘They’ll soon be on empty. How can they keep going at such a pace?’
In Round #1, the credit has to go to Alatorre. Her punches went straight to the target, while Bautista went askew because they were of the looping variety.
After receiving some in between round counseling, Bautista came back strong and started landing more punches inside.
That left the third round to decide the victor. In that third round Alatorre showed that she wanted it more and likely out scored her opponent at a three to one clip to gain the victory.
Bout #10 featured Carlos Sanchez of Alliance going up against Jabin Chollet of Barrio Station in San Diego, CA.
This was the one bout where as an observer you got to say, “Are you kidding me?” Chollet, the more accurate of the two boxers, used his leverage to score almost at will.
In Round #2, you could see the frustration on Sanchez’s face as his punches were clearly off the mark. You must remember the wide looping, slapping punches are not to be scored – only the punches where the white of the glove hits. In the final round, your’s truly kept track of the punches that landed cleanly and Chollet had a score of 4-0. Sanchez did not land a punch in that third round.
After the winner was announced, you could see the confused look on the faces. Several coaches just shook their heads.
In Bout #10, it was Carlos Sanchez (l) of Alliance getting the win over Jabin Chollet (r) of Barrio Station. Photo: Jim Wyatt
Since there were several negative comments regarding my commentary, I went to YouTube to retrieve the video of that controversial bout. I was hoping this would exonerate me but because of the quality of the video, you really can’t see the white of the gloves landing or not landing and that’s what the judges score. The video does show Sanchez’s punches missing and his coach beginning to exhort him in the final round to do more.
Bout #11 featured James Kiniston of the Gladiator Boxing Gym going up against Gilbert Ledesma (Unattached).
What can you say about two guys, who ignore their own safety and continually pound each other for a full nine minutes. The victor in this matchup turned out to be Kiniston who ended up landing more punches in bunches in this “Punch Stats gone Wild” contest.
In Bout #11, it was James Kiniston (L) of the Gladiator School of Boxing getting the win over Gilberto Ledesma (R) who is currently unattached. Photo: Jim Wyatt
Bout #12 featured Andres Adams of Alliance going up against Juan Negrette of the National City CYAC. Since both gentleman are in the super middleweight class and throw punches of the heaviest variety, referee Will White did not want this fracas to get out of hand. As if he had known ahead of time, as if the punch was predestined, White watched as Adams threw this low uppercut which caught Negrette below the belt. White immediately stopped the action to observe Negrette’s response, then discussed the infraction with the head of officials, Willie Kuhn, and then issued his disqualification to Adams. The no nonsense ruling was booed and Negrette himself argued for a continuation. In the end, the boxer’s safety is always going to be paramount.
In Bout #12, it was Juan Negrette (R) of the National City CYAC getting the win after Andres Adams (L) of Alliance Training Center was disqualified for throwing a low blow.
Bout #13 featured Cesar Lopez of Real Deal Boxing going up against Daniel Morales of Bound Boxing.
In Round #1, Lopez got off to a quick start and dominated the fisticuffs. The Morales’ corner kept yelling at their charge, “You’re waiting too long!!”
In Round #2, after getting tagged early, Morales came alive and did a lot better. With the momentum swings fairing Lopez in Round #3, it became clear Lopez would win the trophy.
In Bout #13, it was Cesar Lopez of Real Deal getting the win over Daniel Morales of Bound Boxing. All photos: Jim Wyatt
At the conclusion of the show, Sergio Melendrez (L) invited the Castro family to come up and enter the ring where their son was a true champion. Photo: Jim Wyatt
Members of the Bound Boxing Team of Chula Vista came up to the ring for a photo. Their team and gym is brand spanking new on the San Diego County boxing scene.
The very next USA Amateur Boxing show will be hosted by Golden Hands Boxing. Since they don’t have a regular venue for this size of a show, the good people of The House of Boxing at 2304 Reo Drive, San Diego, CA, 92139 have stepped up to the plate and offered their gym for the Golden Hands event.
Your contact person is Donaciano Lopez (619) 223-5581
