by: Austin Killeen – Ringside – March 18, 2017    Photos by Lori Pina – (Click on picture to expand.)

Victory Boxing Promotions held a five bout pro card supported by a five bout card between the Police and Fire Departments at the Albuquerque Convention Center. To say that this was an entertaining evening of boxing would be an understatement. Most fights on this evening involved high drama, with competitors leaving it in the ring at the final bell. I’m guilty of not getting the final statistics regarding attendance, but there appeared to be a sizable crowd. Home town heroes were tested, with no dead bodies residing in the opposite corner. Sports writers like to talk about heated rivalries in college football and basketball. Put a fireman against a policeman and it guarantees fireworks from the opening bell. The fans loved it, if crowd noise counts as approval. Shows like this event are what has always made the sport popular and assure that it will never die out.

In the six-round main event of the evening, Matthew “Diamond Boy” Griego (7-0-0, 6 KO’s) 115.4 lbs. Albuquerque won by UD over David Martino (2-2-0, 2 KO’s) 115.8 lbs. of Mexico. The rumor prior to the fight was that this would be Griego’s toughest opponent since turning pro. Up to this point in his career he had been swimming in the shallow end of the pool. The opening three rounds of the fight proved this rumor to be true, as they stood toe-to-toe and traded hard shots to the head and body. At times the footwork of Griego would create angles, but often “lazy feet” got him in trouble. Both fighters were in shape and fighting at a furious pace. I was seated near Griego’s corner and could hear his trainer, Fidel Maldonado Sr. begging for him to throw a left jab. Not only would a jab make Martino’s job more difficult, but also make him back up at times. These rounds were razor thin, making the job of the three officials very difficult.

In the fourth round Maldonado’s prayers were answered, as the sun broke through the clouds. Griego started throwing jabs and it had a taming effect on his adversary. Martino was unable to get inside and even started backing up. This proved to be a big round for the “Duke City” prospect. Unfortunately for Maldonado’s sensitive stomach, Griego returned his jab to the dressing room and was back to toe-to-toe exchanges for much of the last two rounds. In the final round both boxers appeared tired due to the exhausting pace of the fight.

Judge Sandy Pino scored the fight 60-54, while judges Ester Lopez and Noel Perez both had it 59-55. This was a fight that Griego needed and fortunately for him was placed in the win column. I’d like to take credit for the “lazy feet” comment, but the recognition goes to Brian Mendoza. Two months ago Mendoza spoke to “Diamond Boy” about it in front of me. If you don’t move your feet after throwing a punch, it makes it easy for your opponent to hit you back. After the fight Griego commented, “I’m glad the fight went the distance, I needed that.” It safe to say that last night moved Griego from the shallow end of the pool, but I wouldn’t recommend a fight with undefeated Augustine Banegas yet.

In the semi-final scheduled for six rounds, Brian “La Bala” Mendoza (15-0-0, 9 KO’s) 147 lbs. Rio Ranch won by TKO over Tyler Pogline (6-14-1, 5 KO’s) 147.4 lbs. of Colorado Springs in a six-round bout. I was expecting Mendoza to be rusty not having fought in eight months and for most of the first round both boxers appeared to be a little tight. In the final minute of the round Mendoza started to loosen up. A vicious right hand to the body dropped Pogline just before the bell. At the start of the second round the local boxer continued to press the action dropping Pogline twice, compliments of a left hook to the head and a right hand to the head. The final knockdown caused referee Robert Valez to halt the contest at 2:34 of the second round. One thing I noticed about Mendoza was a new move he added to his arsenal, a fake to the body that results in an overhand right to the head. I could see why his opponent might be fooled, but I was safely sitting a ringside and surprised by its effectiveness.  It’s time for Mendoza to hunt bigger game; this young man is a beast.

In the evenings third bout scheduled for six rounds, Alex Holguin (11-1-0, 6 KO’s) 130 lbs. Albuquerque won by UD over Jeremy Longoria (9-8-0, 3 KO’s) of Corpus Christi, Texas. This was an interesting contest, but Holguin was clearly in charge behind an excellent jab either with his left or right hand. Holguin is ambidextrous and comfortable fighting orthodox or southpaw. In the fourth round Holguin slipped a left hand, but was pressed against the ropes. Longoria unloaded a terrific right hand to the head, dropping the home town fighter. Holguin was hurt and had to survive a rough final minute before being rescued by the bell. Surprisingly Longoria was unable to follow up his advantage in the fifth round and Holguin was in total control the final stanza. Judge Sandy Pina scored the bout 57-56, while Ester Lopez and Noel Perez had identical scores of 58-55 all for Alex Holguin. Holguin’s ability to fight both orthodox and southpaw is amazing; he’s a classy boxer with a decent punch. This was a good test for him and he passed it with high grades.

