At the start of Friday’s show at the Bound Boxing Academy in Chula Vista, the packed house stood for the traditional playing of our National Anthem.*

On Friday evening, August 26, 2016, the Bound Boxing Academy of Chula Vista, Calif. delivered another classic show in front of another packed house. With an assist from 14 gyms, 26 boxers, 11 USA Amateur Boxing officials, the host gym had themselves another tight, highly competitive show.

At the conclusion of Bout #1, Cesar Loeza (l) of the Alliance Training Center and Edgardo Garcia (r) of Intensity MMA await the judges’ decision.

Edgardo Garcia (right) is joined by his proud parents.

One of Cesar Loeza’s biggest fans, Daddy’s little girl, was right there to offer her papa a beverage after his grueling battle in the ring.

Cesar Loeza: “Couldn’t have gotten here without an assist from my coaches.”

In Bout #1, it was Cesar Loeza (21-years-old, 168 lbs.) from the Alliance Training Center, Chula Vista, Calif. doing battle with Edgardo Garcia (24-years-old, 172 lbs.) from the Intensity MMA Gym of South San Diego. With Garcia being a first-timer, Loeza wasted little time and took control from the outset by throwing and landing the straighter punches. His consistency made the judges’ job easy.

At the end of Bout #2, referee Hondo Fontane raises the arm of the victorious Eric Villanueva of Old School Boxing after he earned the decision victory over Jonathan Rodriguez (l) of the San Diego Athletic Academy.

In Bout #2, it was Eric Villanueva (150 lbs.) from Old School Boxing, San Diego, earning a unanimous decision victory over fellow 17-year-old Jonathan Rodriguez (153 lbs.) from the San Diego Athletic Academy.

At the conclusion of Bout #3, we see referee Will White raising the arm of the victorious Isaiah Bernal of Romo’s Boxing, Calexico, Calif.

After both boxers, Carlo Meza (l) and Isaiah Bernal (r) had been seen by the official fight doctor, they graciously posed for one last photo.

Bout #3 featured 10-year-old Isaiah Bernal (78 lbs.) from Romo’s Boxing in Calexico, Calif. going head to head with the always tough Jan Carlo Meza from the host gym, the Bound Boxing Academy. Both boxers went nonstop to amaze the crowd. In the end, the judges decided to go with Bernal in a match that could have been decided either way.

In Bout #4, it was Juan Padilla of the Legacy Training Center, Vista with the quicker, more accurate punching to out-duel Jose Chollet of Mando’s Boxing.

In Bout #4 it was 14-year-old Juan Padilla (120 lbs.) of the Legacy Training Center, Vista, Calif. coming away with the victory over Jose Chollet (120 lbs., 15-years-old). Padilla, who varied his offense, won over the judges by being the busier and more accurate of the two.

At the conclusion of Bout #5, we see referee Hondo Fontane raising the arms of the two combatants Anthony Franco (r) of The Arena in Point Loma and Joshua Rivera (l) of Tiger Smalls Boxing in Mission Valley.

“All in a night’s work,” so says the victorious Anthony Franco who poses for a photo with his family before packing up to go home.

Bout #5 featured 21-year-old Anthony Franco (156 lbs.) from The Arena, Point Loma, San Diego, taking on 22-year-old Josh Rivera (159 lbs.) from the Tiger Smalls Boxing Gym, Mission Valley. In this one, Franco proved to be more elusive and made certain to land the more telling blows in each and every exchange.

At the conclusion of Bout #6, Jason Meza of The Arena in Point Loma (r) had his arm raised in victory by referee Hondo Fontane after he defeated the game Jason Rivera who now trains at Tiger Smalls Boxing in Mission Valley.

In Bout #6, 16-year-old Jason Meza (131 lbs.) from The Arena Gym, Point Loma made an impressive showing against 17-year-old Jason Rivera (133 lbs.) from the Tiger Smalls Boxing Club. Mason’s elusiveness involved a lot of head bobbing from side to side or dropping down to avoid Rivera’s arsenal. While dodging all these bad intentions, especially those aimed at his head, Meza would somehow pop back up to land his own left-right combinations. Rivera must have felt as if he were fighting Mason in a house of mirrors.

At the conclusion of Bout #7, referee Will White raises the arm of the victorious Adrian Mendez (l) of the ABC Mongoose Boxing Gym, San Diego after he defeated Antonio Padilla (r) of the Legacy Training Center.

Bout #7 featured 10-year-old Antonio Padilla (83 lbs.) from the Legacy Training Center, Vista going up against Adrian Mendez (86 lbs.) from the ABC Youth Foundation Mongoose Boxing Gym, San Diego. This one was one of those bouts almost too difficult to decide a winner. Both young boxers went full bore delivering as many punches as humanly possible and in the end, the judges deemed Mendez had the higher punch count.

During intermission, Hondo Fontane, the President of our local USA Amateur Boxing LBC 44 Cal Border introduced the crowd to some of the local boxers who represented LBC44 at this year’s Junior Olympics in Dallas. (l to r) Julius Ballo, Nico Sanchez, (President Fontane), Andrea Medina, Jessica Juarez, Eric Puente. Both Eric Puente and Nico Sanchez defeated all comers to earn the Gold Medal in their individual weight class. 

At the conclusion of Bout #8, referee Hondo Fontane raises the arm of the victorious Tommy Watson (r) of The Arena, Point Loma after he defeated Hector Gomez (l) of The Pride of San Diego Gym, Bonita, Calif.

