Four boxing shows of great interest on the same night – what do we do?

Brandon Adams (r) gets to meet one of his heroes, former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks at the July 25, 2013 Bobby D Presents Boxing Show. Photo: Jim Wyatt

If you’re not up on the latest boxing news or haven’t seen the posters at your local gym, then here’s the scoop. Locally, you have your choice of three boxing shows to attend this weekend. The problem, they are all being contested on the same night – Friday, February 28, 2014. 

You also have a local middleweight, Brandon Adams (12-0, 7 KOs) in that 2014 Boxcino Middleweight Tournament which is being aired on ESPN. That show will be aired live from Harrah’s Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana on ESPN2/ESPN Deportes. Adams is scheduled to face Daniel Edouard (23-4-2, 12 KOs) who is from West Palm Beach, Florida by way of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 

As far as the local shows, you have Bobby De Philippis leading off with his first show of 2014 at the Crowne Plaza Hanalei Hotel in Mission Valley. Here’s something you rarely see on a fight card. At the time of this writing, all but one of the boxers on this Bobby D Presents fight card are undefeated. In other words, it’s a crazy good show, especially with the introduction of 20 year-old Kenia Enriquez (9-0 with 5 KOs) going up against 30 year-old Noemi “La Rebelde” Bosques (4-0-2) the pride of Saint Petersburg, Florida.

Four of the combatants scheduled to fight on Friday night at the Crowne Plaza Hanalei Hotel in San Diego’s Mission Valley are (top, l to r) Kenia Enriquez and Noemi Bosques, (bottom, l to r) Yunier Dorticos and Joet Gonzalez.

And, remember this, Enriquez is just the first of three darlings from Tijuana who are currently being groomed for great things. Since she is considered to be the most advanced and already has a world ranking, she will be the first to be introduced to San Diego boxing fans.

The other two stars on the horizon are Brenda “La Bonita” Flores (7-1-0, 3 KOs) and 20 year-old southpaw Sandra “Black Pearl” Robles (6-1-0, 3 KOs). Their beauty and skill level will fascinate you.

Friday night’s Main Event in Mission Valley will have Yordenis Ugas (top) going up against the undefeated Emmanuel Robles (bottom).

Getting back to the headliners on Friday’s show, you have Emmanuel Robles (9-0-1, 3 KOs), the former USA Amateur Pal Champion and now undefeated southpaw out of Old School Boxing Gym in San Diego’s College Area, going up against his toughest opponent to date, 27 year-old Yordenis Ugas of Miami, Florida by way of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba (15-1-0).

Ugas is best known for winning the lightweight gold medal at the 2005 World Amateur Boxing Championships at age 19, then a gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Games, plus a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After you examine their backgrounds, I believe you’ll have to agree this bout is a toss-up.

Next, they have 27 year-old Yunier Dorticos of Miami, Florida by way of Havana, Cuba (15-0, 15 KOs) going up against fellow cruiserweight Hamilton Ventura of Guarulhos, Sao Paolo, Brazil (13-0, 11 KOs). With the KO numbers being as they are and the fact these gents will be weighing between 195 and 200 pounds, this one should be brutal. Hopefully, the ring ropes will be strong enough to hold them back from landing outside the ring.

Dorticos is the real thing. Of his 15 victories, only six of his opponents had a record under .500 – plus he’s had 257 Amateur bouts. That’s what you call a lot of practice, a lot of making ready. His opponent, Ventura, has also stayed busy but he can’t possibly have the same experience as Dorticos. Plus, Ventura hasn’t fought anyone of note, while Dorticos has.

The other San Diego representatives include light heavyweight Ulises Sierra (4-0-1, 3 KOs) from the Undisputed Gym Downtown and Prince “Tiger” Smalls from the San Diego Combat Academy in Mission Valley. 

Also on the card they have 20 year-old Super Bantamweight Joet Gonzalez (5-0-0, 1 KO) out of Los Angeles who’s more of a boxer than a slugger. Being under the no nonsense tutelage of Frank Espinoza, opponents have to be wary they’re not going to be fooled by his look of innocence. Believe me, his opponent will not be facing an altar boy.

North of us, in Ontario, CA at the Doubletree Hotel, Ken Thompson is having his first show of 2014 and it features the newly signed Erick Ituarte (6-0-1, 1 KO) plus 5’ 7” Carlos “Memin” Carlson both of Tijuana (13-0-0, 10 KOs). Both have trained in San Diego gyms. Carlson is one of these boxers who likes to keep busy. This time around, he’ll be in the Main Event, going up against 30 year-old, 5’3″ Javier Gallo (21-8-1, 12 KOs) who is also Tijuana born but now lives in Buena Park, CA.

October 18, 2013, still without a blemish on his record, Carlos Carlson (l) has his arm raised after defeating Guadalupe Barrera to win his 12th straight victory.

Over the years Gallo has faced some stiff competition, the likes of Arturo Badillo, Vic Darchinyan, Rodel Mayol, Felipe Orucuta, Drian Francisco and Khabir Suleymanov.

Filling out their fight card, they have Jose Roman (15-1-1, 11 KOs) from Garden Grove, CA, southpaw Isaac Zarate (6-1-0) from San Pedro, CA,  a 6’5” heavyweight by the name of Justin Davenport (1-0-1) from Chino Hills, CA facing Edward Ramirez (1-0-0, 1 KO) from Yuma, Arizona, plus lightweight Cesar Villarraga (1-0-0, 1 KO) has come all the way from Columbia.

The third show on Friday, “The Moment of Truth” is being promoted by Zanfer Promotions in association with Mayen Promotions, and it is at the Forum Tecate on the grounds of the Caliente Casino in Tijuana.

In the Main Event, they have light welterweights Juan “El Niño Ruiz of Tijuana by way of Venezuela (12-0-0, 7 KOs) going up against Julio Cesar Avalos of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico (13-2-0, 7 KOs).

That being said, the most highly anticipated matchup on this fight card involves Erick “Facebook” Martinez (9-0-1, 5 KOs) and Jose Galvez (7-0-1, 6 KOs), two very popular, unbeaten, super crowd pleasing, super featherweights.

Friday, in Tijuana, you have the extremely popular super featherweight duo of Erick Martinez (l) and Jose Galvez (r) battling it out in hopes of remaining undefeated.

They’ve also added Daniel Nava (7-1-1, 3 KOs), Jaime Mungia (5-0), and Jesus Delgado (3-0-0, 1 KO) to the fight card.

In conclusion, you got to figure the show at the Crowne Plaza Hanalei in San Diego’s Mission Valley is the most enticing. It’s not only has the most competitive matches, it’s the closest to home.