Results from USA Amateur Boxing Show at The Rock Church

Photo taken at the conclusion of Saturday’s USA Amateur Boxing show at The Rock Church in Point Loma, San Diego, Calif. March 9, 2013.  Photo: J. Wyatt

March 9, 2013
Everyone and their brother wanted to be involved in this one. The second local USA Amateur Boxing show of the year was staged Saturday afternoon at The Rock Church in the Point Loma neighborhood of San Diego. The Rock Church is a Protestant, evangelical mega-church founded by ex-Charger defensive back, now pastor, Miles McPherson. The newly refurbished 210,000-square foot facility has a state-of-the-art sanctuary seating 3,500, a huge 1,600 square-foot, high definition picture screen to enhance your experience, plus a congregation which has to be one of the largest locally if not the largest in the state.

Without further ado, here are the results from Saturday’s USA Amateur boxing show:

In Bout #1, it was Anthony Latham (right) defeating Juanito Garcia.

Bout #1 featured 14 year-old, Anthony Latham of the Fontana Boxing Club and 15 year-old Juanito Garcia of the Heber Boxing Club (both weighed in at 102 pounds) going at it from the opening bell. Latham landed the heavier blows in Round #1 and followed up with an even better performance in Round #2. Garcia finished strong but had no way of catching up in the scoring.

    In Bout #2 it was Danny Ruiz (r) getting the win over Jesse Quesadas. All         photos: Jim Wyatt

In Bout #2, the 15 year-old Jesse Quesadas of Victory MMA (118 pounds) took on the more experienced Danny Ruiz of the Escondido Fighting Club (122 pounds) who was 16 years-old. In Round #1, Ruiz landed more of the telling blows, especially in close. His sharpshooting continued through Round #2 and after several blows and Quesadas’ head snapping back, referee Hondo Fontane called a halt to the action to issue Quesadas an 8-count. A second 8-count soon followed. Soon after, Fontane stopped the bout, awarding Ruiz his TKO victory which in USA Amateur terminology is a RSB (referee stops the bout).

    In Bout #3, it was Danny Ramirez (left) getting the win over Jovanni                 Gonzalez.

Bout #3 was a hotly contested match between 14 year-old Danny Ramirez of Victory MMA (114 pounds) and 13 year-old Jovanni Gonzalez of the Escondido Fighting Club (113 pounds). For the first half of this contest, it was Gonzalez, the shorter of the two, doing most of the throwing and chasing, while Ramirez appeared content to back-peddle and fight off his back foot. Of the two, Ramirez was more accurate and occasionally landed a big shot to the head. In the second half of the match, Gonzalez continued to be the aggressor, but by this time he was walking into punches and Ramirez started to score better with his awesome counters.

    In Bout #4, it was Jose Ponce (R) getting the best of Frank Sanchez.

In Bout #4, it was 25 year-old Frank Sanchez of Victory MMA, Point Loma, a confirmed brawler, taking on 20 year-old Jose Ponce of the United Boxing & Fitness Club of Chula Vista, the boxer. Both weighed in at the same, 155 pounds.

Sanchez’s basic game plan involved pummeling Ponce nonstop in the midsection for the full nine minutes. This was a strategy not-unlike putting every dollar you have on either black or red when playing Roulette. It’s often pooh-poohed by coaches because the boxer eventually throws so many punches that he ends up punching himself out. Being in outstanding shape, Sanchez went longer than most, but as expected in the third round he eventually tired. This gave Ponce his opportunity to impress the judges. The other consideration with that back and forth windmill like pounding, the certainty of the white of your gloves hitting an opponent is called into question. If a judge can’t see that portion of the glove making contact, then they will ignore the blow or in this case blows.

If this were a pro-bout, more than likely we would have seen the referee raising Sanchez’s arm, instead, it was Ponce who ended up getting the decision.

    In Bout #5, it was Valerie Ontiveros (l) earning the decision win over                 Mercedes Van Buren (r).

In Bout #5, they had 18 year-old Valerie Ontiveros of Main Street Boxing in South San Diego (145 pounds) taking on 23 year-old Mercedes Van Buren of the House of Boxing in the Paradise Hills neighborhood of San Diego (140 pounds). At first it appeared Van Buren, a member of the Team Unified Boxing Team that competes in the yearly Battle of the Badges Charity Show, might control this match with her circular movement and height advantage. After a short while Ontiveros would have none of it and began pressed forward to eventually land the stiff jabs which opened Van Buren up for Ontiveros’ combinations.

