by: Austin Killeen – Ringside – November 10, 2018
Saturday afternoon the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) in Santa Fe hosted an eleven bout exhibition boxing card at the local High School. In my day we use to call them boxing smokers. Call them what you want, they were entertaining, competitive matches with plenty of skills on display. When the boxers were introduced, no weights or hometowns were announced. There were two female bouts on the card and both matches were intense. Due to the number of bouts; I’ll cover those contests that caught my eye first, with no disrespect to other contestants.
In bout #10, JR Estrada won by decision over Gregory Abate in the fight of the night. Both boxers possessed some impressive skills, both on offense and defense. Abate is tall and rangy and possesses good hand and foot speed. He opened the contest with snapping left jabs and overhand rights. This forced Estrada to react otherwise the fight would never have gone to a decision. Estrada relied on timing and counterpunching to earn the respect of Abate. I gave the opening round to Abate, but it was very close. In the second Estrada found a home for his left hooks and right hands to the body. The pace was fast and the round might have gone to Estrada. The final round was a repeat of the second and I had Abate winning a close decision. But my opinion didn’t matter and the judges awarded the verdict to Estrada. Voting this the fight of the night was well received by the audience.
In bout #9, Augustine Palomino won by TKO over Manny Miranda in an action packed fight. In the first round Miranda displayed a stinging jab and hard overhand rights. The stubborn Palomino refused to fold and actually landed some nice shots at the close of the round. In the second stanza Palomino took over behind a solid attack on the inside. This seemed to take the steam out of Miranda and he was administered a standing 8 count. Miranda has potential, but Palomino appears to be ready for bigger game right now. This was another surprisingly good fight, with both fighters displaying good skills.
In bout #6, Michael Archuleta won by decision over Martin Jacobo in a close hard fought bout. I had Archuleta taking the opening stanza behind nice right hands to the head. Archuleta started fast but seemed to fade. In round two the switch hitting Archuleta was very effective when he fought as a southpaw, which he did for most of the round. I had the final round for Jacobo, due to his effective right hand shots to the head. Obviously the judges didn’t see it as I did. Archuleta might consider fighting as a southpaw on a full time basis, as he did very well from that stance.
In bout #8, Franya Enrriquez won by decision over Alyssa Shije. As in bout #5 the girls fought one minute rounds, but appeared capable of easily handling an extra minute. Shije jumped on her rival in the opening round, scoring repeatedly to the head and body. Enrriquez fought back, but couldn’t create space. In rounds two and three Enriquez scored repeatedly from the outside, taking Shije out of her game plan. When Shije did get close she seemed to smother her own attack. This was an entertaining contest.
In bout #5, Arianna Salazar won by decision over Daniela Martinez in an action packed bout. In the opening round Martinez was like a magnet seeking a refrigerator door to stick to. She was on Salazar like a rash, not giving her opponent any room to work. But in the 2nd and 3rd rounds Salazar figured her opponent out, creating space to land sharp right hands to the head. They fought one minute rounds, but clearly would have been better served fighting two minute rounds. Both girls were in excellent shape and could have easily handled the extra minute.
In bout #11, Sergio Castillo won a decision over Omar Montano. It was all Montano early in the first round but then he took his foot off the pedal allowing Castillo to steal the round with some nice uppercuts on the inside. Rounds two and three were a repeat of the first, with Montano opening fast but fading as the rounds continued. This bout seemed to raise more questions than it answered and I would love to see a rematch. Montano needs a supply of oxygen and Castillo needs to add a left hook to his nice right uppercut.
In bout #7, Rey Zapata won by TKO in the 2nd round. I gave the opening round to Zapata due to effective volume punching, but Rael scored with some clean shots of his own. In the second round Rael took some solid shots from his opponent, causing the referee to issue two standing 8 counts and eventually stopping the fight to save Rael from taking unnecessary punishment. I liked Rael in defeat and feel he just needs more experience.
In bout #2, fans were treated to a very competitive fight in which neither boxer seemed to take a backward step. The opening round featured some nice toe-to-toe exchanges, with Manriquez capitalizing on his height and reach advantage to take the round. But it came with a price as Ordonez landed some nice right hands to the body. The second round was a flip of the first as Ordonez found the range with some nice overhand rights to the head. Manriquez started fast but faded as the round progressed. The final round was hotly contested with Manriquez dominating from long range, and Ordonez effective on the inside. Manriquez got the decision, but by the narrowest of margins.
In bout #3, Yusef Morris won by decision over Ivan Montes in a wild contest featuring some nice exchanges. In the opening round both boxers threw leather like the match was scheduled for thirty seconds. But it was scheduled for three rounds and by the middle of the second round both boxers were exhausted. For the rest of the match they would unload, take a step back, and suck in a big lung full of air and resume punching. The contest might have lacked skill but it made up for it in action.
In bout #4, Isiah Lovato won by decision over Ricky Morales in a close contest. Lovato carried the opening round behind overhand rights and occasional rights. Morales keep waiting to launch an attack, but never did. The second was a complete reversal of the first, Morales capturing the second stanza. The final round was the best of the fight which I gave to Morales because of his effective use of jabs and overhand rights. The judges disagreed with me and it’s their opinion that counts. The fight was very close and I certainly don’t think it was a bad decision.
In bout #1, Alberto Marquez won by TKO over Mitchell Gray. This was a contest in which there was too much of a discrepancy in experience, resulting in a quick conclusion to the fight. Marquez a volume puncher simply overwhelmed Gray. Marquez scored two standing 8 counts while the game but inexperienced Gray was searching for answers. An overhand right by Marquez forced the referee to halt the contest in the first round.