In the evenings second bout scheduled for four rounds, Pano Tiatia (2-0) 253.8 lbs. of St. George, Utah won by UD over Corey Barlow (0-3-1) 245.4 lbs. of Austin, Texas. Tiatia was carrying a lot of weight for someone well under six feet tall. Although he was slow of foot he had fast hands and landed some nice combinations the first two rounds. The southpaw Barlow scored with a nice combination of his own in the second round, but was generally outworked by the busier Tiatia. In the third round the story of the fight took a sudden change with Tiatia out of gas. This had nothing to do with the pace of the contest; the Utah boxer was out of shape. When Barlow realized the window of opportunity was suddenly open, he started to throw more punches. After four rounds judge Ester Lopez had it 40-36, while judges Sandy Pino and Noel Perez had it 39-37 making Pano Tiatia the winner by unanimous decision. Tiatia has some skills, but he won’t go far if he doesn’t take diet and training seriously.

In the evenings opening pro bout scheduled for four rounds between debuting boxers, Christian Camarena 138.4 lbs. of Pasadena, CA. won by UD over René Cedillo 140 lbs. of El Paso, TX. Cedillo’s southpaw style gave Camarena some difficulty early in the opening round, but once he figured it out it was all in favor of the California boxer. Each round he applied more pressure, landing with increased power. Cedillo never stopped trying to find his offense, but would lunge forward leaving him open to some punishing counters. Camarena is a prospect to keep an eye on, while the game Cedillo needs more time in the gym. Judges Sandy Pino and Noel Perez had the fight 39-37, while Ester Lopez gave all four rounds to Camarena. This resulted in Camarena taking the winners circle by unanimous decision in his pro debut.

In the evenings police vs fireman portion of the card all bouts were scheduled for three one minute rounds. These gentlemen may not have the skills of the pros, but they came to fight and in the process raised money for a local charity.

In the evenings first bout, Brian Salazar 155.6 lbs., of the Santa Fe Detention Center beat George Valdez 153 lbs., of the Bernalillo County Fire Department by unanimous Decision. In the opening round a left hook by Salazar dropped Valdez. Salazar looked like he had some ring experience, as he also displayed a nice left jab and followed up with some overhand rights. Salazar continued to pressure Valdez in the second giving him a bloody nose. Valdez never stopped trying, having his best action in the final round. Salazar looked tired for the first time in the contest.

In the evenings second bout, Taylor Caulder 161.8 lbs., of Bosque Farms Police won a split decision over Daniel Barkhoff 158.2 lbs., of Presbyterian Hospital. Caulder was the aggressor in the opening round, at one point picking his opponent up and throwing him to the canvas. Barkhoff seem to take control in the second round, scoring with overhand rights. Caulder was no longer interested in charging inside. In the final round referee David Rios issued a standing 8-count to Caulder. The crowd had a bad reaction when Caulder received the split decision, feeling Barkhoff had done enough to win. This bout had some exciting moments and was my pick for the fight of the night between the police and firemen.

In the evenings third bout, Americk Padilla 174.2 lbs., of Las Vegas, N.M., Fire won a unanimous decision over Jacob Montez 164.6 lbs., of Questa Police. Montez opened the bout behind a nice left jab, but the body punching of Padilla forced the ref to administer a standing 8-count to Montez. Montez took another standing 8-count in the second, but the aggressive Padilla was smothering his own attack. Montez had his best round in the third behind jabs and right hands. Both men were tired at the end of the bout, because of their all action fight.

 

In the evenings fourth bout, Kenny Martinez 158.4 lbs., of Los Alamos Fire beat Thomas Zaleski 157 lbs., of Albuquerque Police by a second-round technical knockout. Martinez appeared to be the complete package both on offense and defense. A counter right hand to the head dropped Zaleski in the opening round. Martinez scored a second knockdown, but it appeared to be the result of a slip. Martinez opened the second round with a powerful left hook forcing the referee to halt the contest at 34 seconds of the round. I give Zaleski a lot of credit, because he clearly wanted to continue and showed a lot of fight against overwhelming odds.

 

In the final bout of the Police vs Firemen showdown, Jason Warlow-Herrera 226 lbs., of Los Alamos Police won a unanimous decision over Manny Gallegos 216.2 lbs., of Santa Fe County Fire. The opening round was all action, but I gave the edge to Warlow-Herrera on volume punching. In the second and third rounds Gallegos was administered standing 8-counts, but at no time did he ever stop trying to turn the fight around.