By Austin Killeen             February 18, 2016

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Saturday night’s fight card at the Camel Rock Casino, appears to have some interesting matchups. The last promotion by Eric Martinez had some exciting fights both in and out of the ring. Fans of two of the boxers on the card, engaged in a fight in the bleacher for free. I’m surprised Martinez didn’t put them on the undercard in a rematch, as their matchup was very competitive. The main event that evening ended in a controversial six round draw between Tony Valdez and Gilberto Mendoza. Valdez will headline the main event, scheduled for eight rounds, against Raymond Chacon at 118 pounds.

Tony Valdez (8-4-6, 7 KO’s) of Espanola has never been in a dull fight and I’ve seen him in action on six different occasions. If you’ve ever tried cutting into a cheap steak, you have some idea what fighting Valdez is like. Rumor has it when Valdez’s pediatrician slapped him at birth, he responded with a five punch combination of his own. Fighting Valdez is like having a rash, he never seems to go away. Sometimes I wonder if promoters like Valdez. In spite of selling tickets at an amazing pace, he is always matched against killers. The guys standing in the other corner are always live bodies. Southpaw Raymond Chacon (5-17-0) of Los Angeles, his opponent Saturday has never been KO’d in 22 fights, against very tough competition. Valdez likes to throw bombs, but a stoppage of Chacon will not come easy.

The semifinal is a six round featherweight hookup between slick boxer Jesus Xavier Pacheco (4-4-0) of Albuquerque and slugger David Proa (7-3-0, 7 KO’s) also of Albuquerque. Pacheco is not afraid to take his show on the road. That’s a risky proposition as he’s not a big puncher and has to rely on the fairness of foreign judges. I saw him get robbed in a fight in Arizona with fans booing the hometown boxer’s gift verdict. Apparently Proa doesn’t trust judges either as all his wins have come by knockout. I’ve never seen Proa in action, but heard many good things about him when I first moved here in 2009. At stake is bragging rights in the “Duke City.”

Marcus Vinicius de Oliveira (24-2-1, 22 KO’s) of Sao Paulo, Brazil is matched with Michael Gbenga (20-24-0, 20 KO’s) of Accra, Ghana over six rounds at light heavyweight. Both boxers have explosive power, making it unlikely that this contest will go the distance.

In a six round featherweight bout Jason Sanchez (5-0-0, 2 KO’s) of Albuquerque will face John Herrera (4-13-2, 2 KO’s) of Roswell. Herrera has never been stopped in 19 bouts but needs to up his offense if he hopes to turn his career around. The undefeated Sanchez has more power than his record indicates. He likes to sit down on his punches and has a solid body attack.

In a bantamweight bout scheduled at six rounds Joshua Green Jr. (4-1-1, 2 KO’s) of Chicago meets Gabriel Braxton (2-13-0, 1 KO) of Red Oak, Georgia. It doesn’t seem likely that this contest will go the distance, as Braxton’s chin seems to be made of Irish Crystal.

 

Two four round bouts round out the card. In a battle of “Duke City” middleweights Jose Luis Sanchez (3-1-0, 1 KO) meets undefeated Ambrocio Bautista (2-0-0). Like his brother Jason, Sanchez has more power than his record indicates. He also likes to sit down on his punches and attack the body. Sanchez turned pro in 2012 to a great deal of fanfare, but inactivity and an ill advised match against Josh “Pitbull” Torres halted his parade. Bautista has been sliding under the radar since turning pro last April. I’ve seen both his fights and like what I see. I’d describe him as an unorthodox boxer with a solid defense. This bout intrigues me.

The evening opens with a female bout at bantamweight between Amberly Trujillo (0-1-0) of Espanola and debuting Deneisha Lopez of Roswell. I saw Trujillo’s pro debut, an action packed four rounder in which the former college basketball player displayed a nice overhand right. Lupe Perez, the trainer of Lopez, tells me his girl had a nice amateur career and is ready for Saturday night.

If past shows count for anything, this should be a good show. Promoter Eric Martinez appears to have a nice card top to bottom, with boxers evenly matched for the most part. I’ve never been to a card at Camel Rock and look forward to Saturday evening. Weigh-ins take place at the Casino Friday afternoon at 2:00 and a press conference at noon. Promoter Martinez told me that undefeated bantamweight Matthew “Diamond Boy” Griego of Albuquerque has just been added to the card.