After seeing the fight doctor, the two combatants, Hector Gomez (l) and Tommy Watson (r) graciously agreed to pose for one last photo.

Bout #8 featured 25-year-old Tommy Watson (168 lbs.) from The Arena, Point Loma going up against 24-year-old Hector Gomez (172 lbs.) from The Pride of San Diego, Bonita. With their size and power, each punch landed with a thud. Without headgear, you know this match would not have lasted long. After the well contested, even first round, Watson began to take the upper hand with his harder, cleaner blows and his ability to either slip or block a punch with his gloves.

At the conclusion of Bout #9, referee Will White raises the arm of Aron Avila (l) who was awarded the decision victory over Mario Salas (r).

Bout #9 featured 15-year-old Mario Salas (120 lbs.) from The Arena, Point Loma, taking on 16-year-old Aron Avila (120 lbs.) from Intensity MMA, South San Diego. Avila was masterful as he used both his footwork and reach advantage to control the bout. With Salas kept at a distance, his scoring was severely restricted.

At the conclusion of Bout #10, we see referee Will White raising the arms of the combatants Ulises Bastidas (r) of The Arena, Point Loma and Mario Ramos of the host gym, the Bound Boxing Academy. Photos: Jim Wyatt

Here is “the punch” of the show being thrown by Mario Ramos (l) of the Bound Boxing Academy – a big overhand left from the southpaw that was delivered to the right side of Ulises Bastidas’ forehead with such force it had to affect not only the scoring but the eventual outcome of the match. At the time, it appeared all eyes were focused on that punch in that red corner.

At the conclusion of Bout #10, Mario Ramos has his arm raised in victory.

In Bout #10 you had 17-year-old Ulises Bastidas (137 lbs.) from The Arena, Point Loma, taking on the 16-year-old, lefty Mario Ramos (136 lbs.) from the Bound Boxing Academy, Chula Vista in a close one. With both boxers being well schooled, you knew either was going to have to flash something new and brilliant to overwhelm the other. That out of the ordinary came midway through the second round when Ramos came over the top with this big overhand left to the top of Bastidas’ forehead. It wasn’t one of those Dan Henderson “I’ll stop-you-in-your-tracks punches”, but it did appear to affect Bastidas plus impress both the fans and the judges.

At the conclusion of Bout #11 we see referee Will White raising the arm of the victorious Leonardo Rosiles of the Bound Boxing Academy after he was awarded the victory over Christian Martinez (l) of the Pacific Training Center.

In Bout #11, it was 17-year-old Leonardo Rosiles (132 lbs.) from the Bound Boxing Academy going up against 16-year-old Christian Martinez (134 lbs.) from the Pacific Training Center of La Jolla, Calif. who was making his Amateur debut. With Rosiles having more experience it didn’t take long before he had himself in a nice rhythm to earn the victory.

At the conclusion of Bout #12 we see referee Hondo Fontane raising the arm of the victorious David Gates (r) after it was announced that he had defeated Luis Tapia (l) of Mariscal Boxing, Tijuana.

Bout #12 featured 20-year-old David Gates (157 lbs.) from the Alliance Training Center, Chula Vista, taking on 19-year-old Luis Tapia (157 lbs.) from the Mariscal Boxing Club, Tijuana, B. C., Mexico. Gates may have weighed the same as Tapia, but the four-inch height advantage surely made the matchup look lopsided. As you might imagine, Gates went head-hunting while Tapia went hard to the body. As it turns out Gates’ midsection proved to be a lot tougher than Tapia’s less vulnerable face and head.

At the conclusion of Bout #13, referee Hondo Fontane raises the arm of the victorious Brandon Sanchez of the Mariscal Boxing Club of Tijuana after he defeated the always tough Brandon Cruz of The Pride of San Diego Gym.

In Bout #13 it was 17-year-old Brandon Cruz (124 lbs.) taking on 17-year-old Brandon Sanchez (122 lbs.) from the Mariscal Boxing Club of Tijuana, Mexico. This one was a pugilistic classic because you had two pure boxers fighting it out as if it were a chess match. In this toe to toe, cat and mouse slugfest, Sanchez proved to be superior.   

Next up: this coming Saturday, September 3, 2016

One Training Center, Spring Valley 

Address: 2705 Via Orange Way, Spring Valley, Calif. 91978

One Training Center is celebrating their ONE year anniversary with a sanctioned amateur boxing event! Tickets are only $15 at the door. Telephone: (619) 303-9595

Email: onetrainingcenter.email@gmail.com

*Trivia time: The Star-Spangled Banner takes its melody from ‘The Anacreontic Song’, a British drinking song, and its lyrics from the first stanza of the poem ‘Defense of Fort McHenry’ (Stars and Stripes Forever) written by Francis Scott Key. It is renowned as a difficult anthem to sing, requiring a vocal range of one-and-a-half octaves. Before the adoption of The Star-Spangled Banner as our national anthem in 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American officialdom, including Hail, Columbia and My Country, ‘Tis of Thee. Test yourself on the lyrics that have tripped up a great many people to include actress Roseanne Barr and Cristina Aquielera.

Words to The Star Spangled Banner:

O! say can you see,
By the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed,
At the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched,
Were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare,
The bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night,
That our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free,
And the home of the brave?