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Arizona Boxing News & Notes With Don Smith: Breaking News, Phoenix Sports Academy, 911 Call & More By Don Smith PhilBoxing.com Fri, 17 Jun 2016 Breaking News: The trial of Arizona boxing mentor Damien Stone ended on June 14, 2016 with a change of plea agreement; sentencing is scheduled for August 3, 8:30 am before presiding Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Hegyi. Arizona Boxing News & Notes called the office of Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery to request details of the agreement; but the paperwork is still being processed. Stone was arrested in 2014 on charges of soliciting sexual favors from an undercover female police officer and resisting arrest. Further updates will be reported in future editions. Boxing Fans, Legendary Boxing Coach Wily Borchert has joined forces with former boxing pupils Ray Martinez Jr. and Anibal Deciga to create Phoenix Sports Academy, a boxing and fitness facility designed to provide an amateur boxing program for boys and girls between the ages of 8-20. Borchert, who resides in Tennessee, will serve as a mentor and advisor to the operation will Ray and Anibal run the day to day operations. Borchert, known for his ability to teach defense and demand 100 % effort from his fighters, is credited with developing 5 world champions: Louie Espinoza, Diego Corrales, Paul Banke, Earl Butler Sr. and Johnny Vasquez. In addition, he worked with the late great Johnny Tapia and Arizona super middleweight Jesus ?El Martillo? Gonzales. Anibal and Ray plan to adopt Coach Borchert?s ?tough love? teaching approach in an effort to prepare their students for life?s daily challenges. The Academy is open Monday through Friday between the hours of 5 pm-8 pm and on Saturdays the facility is open 10 am until noon. The hours of operation will probably expand when the Academy is approved for their 501 C-3 non-profit accreditation application. In addition to boxing, PSA offers break dancing and the Academy welcomes parents to visit the facility and become a part of the center. Ray & Anibal hold full-time jobs to support their dream of ?building mental and physical confidence in the youth of Phoenix through positive reinforcement of education, family values and community pride.? Boxing is a vital tool toward achieving their stated goal and Wily, Ray and Anibal know the power the sport has in molding young people from past experience. Ray started boxing at age 7 in Wily?s Gym with Anibal and Geronimo Deciga. When Geronimo was killed in a drive by shooting; the loss of his best friend put a hole in his heart and he admits the tragedy changed him forever. After a stellar amateur career, Ray turned professional and compiled a respectable 10-4 record before retiring at age 24 in 2004. He readily confesses to having a love-hate relationship with boxing and his love for the sport has led him to form a partnership with Wily and Anibal to create Phoenix Sports Academy, located at 4010 N.W. Grand Avenue in Phoenix. For more information, call 602-651-4581. 911 Call: A 12 year old girl identified as Maleah Ellis and a 31 year old year old woman, identified as Angela Linner were shot and killed on Sunday, June 12 in West Phoenix. Maleah?s mother (Stefanie Ellis) was also shot and taken immediately to a nearby hospital where she remains in critical condition. A local boxer, who requested his name be withheld, was awakened by the sound of gunshots at 3 AM on the morning of the incident and immediately dialed 911 for assistance. Initially the professional fighter gave ABNN his name and then called back citing potential danger to his family as his rationale for keeping his name out of our story. I called the Phoenix Police Department to verify the details of the incident and Sergeant Jonathan Howard (Public Affairs Bureau) emailed our column with the following statement: ?Phoenix Police Officers responded to a shooting call at a residence in the area of 6300 West Berkeley Road in Phoenix. Two of the victims were deceased. The third was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. Witnesses reported seeing a male leaving the area in a light colored car immediately after the shots were fired. Investigators are working to determine