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Arizona Boxing News & Notes with Don Smith: Martin Retains Title, Castro & Herrera Shine By Don Smith PhilBoxing.com Fri, 06 Mar 2015 Boxing Fans, Iron Boy Promoter Roberto Vargas couldn?t have been happy with the disappointing turnout at his Iron Boy X1X show (Celebrity Theatre) in Phoenix on 2/28, but he didn?t offer excuses even though 7 tentatively scheduled bouts never made it to the ring through no fault of Iron Boy Promotions. ?What can you do? he told me with a noticeable sigh as I readied to call it a day and leave the venue. The answer is obvious, prepare for the next show (Iron Boy 20), April 25, at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. Some of the names rumored to appear on the upcoming card (April 25) include David Benavidez (8-0) in a title fight, Emilio Garcia 9-1-1), Alexis Zazueta, Victor Castro (14-0), Brian Mendoza (4-0), Anetelea Opetai, Joey Ruelas (8-1-1), Jose Herrera (1-0), Jose Marrufo (4-2-1) and Francisco C. De Vaca (10-0) if his right hand (possible dislocated finger) is 100%. Top Rank Boxing (co-promoter) may add fighters to the card. Of course, everything in boxing is subject to change except the mystery and intrigue. Iron Boy was already planning for the next show before Iron Boy X1X was put to bed. A fan appreciation day was set to go on Monday, March 3 and the event gave fans an opportunity to buy tickets for Iron Boy XX at half price and each purchase netted an Iron Boy T shirt. The consumer driven promotion did extremely well according to an Iron Boy Spokesperson. Iron Boy X1X Re-Cap: The boxing show began with two amateur fights with Fernando Martinez (Fuentes Boxing in Phoenix) victorious over Miguel Mendoza (Iron Boy-Phoenix) via unanimous decision in a feisty scrap between 2 114 pounders. Another Iron Boy amateur representative (Valenzuela) defeated Christopher Gonzales from Tucson. Sorry for not sharing Valenzuela?s first name, but referee Jerry Grimes referred to him as Mr. Valenzuela, I kid you not! Gonzales was off his usual game and Alvarez?s quick hands and movement keep the Tucson fighter off balance; a Gonzales rally in the final round was too late to change the decision. Main Event: WBO NABO Heavyweight Champion Charles ?Prince? Martin (20-0-1) retained his title with a KO stop of Brazilian Raphael Zumbano Love in the 10th and final round of their title bout. Martin, a southpaw, dominated the veteran Love (35-10-1) who suffered his first knockout loss. Love was taken to St Luke?s Hospital in Tempe, Arizona as a precaution and released. The knockout loss will put him out of boxing action (suspension) for a minimum for 45 days. Martin, ranked in the top ten by two boxing associations (IBF & WBO) is expected to fight next on the 4/25 Klitschko vs. Jennings card on 4/25 in New York; expect announcement soon. Wes Melton was the referee. After the fight, I talked to Henry Tillman (Trainer, Conditioning Coach) and Martin?s seconds and they were happy with the big guy?s (6? 5?-6? 6?) performance despite the audiences impatience as the fighter from St. followed his handlers? instructions to eat up rounds and work on techniques. Tillman won a Gold medal (heavyweight division) in 1984 representing the U.S.A. Boxing team and went on to pursue a successful professional boxing career that ended in the fall of 1992. Our dressing room conversation lasted a New York minute due to our schedules, so I followed up our introductory chat with a call to his cell phone and spoke to him while he was driving to Nevada. The former champion thinks he has a winner in Martin. He has worked with the St. Louis, Missouri born fighter since the strapping heavyweight started taking the sport serious at age 21-22; Martin celebrates his 29th birthday, next month. He turned professional in 2012 and conditioning plays an integral role in his quest for a world title; his rise to top ten statuses has been remarkably quick. I asked the Gold Medal winner to explain the draw verdict with journeyman Alvaro Morales in 2013 and he told me, Charles didn?t know how to cut off the ring in that fight and by listening and working hard, he (Martin) has become a more mature and experienced fighter. Tillman is convinced Martin can become a champion. Henry owns and operates Henry Tillman Championship Boxing Club in Carson, California. Co-Main Event: Phoenix favorite Victor Castro (14-0) dropped Ivan Zavala (6-9) with a liver shot in the second and finished him off in the third with a lethal dose of combinations at the 2:45 mark of the round. Castro is expected to fight on the April 25th Iron Boy card at the Celebrity Theatre. Castro was