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Arizona Boxing News & Notes with Don Smith: Boxer Arrested, ?Put the Chair Down? Show Entertaining By Don Smith PhilBoxing.com Fri, 26 Sep 2014 Boxing Fans, An interesting evening at the Iron Boy/Top Rank produced boxing event (Iron Boy XV) at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona on September 20, 2014 that included a OC Spray ending, Fan Arrest, surprise guests, oh yes, entertaining boxing. Let?s begin with the bizarre event that reared its? ugly head at the end of the last bout of the evening. As a pragmatic prelude, imagine a stalker with a twisted motive and the balls to come to a public event knowing that if he executed his dastardly deed; he would most likely go to jail. Whatever you do, please don?t search for his mug shot off the internet and hang it on your bedroom wall after reading about his mind numbing escapade that motivated spectators to clear the ring area. One veteran writer, beset with allergies, struggled to cope with the situation while former Iron Boy announcer, BMBP Boxing Scout Ralph Velez complained about the difficulty of removing the smell and stain effects from a dose of OC Spray administered by a member of the Phoenix Police Department. Top Rank Match Maker Bruce Trampler was in the venue earlier but I think he left before the aerial attack. Super boxing fan Geoff Ronning and his professional psychic sidekick Blair Robertson thought the evening was a gas; both literally and figuratively speaking before returning home to their respective wives. Both men tried to pry me from my ringside seat at the time of the incident, but a tour in Viet Nam more than prepared me for the ensuing chaos that followed 3 ? hours of bouts featuring local and national talent. Geoff was particularly happy because he met WBO World Champion featherweight boxing champion Vasyl Lomachenko who was at the event to watch and cheer on friends who were on the Iron Boy XV card. I walked over to Lomachenko and asked for his autograph. Geoff wanted it, but didn?t have the hutzpah to ask for it, so I sacrificed my journalistic integrity to help a boxing fan, someone who, in his sown words, is a big fan of my column. I didn?t pay him or prompt him to make the much appreciated confession. Now I have 6 part-time readers when my two brothers aren?t busy milking cows or herding goats. The bizarre incident began after WBC USNBC Bantamweight Champion Alexis Santiago (18-3) won a unanimous decision over wild Mexican fighter German Meraz in an 8 round non-title bout that ended in the 6th stanza when Meraz head butted Santiago and opened a deep wound that forced the doctor and referee to stop the fight and go to the score cards. Santiago was standing in his designated Red Corner being administered medical attention (huge bandage) when I heard yelling, I couldn?t make out the conversation, but I think the dialogue was in Spanish. I later discovered the yelling was directed towards Santiago who was waving to his fans and responding to the single heckler at the same time. As if Santiago?s fans sensed trouble, members of his well ?fueled? hastily assembled cadre of fans (totaling about 20) began to descend upon the ring to help out their boxing brother. One big guy standing near me picked up a chair and hoisted it high in the air. I could only imagine what he was going to do with it and it wasn?t to offer me a seat. Out of fear for his future, I asked him if his mother knew he was about to ?get arrested? and he immediately put down the chair and headed for the exit before saying thank you. Unfortunately, I wasn?t able to save 23 year old Phoenix, Arizona Super Bantamweight Boxer Walter M. Santibanes aka Walter Santibanez from his unfortunate fate. He was the young man (a spectator) who was challenging Santiago and the following ?official report? should give the storyline if not rationale behind his motive. At my request, The Phoenix Police Department released the following statement regarding the arrest at the normally comfortable Celebrity Theater: ?He (Santibanes) was arrested on September 20th, 2014 at approximately 9:30 p.m. Watching as a fan at the boxing matches, he was intoxicated and at the end of the scheduled last fight (Alexis ?The Beaver? Santiago vs. German Meraz) he tried to climb into the ring and provoke a fight with the fighter (Santiago) who had just won the match.? Pause: Keep in mind that the fight was stopped by the ring physician and referee Richard Soto in the sixth round after a vicious head butt to the left eye from Meraz and Santiago was wearing a gigantic bandage over the wound when the provocation started. It was a rough fight until the lethal head butt ended the ring odyssey with the 23 year old pitching a shutout by winning every round. Some ring observers thought a late punch and shove from Santiago early in