By Austin Killeen              February 20, 2016            Photos by Alan Curry

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You know you’ve seen a good program when the results you expected and the actual results are very different. The eight bout card at the Camel Rock Casino opened with an upset and ended with an upset. The six remaining bouts also had some major surprises. Eric Martinez’s program was a sellout of approximately 500 fans, rewarding him for his hard work in putting on the card. Additionally there were many local area boxers in attendance to support the fighters who were boxing last evening. Finally the venue itself was very clean, with comfortable seating and excellent lighting.

In the eight round main event, Raymond Chacon (6-17-0,) 120.2 lbs. of Los Angeles, CA won by SD over Tony Valdez (8-5-6, 7 KO’s) 120 lbs. of Espanola, NM. This was a bout in which the same theme played itself over and over again round after round; the speed of Chacon versus the strength of Valdez. Chacon would stand in front of the fan favorite and dare Valdez to hit him. Valdez made the mistake of trying to land clean punches to the head, missing badly and losing his balance. The California import would than touch Valdez and move away. The fight resembled a game of school yard tag, with Chacon having the better reflexes. Instead of driving his opponent to the ropes, Valdez would use faints in an attempt to create openings. The strategy worked badly. Valdez is very powerful for a bantamweight, but he failed to take advantage of his greatest asset.

After eight dull (tactical?) rounds the verdict was rendered. Levi Martinez 77-75 Chacon, Ester Lopez 78-74 Valdez, Chris Tellez 78-74 Chacon. Very few punches were thrown in the contest, giving judges little to choose from. Ultimately Valdez failed to cut off the ring and it cost him in the eyes of two judges. I’ve never seen a bull walk backwards in a meadow and don’t understand what Valdez was thinking. For Chacon it snapped an eleven bout skid, giving him his first win in over two years.

In the six round semi-final between Albuquerque residences, Jesus Pacheco (5-4-0) 122 lbs won by MD over David Proa (7-4-0, 7 KO’s) 121.6. The opening round saw both fighters get down to business. Standing toe-to-toe favored the powerful Proa who landed authoritative body shots. The lighter hitting Pacheco also landed some clean punches, but they were little more than rain drops falling on cast iron. In the second round Pacheco came to life behind an excellent left jab, throwing Proa off his rhythm to easily capture the stanza. The third was very close with Pacheco flashing a nice uppercut but making the mistake of standing around after scoring. This allowed Proa to land some nasty body shots. Trading punches on the inside with a bull like Proa could be a risky career move. Pacheco responded in the fourth with uppercuts and over hand rights but forgot his jab. Proa was firing with bad intentions but it was not his round.

The final two rounds Pacheco gave an excellent display of boxing skills, throwing an assortment of punches off his excellent left Jab. Although Pacheco was the taller boxer, he would bend low and score with left jabs to the body. Proa continued to press the attack, landing some hard punches. But clearly the fight belonged to Pacheco. Judge Lopez had the contest 57-57 but was overruled by judges Martinez and Tellez who saw the contest for Pacheco by identical scores of 58-56. This was your classic contest of a pure boxer against a powerful puncher, and on this night the boxer won. But don’t write off Proa, he was coming back after a five year layoff. He was in excellent shape and fought hard the entire fight. This was an exciting contest and I look forward to seeing both boxers in action again.

In the evening’s 6^th bout Jason Sanchez (6-0-0, 3 KO’s) 124.6 lbs. of Albuquerque won by TKO over John Herrera (4-14-2, 2 KO’s) of Roswell. This contest was a shocker with Sanchez destroying Herrera in just 1:33 of the first round. I felt Sanchez had a good chance of winning, but Herrera had never been stopped in twenty pro fights. Herrera tasted the canvas twice, once from a hook to the body and than a left hook to the head. Herrera has always been a gate keeper, but tonight Sanchez took the Roswell fighter down like he was a card table. I’ve always liked Herrera, but he has to take a serious look at what the future holds.

 

In the evening’s 5^th bout Amberly Trujillo (0-1-1)112.2 of Espanola fought to MD against debuting Denisha Lopez 115.6 lbs. of Roswell. For four rounds this was a war. At the opening bell Trujillo took charge behind a barrage of punches, trying to end matters instantly. After surviving thirty seconds of hell, Lopez responded with an attack of her own. This is what fans witnessed for four rounds, first Trujillo than Lopes dispensing hurt. As early as the second round the Espanola boxer had a bloody nose. Trujillo was the aggressor much of the fight, while Lopez failed to follow up clear advantages from time to time. The decision was announced as a majority draw, but the score cards were not read. It’s only February, but so far this has to be the fight of the year.