very impressive against a lesser opponent. Iron Boy prot?g? Francisco C. De Vaca (10-0) defeated rugged Saul Hernandez (6-6) in a busy six round bout that saw De Vaca win by a unanimous decision despite injuring his right hand early in the fight. De Vaca showed me his injured hand and the problem looked like he suffered a dislocated finger. His injury would explain why the majority of his right hand tosses went wide of their intended target; a gutsy, but not great performance. His condition was checked out by Clinica LA Familia (Iron Boy Sponsor) the following day; no official word on exam result. If cleared to box, ?Panchito? is a probable for the Iron Boy 4/25 card. The upset of the evening came when Edgar Brito (3-1-1) fell to Jesus Pacheco (2-4) via way of Majority Decision. Brito looked tired early and never got his motor up to speed. After a change of clothes, the young Phoenix fighter left the building quickly according to one reporter. His loss gives the popular pugilist pause to think. Daniel Garcia, fighting out of Phoenix, had very little trouble with Stephen McCray (0-5) who fought flat footed most of the time and wasn?t very active with his punches. After the fight, Garcia (2-0) admitted to being rusty and a bit out of shape at 155 lbs., 8 pounds heavier than he had planned to fight at for the 4 round bouts. Garcia hopes to fight on the April Iron Boy card and represent himself with a better performance. Jose Herrera (Fuentes Gym in phoenix) was unknown to me until he dismantled Fernando Alvarez in a four round debut bout for both men. Herrera, trained by Jesus Funtes, Herrera wasted no time in pushing Alvarez around the ring with the flair and focus of a determined matador. At 2:36 in the first round it was over and referee Richard Soto was correct in ordering a stop to the one sided contest. Alvarez entered the ring with a solid amateur background, but Herrera didn?t read his resume and he certainly wasn?t intimidated; good performance! It is too early to call Herrera ?champion? material, but he has the skills to be a very watchable fighter. A graduate from Camelback High School, Herrera was very poised during our short chat after the bout. His amateur career was tempered by a father who was MIA as a parent by his own choice thus causing bit of angst throughout Jose?s childhood. Before we parted company, the 20 year old (1-0) told me, he is taking his career one fight at a time; so far, so good. Wrap Up: A least a half a dozen readers called to report an error in the reporting of the March 20 WBO NABO Bantamweight Title fight between Alexis Santiago and Antonio Garcia in Glendale. A caption on Facebook describes the fight as a ?world title fight? which it isn?t. The error was reported to the Arizona boxing commission. Evidence of the violation is on one of the promoter?s Facebook page; no word on what action the Arizona State Boxing Commission will take, if any??.Alexis Zazueta didn?t sign a contract with Bout Maker Boxing Promotions to appear on their 2/21 show in Phoenix because his manager (Cameron Dunkin) decided it would be best for the young boxer to skip the tentative BMBP offer and fight on the April 25 show scheduled at the Celebrity Theater; not everyone agrees with that unofficial explanation, but there is no evidence to support other theories. BMBP is reportedly looking for a larger and different venue for their upcoming 4/11 shows?The March 20 ?Night of Glory? boxing show at the Renaissance Hotel in Glendale is a near sellout, good job of promoting the event. The cost of tickets for the ?Night of Glory? show ranges from $35.00-$100.00 and are available through Sonny?s boxing Gym and independent locations?.USA Boxing Arizona has lost a member of its family: John Bahe?s father (Cal) and longtime Arizona USA Boxing Coach/member was laid to rest recently after services at Good Shepard Mission in Ft. Defiance, Arizona, contributions are being taken through Wells Fargo Bank Account # 6251746993?.circle your Saturday Night Fights on NBC?. Ralph Velez Jr. announced the 2/28 MMA show at the Arizona Event Center in Mesa?.The Madison Boxing Club will hold a tournament on Saturday March 7?.Amateur bouts will be featured on the Night of Glory Pro/AM card on 3/20 at the Renaissance Hotel in Glendale?.3/28 show in Tucson will be held at the Rilito Park Horse Racetrack in Tucson (450 N. 1st Avenue), call 520-745-5486 for directions?. Richard Soto is looking for dependable volunteers to work USA Boxing Arizona Events, call 602-702-7053 for details? Until Next Time! Click here to view a list of other articles written by Don Smith.  |
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