Results from USA Amateur Show at Pacific Coast Boxing
One of the two boxers selected for "Boxer of the Show" Jaciel Ordaz (left) receives his trophy from event organizer Bill Dean. Photo: Jim Wyatt
Another outstanding USA Amateur Boxing Show is in the books. This one was hosted by Pacific Coast Boxing in Vista, CA, Saturday, June 4, 2011. As always, there was a nice crowd on hand and there were many entertaining bouts.
After Bout #1 ended, referee Will White raised the arms of both Mohammad Fakhreddine (l) and Gabriel Chavarria (r) to acknowledge their outstanding efforts. Photo: Jim Wyatt
Bout #1 featured Mohammad Fakhreddine of Old School Boxing, San Diego going up against Gabriel Chavarria of the Marron Boxing Camp in Lakeside. Since Chavarria only started training three months ago, the more experienced Fakhreddine took him to school and repeatedly landed impressive combinations to gain the victory.
Ref Will White raises the arm of Jaciel Ordaz (l) after he defeated Juan Trejo (r) in Bout #2. Photo: J. Wyatt
Bout #2 featured 12 year-old Jaciel Ordaz of Temecula Boxing going up against 12 year-old Juan Trejo of Coachella Boxing. Ordaz dominated this matchup by being so accurate with his punches and showing much consistency when it comes to throwing the head snapping jabs. How often do we hear the coaching staffs yell to their boxers to throw that jab? Ordaz used his jab so effectively, it was as if Trejo was running into a battering ram. To his credit, Trejo never gave up and at times landed some pretty hefty blows to Ordaz’s head.
Referee Will White raises the arm of Rodolfo Ortigoza (r) after he defeated Steven Quionnez (l).
Bout #3 featured 11 year-old Steve Quionnez of Coachella going up against 12 year-old Rodolfo Ortigoza of Penacho. At the outset, both boxers came out firing and both got tagged by some really hard shots to the head. By the second round, the exchanges began to favor the more accurate Ortigoza. By the third round Ortigoza had settled in and began slipping punches and countering beautifully.
Referee Rick Ley raises the arm of Hussein Fakhreddine (l) after it was announced he had defeated Douglas Higgbothan (r) in Bout #4.
Bout #4 featured super-welterweights, 15 year-old Hussein Fakhreddine of Old School Boxing going up against 16 year-old Douglas Higgbothan of Temecula Boxing. In Round one, Higgbothan was doing just fine as long as he used his jab to keep Fakhreddine at bay. As soon as he let up on that jab and stopped moving clockwise, he was in trouble. Fakhreddine moved in and began shooting the short rights and lefts to Higgbothan’s head. Both were landing some powerful shots, Higgbothan from the outside and Fakhreddine on the inside. In Round two, with Higgbothan pinned against the ropes, Fakhreddine caught him with several shots flush on the chin and as a result Higgbothan was issued an eight count. In this round, Fakhreddine showed much better defensive skills, improved on his head movement and began to counter well. In round three, with both boxers out to impress the judges, it was back to the chaos we saw in Round one. Clearly, Higgbothan was back to being the aggressor, but an aggressor that was getting countered.
Bout #5: Andres Adams (r) and Hassan Fakhreddine (l) pose for a photo while awaiting the judges' scores. Photo: Jim Wyatt
Bout #5 featured cruiserweights 16 year-old Andres Adams of the Alliance Training Center in Chula Vista making his debut against 17 year-old Hassan Fakhreddine of Old School Boxing. In no time, the more experienced Fakhreddine had Adams in trouble and the referee had to step in and issue an eight count. It appeared Adams had no idea how to stop Fakhreddine’s looping left hook. Noticing how Adam’s was dropping his hands, Fakhreddine’s corner kept urging their boxer to keep it up, “Double up on the left!” After getting hit with some hard uppercuts, Adams was issued his second eight count. Still, he knew no fear and stood there in front of Fakhreddine taking all this punishment and trying in vain to gain an advantage in their fierce exchanges. Adams’ persistence finally paid off as Fakhreddine began to slow down in the final round. At that point Adams took full advantage of the situation and most likely won the final round. But as they say, it was too little, too late.
Referee Rick Ley raises the arms of both Mohammad Fakhreddine (l) and Giosseppe Mejia (r) after their all out battle in Bout #6. Photo: Jim Wyatt
Bout #6 featured the final Fakhreddine, the oldest, 26-year-old Mohammad Fakhreddine of Old School Boxing (192.4 lbs.) going up against 23-year-old Giosseppe Mejia of Escondido (182.8 lbs.), the same two boxers who fought just a week ago at the San Diego Combat Academy. And the results were almost the same. They began by clobbering each other with Fakhreddine landing the majority of the blows. One eight count was followed by another until Mejia ended up with three eight counts being issued. Every time Mejia landed a punch or a combination back came Fakhreddine to do his payback only in much bigger numbers, for double and sometimes triple payback. Referee Rick Ley finally decided he had seen enough and called for an early stoppage.
After their all out battle referee Will White raises the arms of Luis Mayorga (l), the eventual winner, and Barajas Baltroz (r). Photo: Jim Wyatt
Bout #7 featured 19 year-old Luis Mayorga of Old School Boxing going up against 21 year-old Barajas Baltroz of Escondido. With Baltroz being taller, Mayorga decided to fight small, get himself inside and not only work over the body but use an ocasional uppercut. Mayorga’s strategy paid off and eventually the referee had to issue Baltroz a standing eight count. Both boxers went full bore until the final minute of the third round when the clinching started. The judges ended up awarding an unanimous decision to Mayorga.
Referee Rick Ley raises the arms of both Jose Vigil (r) and Mario Cuin (l) after their very entertaining bout. Photo: Jim Wyatt
The eighth and final bout, the main event, was between 21 year-old Jose Vigil of North County Boxing and 17 year-old Mario Cuin of Temecula, two exceptional boxers. Being that Vigil has been at it longer and has more bouts than Cuin, you got to say Cuin did quite well. After an even exchange in the first round, Vigil took his game up a notch and took over from there. Plain and simple the better boxer was able to stave off the advances of the tough brawler. Vigil’s entertaining performance against Cuin in the final bout of the day made it possible for him to earn “Boxer of the Day” an award he shared with Jaciel Ordaz (up top).
Bill Dean, event organizer, presents Jose Vigil the Boxer of the Show trophy. Photo: J. Wyatt
