House of Boxing features District Silver Gloves and a whole lot more

LBC44 California Border President Hondo Fontane (r) joins the youngsters who were selected to represent the San Diego/Imperial County District in this year’s Silver Gloves Regional Tournament.

On Saturday, November 5, 2016, the House of Boxing gym in Paradise Hills hosted not only their latest Rumble on Reo boxing show, but two matches that had direct bearing on which young boxers will be representing LBC44 Cal Border in the upcoming Silver Gloves Regional Tournament competition to be held in El Monte, Calif.

Poised for the ring announcer’s call are the combatants in Bout #1, Brennan Macias (r) and the eventual winner, Diego DeMara (l).

In Bout #1, it was 16-year-old Diego De Mara (119 lbs.) from the Baja Boxing Club being awarded the oh-so-close victory over 16-year-old Brennan Macias (119 lbs.) from the Fighters First “F1” Boxing Academy, Goodyear, Arizona. It appeared to this reporter that Macias landed the straighter, harder punches in both rounds one and two. Then, in the closing round, round three, De Mara came on strong and without a doubt dominated. 

Silver Gloves District Finals

Isaiah Torres (l) unloads one of his overhand rights to Jan Carlos Mesa’s chin.

(bottom photo) Referee Andrew Moreno (c) raises the arm of the victorious Isaiah Torres (r) while the incredulous Jan Carlos Mesa looks on.

Bout #2 featured Jan Carlos Mesa (80 pounds) of the Bound Boxing Academy, Chula Vista, Calif. battling Isaiah Torres (80 pounds)) of the Westmorland Boxing Gym in Westmorland, Calif. in the Silver Gloves 80 lbs. Finals. With Mesa receiving multiple 8-counts, and Torres never letting up, the decision was clear, it would be Torres heading to the regionals. 

Not part of the Silver Gloves District Level Tournament

In Bout #3, it was Nico Marchan (blue gloves) earning the victory over the tough Jaime Suazo (red gloves) from North County Boxing.

Bout #3 featured 24-year-old Jaime Suazo (125 lbs.) from North County Boxing going up against 23-year-old Nico Marchan (123 lbs) from the host gym, the House of Boxing. With Suazo getting off to a faster start, he took round one. Then, as he slowed in round two, Marchan pulled even. With the third and final round being so close, the three judges decided to go with the slightly busier Marchan.

Silver Gloves District Finals 

Early on, it was Victor Ricardo Aguirre (red) from the Baja Boxing Club of El Centro going all out with a vengeance to defeat Julian “Mexican” Rojas.

Then came this blur as Julian “Mexican” Rojas (blue) turned the tables.

Here we see Victor Ricardo Aguirre (l) being issued a standing 8-count from referee Andrew Moreno. All photos: Jim Wyatt

(bottom, right) Referee Andrew Moreno is shown raising the arm of the victorious Julian Rojas from the Bound Boxing Academy.

Bout #4, another of the matches in the Silver Gloves competition (14-15-year-old category, 95 pounds), had Victor Ricardo Aguirre (from the Baja Boxing Club of El Centro, Calif. going up against Julian “Mexican” Rojas from the Bound Boxing Academy of Chula Vista, Calif. In the first round, Aguirre was this unstoppable dynamo and without a doubt, he landed the harder and cleaner blows. Then, just before the round ended, with his hands too low, Rojas caught him with several hard shots to the head which the referee deemed worthy of the issuance of a standing 8-count. From that point on, Aguirre began to tire, his pummeling of Rojas slowed and Rojas became the man in charge.

Not part of the Silver Gloves District Level Tournament

It appeared that every punch that either Aldrin Cuero (red) or Alex Mendoza (blue) threw, the intent of that punch was to turn somebody’s lights out.

(bottom) In the end, it was Alex Mendoza (blue trunks) getting the nod from the judges in his ever so close bout versus the tough Aldrin Cuero (l).

