By Austin Killeen

Good news for boxing fans in the “Land of Enchantment”, there will be two fight cards this weekend. The bad news, both shows will take place on the same evening. In New Mexico we average about ten shows a year, thus having two shows on the same day increases the timing between future shows and decreases the attendance of both shows. It would be nice if there were better planning so that there would be an even distribution of shows across the entire year. As a result two fisted Antonio Martinez will headline at Buffalo Thunder, while heavy handed Elijio Sena will display his power at Clovis, New Mexico. Both cards are written up below. In addition, check out VOICES FROM THE CORNER at the end of the story.

PART I: Clovis, NM

The Curry County Even Center in Clovis, NM will host a boxing card promoted by Isidro Castillo. Doors will open at 6 p.m. with the first bout starting at 7 p.m. After a two year layoff Elijio Sena (2-0-1, 1 KO) of Clovis will face Eduardo Silva (0-1-0) of Belen, NM in a heavyweight matchup. Sena has a left jab reminiscent of former heavyweight champ Sonny Liston’s; all power with bad intentions. The Clovis boxer was on a collision course with Ronnie Baca of Gallup, NM when inactivity put that matchup on the back burner. Hopefully Sena plans on having a busy summer, making a Baca fight a reality again. But Silva has other plans, hoping to derail the Sena comeback. There is no question that Silva is the quicker boxer both of hand and foot, with no plans of getting hit by Sena’s left.

 

In the semi-final, Rico Urquizo (2-4-2, 1 KO) Clovis, NM will face Omar Acosta (0-2-0) of Hobbs, NM. Urquizo is a cutie who always brings a big bag of tricks into the ring when he fights. It’s hard to explain, but there is something about him that makes him a favorite with the fans. Maybe it his facial expressions, determination, fear, happiness, whatever he seems to be thinking appears to be written on his face. His problem seems to be inconsistency as I’ve seen him in great shape and at other times. . . He should be in good shape as he’ll be fighting in front of his home town fans. I saw Acosta fight once and he was putting up a good effort when a left hook turned his eye into a balloon. The referee had little choice but to stop the bout. This is a good matchup for both fighters.

The remaining bouts on this entertaining card are listed below.

At 175 lbs. Andrew Tapia (0-1-0) of Clovis faces Jordan Gregory (0-2-2) of Albuquerque, NM. Gregory fought a solid draw against the above mentioned Rico Urquizo last year.

At 126 lbs. Aaron (Angel Boy) Perez (1-0-0, 1 KO) of Albuquerque faces Jahacie Vasquez (1-6-0) of San Antonio, TX. Perez is a highly decorated amateur who turned pro earlier this year. Vasquez is facing a difficult task in Perez. The Albuquerque boxer is the complete package; he can box, punch and has a solid defense. You’ll be seeing a smooth pro on Saturday if you’re at the Curry County Even Center.

At 140 lbs. debuting Rudy Montenegro of Amarillo, TX faces debuting Joel Vasquez of San Antonio, TX.

Promoter Isidro Castillo has an eye for talent and seems to see quality fights where others see nothing. I predict this will be an interesting night of boxing.

PART II: Buffalo Thunder Casino, NM

Pat Holmes will be looking for his fifteenth sellout in a row on Saturday night when he promotes his six bout fight card. Once again Antonio Martinez will headline and there’s a reason for this; he brings excitement every time he climbs in the ring. Also Aaron Martinez and Leanna Martinez will be featured because they show improvement each time they step in the square circle. Although all three fighters share the same last name they are not related, unless you consider ability as making them related. When Holmes two sons stopped boxing, I thought he was finished. He had lost his two ticket sellers, so how was he going to supplant them. Holmes proved you can’t sink a cork, you can hold it under water, but once you remove your hand it rises to the top.

