By: Austin Killeen – Ringside – November 17, 2018 Photos by Octavio Vera
Promoter Alejandro Castillo played host to the 2018 New Mexico Silver Gloves on Saturday and Sunday at the Empire Event Center in the South Valley. Saturday’s card featured 23 bouts, including show bouts with boxers from Texas participating. Castillo dragged me into the venue kicking and screaming as I knew by Sunday night I would have witnessed forty bouts. The Silver Gloves competition includes amateur boxers from ages eight to fourteen, with the winners moving on to the regional competition in Compton, California. I knew once I was seated at ringside I would enjoy the matches as Castillo’s shows always feature quality bouts including the show bouts. Participants in the show bouts ranged in age from nine to twenty one and their skills are amazing for boxers so young. Due to the number of bouts over the two day event; I’ll cover those contests that caught my eye first, with no disrespect to other contestants.
Bout #13 Open, 106 lbs., Filomeno Pulido, age 14, Moreu Boxing, Albuquerque, NM won by MD over Daniel Ordunes, House of Pain, Las Cruces, NM in a Silver Gloves semi-final bout. The opening two rounds were competitive with neither boxer able to establish dominance. Both boxers were speed merchants making it difficult to score with clean blows. The final round was a big one for Pulido who did not leave it up to the judges. He had a nice feint dipping to his left while simultaneously throwing a blind overhand right to the head with accuracy. Although Pulido is a speedster, he also has some power and looks to be a definite prospect to keep an eye on.
Bout #23, open, 125 lbs., Rolyn Nez, age 16, 505 Fight Factory, Farmington, NM won by Dec over D’Angelo Sanchez, age 16, Las Cruces, NM in a show bout. Although they fought at 125 lbs., Nez appeared to be much bigger. I was impressed by both boxers who were very polished for being so young. Nez is very tall and surprised me with his skills fighting on the inside; scoring with left hooks and right crosses. The final round was all Nez. Sanchez possesses some nice defensive moves and scored with some crisp counterpunching.
Bout #8 novice, 85 lbs., Meteo Moreno, age 13, Castillo Boxing Team, Albuquerque, NM won by UD over Ethan Flores, age 13, SOS Fight Factory, Farmington, NM in a show bout. I liked Moreno’s style as he used a bob and weave to set up his punches, including a nice uppercut. Moreno also has heavy hands which he throws with bad intentions, making life difficult for any opponent? As a result I was impressed with Flores’ grit and determination, as he never gave any indication that he wanted to quit. Fighters like Flores are a trainers dream because they will work hard to learn a skill regardless how difficult it is to master. Keep your eye on Moreno, but don’t sleep on Flores as I think he has potential.
Bout #18 novice, 95 lbs., Aaron Soriano, age 12, Bear Knuckle Boxing, Albuquerque, NM won by UD over Christopher Reyes, Toritos Boxing, Albuquerque, NM in a Silver Gloves Championship bout. Soriano used his distance well to set up his offense, scoring and then moving out of range. Defensively Soriano used lateral movement to make himself a difficult target. Soriano has a style that always seems to leave him in a position to score. Reyes was determined but always seemed to react instead of pressuring his rival.
Bout #14 open, 130 lbs., Isaiah Delao, age 15, The Lubbock Club, Lubbock, TX won by MD over Mican Hernandez, age 16, Team Hernandez, Albuquerque, NM in a show bout. Hernandez is tall but surprised me by fighting from a crouch much of the time. Needless to say he had a strong body attack. Delao came to life in round two scoring to the head with some power. Hernandez was still effective at times with his unorthodox style. Delao continued attacking the head of his opponent, forcing the referee to issue a standing-8-count to Hernandez in the final round. It took awhile for Delao to figure Hernandez out, but once he did he was impressive. Delao showed the ability to think on his feet (no pun intended) as the fight progressed, a sign of a good boxer.
Bout #21 novice, 110 lbs., Kaleb Medina, age 13, Archuleta’s Elite, Las Vegas, NM won by UD over Ivan Watchman, age 13, Warrior Boxing, Albuquerque, NM in a Silver Gloves Championship bout. Medina looked to be the complete package, fighting from his southpaw stance. His hit and run style seemed to frustrate Watchman. Add excellent head movement and Medina was a difficult target to hit. Watchman was determined, but never seemed to figure out his opponent’s technique.
Bout #20 open, 90 lbs., Yoruba Moreu, age 14, Moreu Boxing, Albuquerque, NM won by UD over Jared Pope, age 14, Farmington, NM in a Silver Gloves semi-final bout. Moreu, a southpaw, used the ring as his personal dance floor. This allowed him to attack from all angles with crisps clean punches. Pope started each round strong, but appeared to become frustrated by his elusive opponent’s moves. Pope’s best round was the third when he had some success with right hand leads, but Moreu never seemed to take his foot off the gas.