Bout #5 was much the same as Bout #4 with 14-year-old Aldrin Cuero (119 lbs.) of the National City CYAC starting fast and landing the jab, jab, overhand rights on 14-year-old Alex Mendoza (121 lbs.) from the House of Boxing. Cuero’s early dominance ended in Round #2 as Mendoza came on and landed the harder, straighter punches, especially to the midsection. That left Round #3 to decide the match and that’s when Mendoza proved he wanted it more.

Bout #6: In this photo, we see both boxers, Isaiah Bernal (red headgear) and Sebastian Mitry (blue headgear) landing their punches at the very same time.

In the end, it was the calm and cool Sebastian Mitry (r) winning over the three judges. Like Mitry, Isaiah Bernal (l) knows it was a close decision and he’ll be back…stronger and sharper for their rematch.

Working hard for their money. Master of Ceremonies, DJ, Matchmaker, these are just a few of the hats Carlos Barragan (r) wore when hosting Saturday’s event. The gym’s owner, David Barragan, was right by his side. Another of the show’s sponsors was Juan Ramirez of Cutman4Hire. He was there to give away a basket full of goodies.

Bout #6 was between 10-year-old Isaiah Bernal (74 lbs.) of Romo’s Boxing and 9-year-old Sebastian Mitry of Fighters First “F1” Boxing Academy (70 lbs.). This bout was so close, it must have been near impossible to select a winner. In the end, the judges decided to go with Mitry who likely landed more of the straighter punches, especially to the head.

Cynthia Garcia (red gloves) from the Sparta Boxing Club, El Centro, CA is shown taking the fight to the taller, more elusive Danna Vega (blue gloves).

Before Cynthia Garcia (left) knew it, Danna Vega had slowed her down from that all or nothing, no defense approach. Photos: Jim Wyatt

“Keep up the pressure!” While resting between rounds, Danna Vega received some expert advice from Pro-boxer Prince Tiger Smalls.

At the conclusion of their bout, Danna Vega (bottom, right) has her arm raised in victory by referee Hondo Fontane.

Bout #7 featured the young ladies, 13 year-olds, Cynthia Garcia (123 lbs.) from the Sparta Boxing Club, Calexico, Calif. going up against Danna Vega (130 lbs) from Tiger Smalls Boxing, Mission Gorge, San Diego, Calif. With Garcia constantly pressing forward to land her in your face, arm punches, Vega soon became able to take advantage of this predictability. She’d step back at different angles and occasionally land the hard right to Garcia’s face. With neither boxer backing down and Garcia becoming the victim of a standing 8-count, Vega was able to win over the judges.

(bottom) Billie Rodel (l) of the House of Boxing has his arm raised in victory by referee Hondo Fontane after defeating Ricardo Mercado of KO World.

In Bout #8 it was 21-year-old Billie Rodel of the House of Boxing (149 lbs.) going after 23-year-old lefty Ricardo Mercado of KO World, San Diego (145 lbs.) as if he had a plane to catch. With his swarming tactics, Mercado’s glove soon touched the canvas which resulted in an 8-count. Not long after, referee Hondo Fontane felt obliged to stop the bout.

In Bout #9, it was Felipe Ruvalcaba of the Garden Grove Boxing gym with an impressive showing versus the tough Mike Sanchez of the Colton Boxing Club.

Bout #9 featured 19-year-old Mike Sanchez (145 lbs.) from the Colton Boxing Club taking on 21-year-old Felipe Ruvalcaba (145 lbs.) who is trained by Coach Henry Villegas at the Garden Grove Boxing gym. As he did versus David Gates of the Alliance Training Center three weeks ago in Brawley, Ruvalcaba has become a force and should do great things at the upcoming USA Amateur Boxing National tournament in Colorado. Ruvalcaba keeps moving forward and rarely if ever misses his target.

Throughout Bout #10, we saw Miguel Sanchez (blue gloves) and Gustavo Diaz (red gloves) throwing some bombs at each other.

(bottom) In the end, it was Gustavo Diaz (left) having his arm raised in victory by referee Rick Ley after he defeated the game Miguel Sanchez.