the bout changed the tone of the fight which turned into a brawl until the correct decision to stop the contest was made. Santiago was a clear winner, but it was a performance that he should like to erase from his boxing resume. Meraz and his roughhouse tactics definitely played a role in Santiago?s weak performance even though a win is a win. Both men were warned by referee Richard Soto for their disregard to adhere to proper ring conduct. Meraz ran around celebrating after his blatant head but instead of apologizing to the wounded Santiago. ?This action?, continues the police statement, ?angered many of those in attendance which caused a large physical fight to break out involving up to about 20 people. Off-duty police officers were on scene and deployed OC spray to affect an arrest. He (Santibanes) was arrested for disorderly conduct and an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for his arrest?. I emailed the Arizona Boxing Commission to find out what action the Director (Matthew Valenzuela) will impose on the handcuffed boxer and his reply is still forthcoming. The commission will probably wait until the young boxer (5-2) has his day in court and receives a verdict. The next day, I put on my Colombo hat and asked several local boxing about the history between Santiago and Santibanes and everyone who knew them said there was bad blood between them. The riff began, according to sources, when Santiago won a controversial split decision over Santibanes in 2011. Santibanes couldn?t get the decision out of his head; bingo, a motive for his moment of madness was born. Now he faces a possible suspension and jail time. Revenge isn?t always sweet. I tried to reach Lonnel P. Baisey, his strength coach of record, for comment but he didn?t respond to my email before this column was launched. Iron Boy Promotions shouldn?t feel responsible. They deployed proper security measures and none of their personnel poured the drinks that led the irrational behaving Mr. Santibanes down his path of criminal mischief. Iron Boy XVI is scheduled for El Paso, Texas on October 10 at the El Paso Coliseum which seats 5,000. Arizona?s light heavyweight sensation David Benavidez has opted out of the card to fight in Mexico on October 11. Manny Nieves and several young promising fighters will fill the bill on the Iron Boy XVI card. Tickets start at $10.00. Iron Boy XVII was scheduled for the Celebrity for November; however don?t be surprised if it is moved to December and there are rumors that Iron Boy is toying with the idea to stage an event around Super Bowl time in 2015. Iron Boy XV Scorecard: Carlos Castro returned to ring action in a 4 round super bantamweight bout against Jamie Gutierrez and he was rusty, but proved to be too strong for the Nevada fighter who had to quit at the end of round three after injuring a shoulder. Castro (6-0) is trained by Jose Benavidez Sr. in Gilbert Arizona. Castro told me his layoff was due to consideration for his family which includes a young son. A 4 round busy debut bout between Phoenix?s Daniel Garcia (Pro Edge Boxing) and Nevada?s Samuel Garcia (no relation) followed the C Castro /J Gutierrez bout. D. Garcia was a bit nervous and awkward at times, but his overall confidence and athleticism enabled him to score a unanimous decision in a welterweight contest that netted the Phoenix boxer a 40-36 x 3 victory. Daniel hopes to fight at 145 in his next bout. As an amateur he weighed 152. In the only upset of the evening, highly regarded Shane Mosley Jr. (2-1) lost to Marchristopher Adkins (3-1) from Dallas Texas. Mosley easily won the first round and may have rested on his pedigree the remaining 3 rounds of their super welterweight contest. I gave Mosley the slight edge, but Adkins got the nod with a split decision. Phoenix Favorite Francisco C. De Vaca won a unanimous decision over tough Victor Serrano in super featherweight duel that saw Vaca get hit more than he is accustomed. Francisco aka Panchito showed he can take a punch and although his trainer winced from time to time, it was a good test for Panchito whose record now stands at 7-0. Serrano left the ring with a 4-8 record. Valley favorite Victor Castro (12-0) admitted to a bit of ring rust and did get tagged with good shots in the first and second round, but the undefeated lightweight shook the effects off and scored a dramatic knockout win over Mexican fighter Pablo Becerra (7-6) at 2:59 of the 3rd round. Although he wasn?t picture perfect, Castro was sable to overcome early jitters and stake the fight to his tough but vulnerable opponent. Castro is back with Iron boy and has signed a two year, 5 fight per year contract with the Phoenix based promotional company. His corner was manned by the very capable Israel Vasquez and sidekicks Adrian Hernandez, Jadon Diaz and Armando Lopez. Main Event: Russian welterweight