In the second round, after three straight 8-counts were issued to Van Buren, referee Will White finally decided to call a halt to the match.

    In Bout #6, it was Nick Carrico (r) getting the win over T J Setzer (l).

In Bout #6, the 25 year-old T J Setzer of Victory MMA (160 pounds) got issued a boxing lesson from 19 year-old Nick Carrico of Old School Boxing, San Diego (155 pounds). Setzer was no match for the more seasoned Carrico who slipped most every punch and landed his punches almost at will.

    In Bout #7, it was Robert Lopez (l) getting the TKO victory over Thair               Ramirez.

In Bout #7, they had 19 year-old Robert Lopez of Golden Hands Boxing, South San Diego (118 pounds) taking on 18 year-old Thair Ramirez of the Gladiator School of Boxing, Spring Valley, Calif. (115 pounds). For someone who had only been training for eight months, Ramirez came out fast and furious. Plus, his punches came from every angle. Early on we saw the more experienced Lopez covering up the best he could. He must have felt as if he was in there with some sort of alien with eight limbs. No work in the gym could have prepared him for such an onslaught.

After Ramirez’ Tsunami of unorthodox but effective blows finally let up, Lopez began to return fire. Once Lopez had his opponent backing up, he landed this straight left hand on Ramirez’s face which landed square on the nose and sent Ramirez falling back against the ropes. Even though Ramirez was jolted by this perfect punch, his confusion appeared to clear up almost instantaneously.

At that point, referee Rick Ley stepped in and issued Ramirez a standing 8-count. While doing so, Ley had his eyes focused 100% on Ramirez’s eyes. After completing his 8-count, Ley decided it was best to stop the bout.

The stoppage angered several patrons, thought to be family members. After airing their thoughts, they stormed out of the building.

Early Monday morning Thair Ramirez texted me and here is what he had to add: “My head did snap back slightly but I quickly recovered. I guess the referee (Rick Ley) felt it was enough to give me an 8 count. I didn’t feel like disputing it, so I just kept my composure and put my hands up when he got to 8. To be honest I was shocked and in complete disbelief when it happened (the referee’s stoppage) and so was everybody else. But I truly have no hard feelings. I take it as a learning experience.”

    In Bout #8, it was Ricardo Soto (R) getting the win over Francisco Garcia         (l).

In Bout #8, it was 26 year-old Francisco Garcia of United Boxing & Fitness Gym (220 pounds) taking on 30 year-old Ricardo Soto of Victory MMA (230 pounds). In Round #1, it was an energetic Garcia landing the cleaner shots, mostly off counters. In Round #2, it was as if the boxers had traded places, it was now Soto landing the cleaner blows. By Round #3, it was established Soto was in better condition and in turn landed the majority of blows from there on out.

In Bout #9, it was Omar Nelson Salazar (L) getting the win over Eric Puente (R).

In Bout #9, it was 14 year-old Omar Nelson Salazar of Fontana (106 pounds) taking on 13 year-old Eric Puente of the Legacy Training Center, Vista, CA, (110 pounds).

This was perhaps the most competitive bout of the day, as it featured two boxers who truly know their craft. At the end of the second round, the two warriors touched gloves out of mutual respect.

With the bout being so hotly contested, only the totals on the judges’ clickers could decide the contest in Nelson’s favor.

In Bout #10, it was Steven Mendoza (R) getting the decision win over Abdullah Nematjanov.

Bout #10 featured 17 year-olds Abdullah Nematjanov of Old School Boxing (122 pounds) taking on Steven Mendoza of Fontana (the same 122 pounds).

After an even first round, the match became rather one-sided. Mendoza became more aggressive in Round #2 and kept getting off first. Mendoza’s stock went way up after he caught Nematjanov with three solid left hands in Round #3.

During intermission, celebrity guests were introduced which included several former and present day San Diego Chargers players.

Also in attendance was former two-time World Heavyweight Champion Chris Byrd (L) shown here with ex-Charger defensive back, now Rock Church pastor, Miles McPherson (R).

At the conclusion of Bout #11, the judges made an error and declared John Vasquez (L) the winner. Showing good sportsmanship, Tyler Herberger made no fuss and went right along with the mishap until it was discovered he had won. All photos: Jim Wyatt

In Bout #11, it was 15 year-old Jon Vasquez of the Heber Boxing Club (118 pounds) taking on 16 year-old Tyler Herberger of Old School Boxing (116 pounds).