In the main event scheduled for 6 rounds Aaron Martinez (9-3-4, 6 KO’s) of Espanola, NM faces Gabriel Rodriguez (3-1-0) of El Paso, TX.  Martinez has fought as high as middleweight, but in his last bout dropped down to lightweight and said he felt strong at 135 pounds. Watching him that night he still seemed to have his power and aggressive style. Against Rodriguez, he’ll have an advantage in punching power, but might have some difficulty pushing his rival around. Rodriguez has good head movement and loves to work on the inside. There is nothing wrong with his chin either as it is difficult to get a clean shot at his jaw. This should be a very entertaining bout, with the hometown boy having his hands full.

 

The other five bouts on the card are scheduled of 4 rounds.

Leanna Martinez (2-0-0, 1 KO) of Espanola will face debuting Karina Solares of Albuquerque at 112 pounds. I saw both of Martinez pro fights and watched her spar on several occasions. She is a very hard worker and listens to instructions in training. She displays some power, hits well to the body and is improving on her head movement. I know nothing about Solares other than she lives in the same town that I do. If I were working her corner, I’d tell her to keep her elbows in tight and throw lots of uppercuts to keep Martinez on the outside. But advice is only good if the recipient has the basic skills to carry them out.

 

In a bout between debuting fighters at 175 pounds, cage fighter Maurice Jackson of Albuquerque, NM will face Mark Jimenez of Santa Fe, NM. I’m told Jackson is tough in the octagon, but does that translate to the ring?

In another bout between debuting fighters at 160 pounds between debuting fighters, Jake McClain of Rio Rancho, NM will face Loreto Olivas of Santa Fe, NM. All I know about either boxer is that McClain is the son of former heavyweight Sean McClain and brother of Bryant McCain. It’s nice to know he has good blood lines, but that doesn’t mean he can fight. When the bell rings, he’ll leave his corner alone and we’ll all learn how much pedigree counts in the ring.

In still another bout between debuting fighters at 143 pounds Steve Garcia of Albuquerque will face Marcus Rodriguez of El Paso, TX. Everything I know about these boxers is written in my first sentence.

In the opening bout of the night Aaron Martinez (4-1-0, 2 KO’s) will face Everado Lopez (1-1-0) of Albuquerque at 130 lbs. I’ve seen most of Martinez’s fights and he shows improvement every time out. He has power and impressed me when he bounced back from his only defeat with an impressive stoppage. I know nothing about Lopez except he will be facing a live body in Martinez. My advice to Lopez, bring a nice jab into the ring and be prepared to use it. If you allow Martinez to walk inside untouched, it will be a long, painful night. Then again, maybe it won’t be that long a night.

I’ve seen most of Pat Holmes’ cards and can count the bad ones on one finger. There’s a reason he always has sellouts.

 

VOICES FROM THE CORNER: In January bantamweight Jee “Mega” Kim looked very impressive in stopping Joseph Veloz in the second round at the Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino. His manager Sam Shin has keep in touch with me since that time regarding his fighter’s progress. On April 5^th Kim traveled to Tijuana, Mexico to score a first round knockout over Rigoberto Sanchez. Although I was impressed with his victory, what caught my eye was how he recovered from a careless mistake.

 

 

After scoring the first knockdown, he foolishly walked into a left hook to the head. Suddenly Sanchez was all over him, throwing punches with bad intentions. Kim remained calm and using solid defense rode out the attack of his rival. Twenty seconds later he was back in charge, scoring two more knockdowns. On the third trip to the canvas the game Sanchez was unable to regain his feet. Kim made a foolish error but showed maturity in riding out Sanchez’s attack to retake control of the fight.

 

Kim will have his third pro fight on May 24, when he returns to Tijuana to face the ever popular TBA. After that fight I hope to sit down with Kim and his manager Sam Shin for an in depth interview. Although his style is very different than that of Albuquerque’s welterweight Cristian “Castigo” Castillo (2-0-0, 2 KO); like Castillo he appears much more experienced than his limited career would indicate.