Bout #5 open, 70 lbs., Terry Green, age 10, The Lubbock Club, Lubbock, TX won by UD over Jose Sandoval, age 10, JDS Gym Portales, NM in a show bout. It’s hard to believe Green, a southpaw, is only 10 years old. Tall for his weight, he knows how to take advantage of his size. To show your skills a fighter needs an opponent who has some ability of his own; Sandoval was more than adequate in that department. For three rounds Green put on a display of lateral movement and an excellent right jab. He always left himself in position to throw his next punch. Sandoval was aggressive but unable to close the distance to score effectively. I’m sure Sandoval left the ring a better boxer then when he entered it.
Bout #3 open, 65 lbs., Edgar Herrera, age 12, The Lubbock Club, Lubbock, TX won by MD over Ezekiel Perez, age 12, Crosstown Boxing, Las Cruces, NM in a show bout. I was very impressed by the skills of Herrera and he needed them as Perez was a live body with winning plans of his own. The switch hitting Herrera used his height to exploit his excellent jab the entire fight. Combine this with nice footwork and you were looking at a polished performer. Perez showed some nice defensive skills and counterpunching ability to make this an interesting bout. All three rounds were a mirror image of each other and the fans appreciated the skills on display.
Bout #12 open, 125 lbs., Javier Olivas, age 13, Superior Boxing, Deming, NM won by UD over Cameron Carrasco, age 13, House of Pain, Las Cruces, NM in a Silver Gloves Championship bout. This was a competitive match with both boxers displaying impressive skills. There was no feeling out round in this contest as both contestants were very aggressive, throwing combinations with bad intentions. I felt Olivas had the better defense and that probably swayed the judges thinking. In amateur boxing somebody has to lose, unfortunately for Carrasco his name was on the wrong side of the score card. They both have talent and we will probably hear from both boxers in the future. Don’t be fooled by the unanimous decision as all three rounds were very competitive with a slight edge going to Olivas in each stanza.
Bout #11 novice, 106 lbs., Ezekiel Martinez, age 14, 505 Fight Factory, Farmington, NM won by Dec over Brian Gutierrez, age 14, TNT, Albuquerque, NM in a Silver Gloves semi-final bout. In rounds one and two Martinez displayed some skills, mixing up his attack to the body-head and body again. Gutierrez was effective landing clean punches but needed to throw more combinations to catch the eyes of the judges. Round three was Gutierrez’s best round landing clean punches while showing nice defense. This was an interesting bout and Martinez appears to be a solid prospect.
Bout #9 novice, 93 lbs., Isaiah Velazquez, age 12, The Lubbock Boxing Club, Lubbock, TX won by TKO over Carlos Castro age 13, Martinez Boxing, Farmington, NM in a show bout. Velazquez was amazing, the result of his offense and the ability to judge distance. I’ve see lots of boxer with offensive skills but fewer who could judge distance properly. Unfortunately for Castro he was the opponent in the other corner. It didn’t take long before Castro was the recipient of two standing-8-counts in the very first round. Seconds into the next round it was obvious that nothing was going to change, so the referee wisely halted the match. Velazquez is an amazing boxer for his age and Castro didn’t belong in the same ring. That’s not to belittle Castro, if he’s willing to get back in the gym and work hard.
Bout #19 novice, 100 lbs., Angel Enrriquez, age 14, Toritos Boxing, San Antonio, TX, won by KO over Damon Sandoval, Toritos Boxing, Albuquerque, NM in a Silver Gloves semi-final bout. Enriquez caught Sandoval cold, scoring with a vicious left hook early in the opening round. In obvious pain Sandoval hit the canvas and was unable to beat the count. This can happen to any fighter; unfortunately for Sandoval he never had a chance to show the audience his skills.
Bout #4 open, 70 lbs., Alex Rodriguez, age 12, Castillo Boxing Team, Albuquerque, NM won by SD over Miguel Montalvo, age 12, Terry Green Academy, El Paso, TX in a show bout. These young men were in excellent shape and looked to be able to go six rounds easily. I had Rodriguez winning a close first round which featured some nice skills both on offense and defense. In rounds two and three I gave the edge to Montalvo due to his accurate punching. This was a very close fight and could have gone either way. Where you were sitting at ringside could easily have resulted in differing viewpoints on the scoring.
Bout #16, open, 130 lbs., Michael Archuleta, Archuleta Elite, Las Vegas, NM won by MD over Max Moya, Team Pitbull, Albuquerque, NM in a show bout. Archuleta, a southpaw, captured the open round with volume punching. If Moya threw a few right hand leads it might have disrupted his opponent’s rhythm. Moya opened the second round strong scoring with overhand rights, but Archuleta might have stolen the round with a strong finish. Archuleta was issued a standing-8-count by the referee in the final round, which featured some exciting toe-to-toe exchanges.