At this point in the show, the majority of the patrons were getting listless and doing more watching than untempered cheering. This could be the reason the judges, crowd and possibly the boxers, became enamored by the coaching or should I say heckling by a damsel sitting front row, center.

With the comatose crowd and bout up for grabs, she screamed, “Don’t let him do that!” followed by “Tyler, get in there!” Two seconds later she changed her mind, “Tyler, get out of there!” The respectful crowd couldn’t help but laugh.

Then came the wake-up call for all concerned parties. After being warned for holding, referee Dana Kaplan stopped the action and issued Herberger a two point penalty for holding. From that point, Herberger was a dynamo throwing all sorts of leather. Did he make up for the two point penalty? Most assuredly.

Brilliant strategy by Ronald Locsin’s corner pays off as Locsin defeats Miguel Sanchez.

In Bout #12, it was 25 year-old Ronald Locsin of City Boxing (125 pounds) taking on 21 year-old Miguel Sanchez of United Boxing and Fitness (130 pounds).

In this one, coaches Manny Melchor and Vernon Lee devised a brilliant plan for Locsin. What they had him do was circle around the bigger, stronger, power puncher and then suddenly spring forward and back to deliver the quick combinations. To his credit, Locsin performed admirably and got the best of most exchanges to get the win

Jessica Ramirez (L) gets the victory over Tish Smith in Bout #13.

In Bout #13, it was 22 year-olds Jessica Ramirez, another member of Team Unified and training at House of Boxing plus Tish Smith from Victory MMA. Both weighed the very same 140 pounds.

Within a short time, the young ladies had the crowd back to a fever pitch. Smith stood tall and used her jab to keep Ramirez at a distance. Meanwhile, Ramirez charged forward to work over Smith’s midsection. While the first two rounds went to Ramirez, Smith finished strong.

Brian Nevarez (L) gets the win over Christian Olivia in Bout #14.

In Bout #14, it was 25 year-old Brian Nevarez of Rhino’s Boxing, Vista (159 pounds) taking on 21 year-old Christian Olivia of Tijuana, B. C., Mexico who trains at Main Street Boxing (155 pounds).

Whereas Nevarez got out of the shoots early, Olivia was much more tentative. For the remainder of the bout, it was Olivia going for the KO punch and the more active Nevarez racking up the points.

In Bout #15, it was Gabriel Hernandez (top photo) getting the win over Hussein Fakhereddine (bottom).

Bout #15 featured two 17 year-olds, southpaw Hussein Fakhreddine of Old School Boxing and righty Gabriel Hernandez of the El Cajon Undisputed Gym both super welterweight bangers.

While circling away from Hernandez’s right, Fakhreddine’s left kept reaching pay dirt to snag Round #1. In Round #2 and #3, it was a whole different story as Hernandez became sharper and kept racking up the points. At one point, Fakhreddine’s corner began to plead, “Get the points!!” In the end, the close decision victory went to Hernandez.

In Bout #16, it was Alexander Robinson (L), the giant killer, from the Gladiator School of Boxing getting the victory over the much taller, Nico Cortez who stands 6’3″ tall.

In Bout #16, it was 21 year-old Alexander Robinson of the Gladiator School of Boxing taking on 20 year-old Nico Cortez of Rhino’s Boxing. Both weighed in at 145 pounds.

This was another great example of how the little guy, Robinson, can defeat a much taller opponent, Cortez. It was amazing to watch the fit Robinson slip and duck under punches, get inside and then pound away at Cortez’s midsection.

Not to give Cortez an excuse, but he was out of action for an entire year after having major knee surgery. He will be back and barring another injury, he’ll be better than ever.

In Bout #17, it was George Gonzalez (R) getting the win over Daniel Morales.

In the final bout of the show, Bout #17, it was George Gonzales, a featherweight, from Capital Punishment in Riverside, CA taking on 17 year-old Daniel Morales of Bound Boxing, Chula Vista (123 pounds).

Simply put, Gonzales was the busier boxer and definitely the more accurate puncher.

During intermission,

When asked about the possibilities of having another boxing show at the same venue, the show’s promoter, Rudy Silva, said they were looking to do another show in six months. During Saturday’s show, they mentioned that 100% of the profits would be going to a Wound Soldiers’ Foundation.