the motive for the crime. Anyone with information regarding this crime is urged to contact Phoenix Police Department (602-262-6151) or Silent Witness (480- 948-6377).? We encourage anyone with information that could lead to solving of this crime to contact proper authorities and if anyone knows the assailant, please don?t approach him and attempt to capture the suspect; your reward might be death and a bold headline. Boxing News: Highly touted Arizona amateur Eben Vargas (140 lbs.) will be making his professional debut on the Iron Boy 34 Card at the Celebrity Theatre on July 16 in Phoenix Vargas earned his spurs at Gene Lewis Boxing Club. Eben has been hired to spar 3 days a week with WBC super lightweight champion Viktor Postol in preparation for the champ?s bout with WBO super lightweight champion Terence Crawford at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Eben is a good kid and sparring with Postol is quite a break for the young man and we wish him the best. Other names linked to the card include Erik Lopez, lightweight Ivan Madrid (1-0), and lightweight Courtney (1-2) vs. Sean O?Malley (debut), super featherweight Emmanuel Nieves (4-0), flyweight Luis Espinoza(3-0), and featherweight Carlos Castro (15-0)-confirmed 8 rounds, Ryan Riddell (118 lbs.),super bantamweight Daron Williams (3-0), super bantamweight Edgar Ortiz (0-1) and Erik Lopez. The main event will feature Irish Canadian Janks Trotter (9-3-1-9 knockouts) vs. Top Rank?s super welterweight prospect Daniel Valdivia (11-0-9 knockouts) in an 8 round contest that could be a dandy. Valdivia?s skills are hard to gauge based on the lackluster performance from his last victim, Manuel Munguia; Trotter always comes to fight?. Super bantamweight Paul ?Ziggy? Romero (7-0-1) is on the DL until September?.Arizona amateur Elijah Garcia is one of the state?s many entrants into the Junior Olympic Nationals held on June 25th in Dallas?..Harvey Prezant (Broadway Boxing) is recovering from a left knee injury (ligament) and we wish him a a quick return to good health?..Janks Trotter fights at Deer Foot Inn & Casino on 25th of this month before he travels to the USA to fight in Phoenix on July 16 at the Celebrity Theatre?..Ukrainian super featherweight Vasyl Lomachenko (6-1) is our choice for the best pound for pound fighter in the world. He has indicated that he is willing to fight Orlando Salido again in the near future. If it wasn?t for bad luck, Salido wouldn?t have any luck at all? In my opinion, judges have robbed him on several occasions. ...Arizona middleweight Andrew Hernandez (12-4-1) doesn?t have a fight date yet; but he remains optimistic that he can secure a world title shot before the end of summer; ?The Fighting Pride of Phoenix? dreams big and in spectacular Technicolor. More Stuff: light heavyweight David Benavidez (14-0-13 knockouts) fights Francy Ntetu (16-0-3 knockouts) at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn on June 25 on the Shawn Porter/ Keith Thurman Card televised by CBS Sports n conjunction with Showtime? Ntetu is 34 years old with very little power.. ..Iron Boy publicist Emily Pandelakis celebrated a birthday recently and we wish her many more?..Arizona State Boxing & MMA Commission needs to update their website information. Next monthly commission meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 23 at 10 am. Meetings are open to the public and for directions and more info, dial 602-364-1721?.. Madison Boxing Club hosts an amateur smoker on Saturday 6/18 at the Greenfield Elementary School (7009 S. 10th Street) in South Phoenix. 1st bout starts at 2 pm. On July 2, Kelly Fenn will host the Junior Olympic Golden Gloves Tournament at The Arizona Event Center in Mesa, Arizona. Show starts at 2 pm and more details, dial 602-799-8536 or 602-996-94017. The Center is located at 1300 S. Country Club in Mesa, Arizona?.Iron Boy MMA 2 is set for August 6, same night Top Rank brings a boxing show (Juan Diaz 41-4 vs. Caesar Vazquez 27-3 ) to Casino Del Sol in Tucson?..no word on when Roy Jones Promotions will return to Arizona for a show?.. keep those cards and letters coming. Until Next Time! Click here to view a list of other articles written by Don Smith.  |
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