 

In the evening’s 4^th bout between Albuquerque boxers Jose Luis Sanchez (4-1-0, 2 KO’s) 161.2 lbs. won by KO over Ambrocio Bautista (2-1-0) 164.4. This had the look of an interesting fight between a boxer Bautista and a slugger Sanchez. Sanchez must have had to get home early because the fight was over in thirty four seconds. A right to the head and left hook to the body dropped Bautista twice. Referee Burke had seen enough and stopped the one sided contest. Sanchez made a statement and deserves an opportunity to have a bigger fight. I’d like to see Sanchez drop down to 154 pounds the next time he enters the ring. Bautista got cough cold and never had a chance to recover.

 

 

In the evening’s 3^rd bout Joshua Green Jr. (5-1-1, 2 KO’s) 122 lbs. of Chicago won by UD over Gabriel Braxton 124 lbs. of Red Oak, Georgia. From the opening bell Green controlled the action, landing some hellacious body punches. I was near the corner of Braxton and could hear his trainer telling him “You’ve got to move, don’t stand still.” Unfortunately Braxton paid dearly for not listening. After six painful rounds the Georgia fighter lost a unanimous decision by identical scores of 60-54. Green is trained by James “Buddy” McGirt former WBC welterweight champ. McGirt has had a lot of success as a trainer and might be able to advance Green’s career

In the evening’s 2^nd bout Matthew “Diamond Boy” Griego (2-0-0, 2 KO’s) 114.8 lbs. of Albuquerque won by TKO over Ricky Lacefield (0-11-0) 112.6 lbs. of Lincoln, Nebraska. What a difference two weeks make, Griego looked so much better than his pro debut. Lacefield raced across the ring at the opening bell and started firing. “Diamond Boy” stayed relaxed slipping most of Lacefield’s firepower, while waiting for an opportunity to fire back. His opportunity came in the second round, dropping his opponent with a left hook to the body. Rising on unsteady legs, Lacefield was dropped again by a right cross. Referee Isaac Moya had seen enough and stopped the contest. This was Moya’s first time as a ref and he did a nice job.

In the evening’s opening bout Michael Gbenga (21-24-0, 20 KO’s) 179.6 lbs. of Accra, Ghana won by MD over Marcus Oliveira (24-3-1, 22 KO’s) 182.6 lbs. of Sao Paulo, Brazil. This looked like it had to end in a knockout, based on the knockout records of both boxers. Gbenga had a chin problem which indicated he would probably take a canvas nap. Oliveira is trained by James “Buddy” McGirt, indicating he was probably the better fighter. Gbenga carried the first round behind a nice left jab, while Oliveira appeared to not have warmed up properly. The second was a repeat of the first round until Gbenga walked into a right hook to the head, kissing the canvas. Oliveira tried to finish off his rival until the bell.

The third was a repeat of the second except it was Gbenga who landed a right hook to score a knockdown. Both boxers were showing some serious power, but a lack of defense. The final three rounds both boxers were hesitant, due to each other’s power, but Gbenga had the better jab. Gbenga was awarded a majority decision but the score cards were not read.

This evening featured outstanding performances by Jason Sanchez and Jesus Pacheco that shouted they are ready to move on to the next level. In fact Sanchez called out Brandon Holmes who was ranked #1 featherweight in the end-of-year ratings for 2015. I don’t expect Holmes to keep a low profile. Don’t go throwing dirt on David Proa who lost to Pacheco, just yet. He was coming off a five year layoff, was in excellent shape and gave Pacheco a terrific battle for six rounds. Proa acknowledged the five year layoff, but didn’t want that to be an excuse for the final verdict. He further stated that Pacheco fought a nice fight.

Matthew “Diamond Boy” Griego turned pro two weeks ago, and I couldn’t understand what all the fanfare was about. He almost got dropped with the first punch of the fight and was involved in a slug fest until the fight was stopped. Saturday night I witnessed a polished performance by a young prospect both on offense and defense. He was very relaxed and took advantage of the opportunities in front of him. Keep your eye on “Diamond Boy.”

I’ve enjoyed watching Tony Valdez and John Herrera for several years. They’ve in notorious bouts that were very difficult, bouts that have a way of draining the body. If they want to continue their careers I wish them well, but I hope they take some time to examine their recent history before reaching a final decision.

For Neanderthals who think women’s boxing is the equivalent of knitting, you weren’t in attendance on Saturday night. It wasn’t pretty but Amberly Trujillo and Denisha Lopez crammed twelve rounds of ACTION into a four round bout. Their bout is clearly the fight of the year, so far in 2016.

I almost forgot about my pet peeve; blasting music at fight venues that prevent a conversation from taking place. It happened again on Saturday night for about twenty eight seconds. That’s how long it took Richard Espinosa, of the New Mexico Boxing Commission, to get to the source of the noise. He gets a standing ovation from me.

This was another nice card by Eric Martinez and I look forward to his next promotion.