Konstantin Ponomarev (25-0) is a very slick and polished boxer who has a lot of speed and some pop. Veteran Cosme Rivera tried to catch the elusive Ponomarev but Rivera (37-19-3) was a tad slow despite a gallant effort and a huge heart; the contest was never close and the judges acted accordingly by rewarding the Russian a unanimous decision. Ponomarev likes to showboat, but he is entertaining. Co-Main Event: Illinois native Trevor McCumby, fighting out of Glendale Arizona, wastes little time in disposing of fellow light heavyweight Martin Verdin at 17 seconds in the first round. Bat an eye and you missed it. The KO came after a barrage of punches bade him goodnight, farewell. The KO win upped McCumby?s record to 16-0 with 13 knockouts. The 21 year old Top Rank prot?g? appears close to fighting for a minor title. Super bantamweight Edgar Brito, a tad heavier than in the past, powered his way past Luis Montano (New Mexico) with a very impressive 4th round TKO victory. Brito?s record is now 3-0-1 and he hails from Phoenix where he trains at the family owned gym. Two-time Lithuanian Olympian Egidjus Kavallauskas (8-0) remains undefeated after taking Eduardo Flores to school and then finishing him off in the first round. Kavalallauskas is quite the boxing machine. Ukrainian light heavyweight Oleksander Gvozdyk trained by Robert Garcia, stopped Lamont Williams in the 5th round after pushing the California fighter around the ring for four. Gvozdyk (3-0) is a very intense serious fighter who should only get better. Boxing Notes: Andrew Zak (Journeyman Management) reports Arizona boxing prospect Abel Ramos has recovered from broken hand and was scheduled to tight in October, but November 1 is the new tentative date. Ramos is 9-0-2, managed by the ambitious Zak and trained by his immensely popular brother, Jesus who has a young son doing quite well in amateur boxing?.Still withholding the name of the young boxer who was charged with assault and battery against his girlfriend in December of 2013. He claims the incident was merely a public act of rough sexual foreplay while she has recanted her initial story. The case sits in Maricopa County Superior Court awaiting a pre-trial hearing. A spokesperson for the Arizona Boxing Commission said he couldn?t comment until due process has run its? course?.. Phoenix Mario Esparza isn?t seeing Eye to eye with his current promotional team. Mario, who fights on the Phoenix Fight Night card in Phoenix on 9/26, is expected to seek another promotional team?.Luis Olivares s (SMS Promotions) is still recovering from torn tendon. Luis is a gentleman and the Arizona boxing community hopes the Glendale youngster makes a full recovery and returns to boxing ASAP!...Annual Copper Gloves is scheduled for October 15-16 at the Arizona State Fair in Phoenix.. Free admission of 15th (We Care with small donation) before 6 p.m. and free concert both nights with general admission ticket. The Copper Gloves is an Arizona Tradition started by Arizona legend Al Fenn. Check Arizona State Fair website for details?. Former U.S. Marine Travis Scott travel to Bayou Country on October 17 where he will fight for the WFC Middleweight Boxing Title in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on the WFC 30 show which also features Baton Rouge?s Justin Thomas vs. Daniel Henry from Austin Texas in the Co-Main Event. For tickets and more info, click on: www.worldfightingchampionships and make sure you sample the Gumbo!....USA Boxing Arizona needs your support; attend boxing events such as the Cocopah Invitational Youth Event on October 18 in San Luis, Arizona. Police detective Ernesto Prieto would love to see boxing fans from all over Arizona make the trip. Call 928-341-8574 or 928-019-5788 for more details. Doors open at 3 p.m. and first fight gets underway at 4 p.m. Show Debut: Ben Miranda Boxing Promotions will launch their premiere boxing event on Friday, September 26 at the Phoenix Convention. The show will feature local boxers including Andrew ?Hurricane? Hernandez, Rollin ?The Chiller? Williams, Pau ?Ziggy Romero, Tim Riddell, Emilio Garcia, Mario ?Super Mario? Esparza and Keenan ?Bedo? Carbajal. The press conference for ?Phoenix Fight Night? was held at Maya?s New York Pizzeria in Mesa on Wednesday, September 24 and the Weigh-in was held on Thursday at September 25 at Lo Lo?s Chicken & Waffles Restaurant at 1220 S. Central Avenue in phoenix. My next column will cover the weigh-in and print the results of the Phoenix Fight Night Event. Tickets are still available at the Phoenix Convention Center. General Admission is 28.00 in advance and floor seats are available for $40.00. Event doors open at 6 p.m. and first bell chimes at 7 p.m.?. Until Next Time! Click here to view a list of other articles written by Don Smith.  |
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