One of the show’s sponsors was Saul Rios (left), the CEO of the Borizteca Boxing Management Group which stages regular monthly pro shows just across the border at the Salon Mezzanine in Tijuana, B. C., Mexico.

In Bout #10, it was 24-year-old lefty Miguel Angel Sanchez (145 lbs.) of Gamez Boxing, Chula Vista, Calif. going up against 24-year-old Gustavo “Tnt” Diaz (135 lbs.) from the One Training Center, Spring Valley, Calif. Diaz took round one by virtue of two major flurries. Sanchez came back in round two, using these two punch combinations. Round three featured some more exciting momentum swings. In the end, the judges awarded Sanchez the victory. 

Bout #11 featured Tayden Beltran (red trunks) of Garden Grove Boxing and Brandon Cruz (blue) of The Pride of San Diego, who with every punch were trying to put their opponent’s lights out. Photos: Jim Wyatt

(bottom, left) At the conclusion of Bout #11, it was referee Hondo Fontane raising the arm of the victorious Tayden Beltran of Garden Grove Boxing.

Bout #11 had 17-year-old Tayden Beltran (125 lbs.) of Garden Grove Boxing going up against 17-year-old Brandon Cruz (125 lbs.) from the Pride of San Diego, Bonita, Calif. In round one, Beltran countered beautifully with big blows to either the body or head. Round two was more of the same – showcasing a constant variety of big bombs. By the end of the second round, the show’s announcer, Carlos Barragan Jr., a trainer of champions, was gleefully mentioning how great the fight was – “Wow! What a crowd pleaser, great job!” From the reactions coming from Beltran’s corner, the decision was never in doubt. Early on it was reported that Beltran had had just eight bouts. We stand corrected. This was Beltran’s 29th bout. 

At the conclusion of Bout #12, it was Josh Rivera of the Tiger Smalls Boxing Club having his arm raised in victory after he defeated Ivan Beltran.

Bout #12 featured 22-year-old Ivan Beltran (155 lbs.) from Gamez Boxing going up against 21-year-old Josh Rivera (155 lbs.) from Tiger Smalls Boxing. This bout was not as popular as the preceding match because it involved a lot of in-fighting by Rivera which frustrated Beltran who was hoping to benefit from his reach advantage. In the end, the judges sided with Rivera who spent the majority of the fight working over Beltran’s midsection.

At the conclusion of Bout #13 we see referee Rick Ley raising the arm of the victorious Eric Villanueva (l) who defeated Willibaldo Rodriguez (r).

Bout #13 featured 18-year-old southpaw Eric Villanueva (145 lbs.) from Old School Boxing, San Diego going up against the 26-year-old Willibaldo Rodriguez (145 lbs.) from KO World, San Diego. As far as offense goes, both had their moments and took turns landing the big punches. Where Villanueva won the judges over was with his defense. 

At the conclusion of Bout #14, we see referee Hondo Fontane raising the arm of the victorious Samuel Telfer after his defeat of the game Cesar Loeza.

Surprising turn of events: Once rivals in the ring, Samuel Telfer (l) and Ali Ahmed are now hanging out together. (see photo below) Back on Saturday, September 3, 2016, they weren’t exactly bosom buddies.

Bout #14 featured 23-year-old Samuel Telfer (177 lbs.) from the Undisputed Gym, Downtown San Diego, going up against Cesar Loeza from the Alliance Training Center, Chula Vista. Even though Telfer is a real workhorse, trains hard and throws punches from every angle, his problem is defense. With Telfer failing to keep his hands up, Loeza had success hitting his target. Despite his success, Telfer was still able to outpoint his opponent.

It’s called giving back to your community. Genaro “El Conde” Gamez along with his family and friends demonstrated their commitment to the local USA Amateur Boxing program by attending and thereby supporting Saturday’s show. Genaro Gamez’s professional career has gotten off to an auspicious start. He is now 3-0 with 3 knockouts after turning Pro on April 15, 2016.