By Austin Killeen ringside

In 2017 the members of the New Mexico Golden Gloves team all earned their positions without having to fight. Fortunately that year, Abraham Perez and Zachariah Jacquez voluntarily agreed to box each other with the winner having the right to select his choice between the 114 pound and 123 pound divisions. The bout was very competitive with Perez capturing the decision. That was a sad day for New Mexico Golden Gloves and it was questionable if the tournament was finished. Last year a few bouts were contested which was an improvement. This year six divisions were up for grabs at American Legion Post 13 on Sunday, so the tournament still has a pulse. But USA Boxing in its wisdom has made the open division for the GG’s far more stringent than that of USA Boxing’s open division. You have to be eighteen years of age when you step in the ring. Open division for USA Boxing requires you to have turned seventeen years of age by the end of the year. No one seems to be able to answer the obvious question; why does the GG’s have a much more difficult age requirement. As with all amateur cards I cover, I’ll cover those contests that caught my eye first, with no disrespect to other contestants. Additional information regarding contestants provided if available.

Bout 10, 141 Pounds: Jorge Madrid, Columbus won by Dec over Codi Chavez (defending state champ), Albuquerque (Power Point Boxing). I have witnessed some of Chavez’ bouts in the past and knew he was good. I had no knowledge of Madrid, but knew if he had half of the energy of his trainer, Leo Hand, he’d be in excellent shape. This proved to be a war, featuring toe-to-toe exchanges for three rounds. As offensive as both fighters were, they also displayed some defensive skills. The first round was like two logo pieces locked in place and incapable of separating. First one would attack, then the other, each forcing his rival to cover up. But oxygen was being burned up due to the pace of the contest, forcing each attacker to rest after unloading their arsenal of weapons. The first round was difficult to call. Rounds two and three clearly belonged to Madrid, as he forced his will on Chaves the majority of each round. Just when it looked like Chavez was finished he would stage a rally of his own. Clearly Madrid should represent New Mexico well at the regionals, it’s a shame there isn’t a spot for Chavez when the team travels to Denver, Colorado on April 27.

Bout 9, 114 Pounds: Abraham Perez, Albuquerque (Perez Boxing) won by KO over Fabian Mendez. I’ve covered a couple of Mendez’s bouts in Albuquerque and he clearly has some skills at the local level. Unfortunately, his rival, defending champ Abraham Perez has been competing at the national and international level as well as training with the Olympic team for over a year now. After taking two standing eight counts in the opening round, Mendez absorbed a brutal left hook to the body and hit the canvas for a ten count. Perez is the complete package and should have an excellent chance of winning at the Nationals. Mendez has nothing to be disheartened about; he just had the misfortune of running into one of the best amateurs, pound-for-pound in the country.

 

Bout 5, 201 Pounds: Trinity Fautanu won by TKO over Paul De Herrera. You could make an argument that Fautanu and De Herrera are two of the most inexperienced and least talented boxers in the tournament. But sometimes heart can overcome all obstacles in a boxer’s way. I’m sure some fans would even go so far as to vote this contest fight of the night, as it was so exciting. Neither boxer had any idea what it meant to pace themselves. From the opening bell they just threw bombs with bad intentions. When one fighter got tired the other would take over the offense. When the bell ended the first stanza, no one could figure out how either boxer was still standing. I had De Herrera winning the first round and he appeared to be taking the second round as well. That’s when Fautanu unloaded a right hand from the outfield which somehow found the chin of his rival. De Herrera fell backwards, hitting the deck and the fight was over. Fautanu has a difficult task ahead, taking the trip to Colorado, but if his opponent is lazy don’t count him out.

Bout 7, 132 Pounds: Estevan Segura, Santa Fe (Lights Out Boxing) won by DEC over Steven Trujeque, Albuquerque. In the opening round there was a lot of wasted motion, which consumes energy. Segura used his length to capture a close first round. In the second round, Segura used volume punching to easily capture the round. In the final round Trujeque took two standing-eight-counts, but was determined to survive to the final bell. Segura makes the trip to Denver and Trujeque showed a lot of grit.

 

 

Bout 8, 152 Pounds: Damien La Riva, Albuquerque (Unattached) won by Dec over Omar Montano, Albuquerque. The opening round featured lots of action; Montano opened strong and La Riva had a big finish. This was a close round. La Riva started the second round slow, but used a nice jab and uppercuts for a big finish. In the final round Montano came back to life and La Riva didn’t seem to have the same energy as he did in round two. This was a close bout, making the judge’s job very difficult.

 

 

 

Bout 6, 165 Pounds: Joseph Chavez, Albuquerque (Power Point Boxing) won by DEC over Charles Lewis, Albuquerque. Chavez used jabs and uppercuts to control the opening round. Lewis had difficulty getting under the punches of his much taller opponent. The following two rounds were also fought at a slow pace. Lewis was good on defense but never figured out how to get under the jab of Chavez. For the next two weeks Chavez has to work on his ability to follow up his jab with overhand rights and left hooks, otherwise his trip to the regionals could be disappointing.

 

 

Regional qualifiers via walkover:

Woman:

Sharahya Moreu, Albuquerque 151 pounds

Isabel Garcia, Clovis 141 pounds

Yvonne Gonzales, 106 pounds

Men:

Quentin De Leon, 123 pounds

Chris Okoa 201-plus

Show bouts (winners do not qualify for the regionals)

70 pounds, age 10: Jayden Segura, Duke City Boxing won by SD over Santos Sanchez Las Cruces

98 pounds, age 14: Yoruba Moreu, Moreu Boxing won by UD over Marcos Sanchez, Dona Ana Boxing

100 pounds, age 14, Filomeno Pulido, Moreu Boxing won by won by DEC over Elijah Chavira