Bout #10 open, 80 lbs., Jermaine Nez, age 12, 505 Fight Factory, Farmington, NM won by UD over Sheldon Watchman, age 12, Warrior Boxing, Albuquerque, NM in a Silver Gloves semi-final bout. This was a tactical bout with both boxers displaying some nice skills. At the opening bell both boxers were looking to score in a very close round. I gave the edge to Watchman in a close second round, due to his nice use of distance and solid offensive display. Round three was a reverse of the second, as Nez displayed nice hit and run tactics. He’d step in land clean punches and then move out of range. Both boxers showed potential and are obviously well coached.
Bout #22 open, 125 lbs., Jimmy Aguilar-Rios, age 15, Las Cruces, Pal, Las Cruces, NM won by Dec over Duane Yazza, age 15, Gallup, NM in a show bout. The opening round was fasted paced, but Aguilar-Rios caught my eye with his effective hit and run style. Round two was close, but Aguilar-Rios might have stole the round with his shoeshine offense late in the round. Yazza took the final round by pressuring his rival, taking Aguilar-Rios out of his rhythm. This was an entertaining bout which illustrated the importance of starting a three round bout fast.
Bout #17 open, 155 pounds, Armando Calvo, age 21, The Lubbock Boxing Club, Lubbock, TX won by UD over Augustin Naranjo, age 21, Team Pitbull, Albuquerque, NM in a show bout. Calvo controlled the opening round behind a nice jab and body shots. Naranjo came to life late in the round. Round two Calvo scored with jabs and rights, while Naranjo scored with one punch at a time. In round three, although Naranjo scored well, Calvo scored more often to edge the round. All three rounds were competitive, but Calvo just did more to catch the eye of the judges.
Bout #15 novice, 118 lbs., Analyse Sierra, Crosstown Boxing, Las Cruces, NM won by SD over Jazlyn Solis, Punch Boxing, Farmington, NM in a Silver Gloves Championship bout. This was the only female bout on the card. Sierra enjoyed a huge height advantage over Solis, but gave up her size advantage in the opening round. Fighting on the inside, she took too many punches from her smaller rival. Surprisingly, Solis scored effectively to the head to dominate the round. Sierra took over the fight by fighting rounds two and three at long range, where her long reach controlled the action. The fight gave the fans plenty of action, as demonstrated by the crowd noise in an entertaining bout.
Bout #1 novice, 50 lbs., Christian Castro , age 9, Superior Boxing, Deming, NM won by TKO over Nate Parrel, age 9, Martinez Boxing Club, Farmington, NM in a show bout. Castro had a big advantage in height and reach, and knew how to capitalize on it. At the opening bell he was very aggressive and the referee had to administer a standing eight count to Parrel. Give Parrel credit for being game and showing some counterpunching skills, but it wasn’t enough forcing the bout to be stopped in the second round.
Bout #2 novice, 60 lbs., Lorenzo Cerrillo, age 9, Duke City Brawlers, Albuquerque, NM won by decision over Damien Tovar, age 8, Terry Green Academy, El Paso, TX in a show bout. Cerrillo carried the opening round on volume punching, overwhelming his opponent. Tovar has some defensive skills but was unable to find a consistent offensive. In round two Tovar landed a nice overhand right to the head of Cerrillo, but it was Cerrillo’s round due to his machine gun offense. Cerrillo continued his attack in the final round to capture the decision.
Bout #6 novice, 65 lbs., Sammy Romero, age 9, Duke City Brawlers, Albuquerque, NM won by MD over Hesser Montalvo, age 9, Terry Green Academy, El Paso, TX in a show bout. In the opening round Romero came out swinging, overwhelming Montalvo who had to take a standing-8-count. Adding to Montalvo’s problems, Romero was fairly accurate with his punches. Round two was a replay of the opening round minus the standing-8-count. In the final round Montalvo displayed some defensive skills, but needs to work on his counterpunching skills. Give Montalvo credit for not giving up and trying to turn the fight around. Romero showed some skills and no doubt will improve with more experience.
Bout #7 novice, 70 lbs., Alex Ortiz, age 9, Martinez Boxing, Farmington, NM won by UD over Roman Lorenzy, age 9, The Lubbock Boxing Club, Lubbock, TX in a show bout. Ortiz’s defense was his offense as he was very aggressive. Lorenzy was under constant pressure and unable to generate any attack of significance until the final round. But give Lorenzy credit for not giving up and trying to change his attack. Ortiz has a right hand that is almost robotic, which should give anyone trouble.
