Austin Killeen ringside     Photos by Lori Garcia

The Isleta Resort & Casino played host to the Firefighters vs the Police last Saturday Night. Ten bouts took place in front of a charged-up crowd who loved the action. The main event between Janessa Ruiz (Firefighters) and Erin Streater (Police) was clearly the fight of the night. The fighter of the night was Ryan Gray (LLPD) who put on a clinic of offense and defense in scoring an impressive win against a game opponent. Dennis “DC” Chavez was the ring announcer and he worked the crowd to a fever pitch. David Rios and Stan Sevadra were the referees, while Esther Lopez, Anthony Romero, and Chris Tellez were the judges. The Money raised by this event is placed in a First Responders Fund and used to help Fire and Police families when insurance fails to cover emergencies.

In the main event of the evening, at 150 lbs., Janessa Ruiz (BCFD) won a split decision over Erin Streater (NMSP). This was a thriller, featuring toe-to-toe exchanges for three full rounds. These ladies weren’t throwing windmill punches, they were sitting down on their shots to ensure maximum power. All three rounds were razor close, with neither lady seemingly able to get an advantage. The only thing that stopped them was the final bell. Judge Esther Lopez scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Streater but was overruled by judges Anthony Romero and Chris Tellez who saw the contest 30-27 for Ruiz. I agreed with Judge Lopez, but it wasn’t a bad decision because of the closeness of each round.

 

In the Co-Feature at 150 lbs., Jared Abeita (Isleta PD) won by UD over William Chavez (AFR). It appeared early in the first round that Abeita would win as he was scoring to both head and body. Suddenly Chavez came to life scoring with clean punches. Just as one boxer seemed done, he would lunch a counter-attack forcing his opponent to retreat. This pretty much described the action for the first two rounds. This changed in the final round with Abeita taking control over his tiring opponent. Chavez would stage a flurry of punches, but couldn’t maintain it. This bout had a lot of action.

 

 

In the eighth bout of the evening at 210 lbs., Ricky Dominguez (BFPD) won by UD over Adam Jaramillo (MDC). In the opening two rounds, Dominguez dominated behind a nice jab and body punching. Jaramillo needed to punch back, but elected to mainly stay on defense. In the final round, Jaramillo found his right hand and it had some power. Both fighters went toe-to-toe throwing some big bombs.

In the seventh bout of the evening at 165 lbs., Anthony Orozco (BCSO won by UD over Kris Garcia (LLFD). This may not have been the sweet science but Orosco and Garcia knew how to entertain the fans. This contest was a head-on collision with both boxers free swinging in the hopes of scoring. I gave the edge to Orosco in the first round. The second round was better than the first if that’s possible. Orozco scored with a big left, leaving Garcia with a bloody nose. Somehow Garcia found the energy to stage a strong finish to make it close. In the final round, both boxers were exhausted but refused to quit to the delight of the fans. I hope neither fighter had to work the third shift last night after leaving Isleta.

 

In the sixth bout of the evening at 155 lbs., Noah Chavez (BCSO) won by TKO over Patrick Hernandez (TCSO). In this contest Chavez, a southpaw used overhand lefts effectively to dominate the contest. Chavez had the heart but lacked the experience to survive. A right hook dropped Hernandez and he also received a standing-8-count during the round. In the second round, Hernandez took a second standing-8-count causing Referee David Rios to halt the action at 42 seconds of the round.

 

 

In the fifth bout of the evening at heavyweight, Wesley Buster (BCSO) won by UD over Matt Yguado (MDC). Yguado looked like bad news every time he went on the attack, but Buster always had a left jab waiting for him i. Yguado is a good boxer and would probably win most nights. Unfortunately, this was not one of those nights. Buster was smoother and knew how to use his jab.

 

 

 

In the fourth bout of the evening at 165 lbs., Ryan Gray (LLPD) won by a second-round TKO over Ethan Klein (NMSUFire). Gray proved to be one polished fighter which was bad news for the well-conditioned but inexperienced Klein. Gray used distance, lateral movement, head movement, and counter punching to dominate the fight. In the opening round, Gray dropped his opponent with an overhand right to the head. Additionally, Klein took a standing-8-count. In the second round, the one-sided contest continued until referee Stan Sevadra halted the contest at 59 seconds of the round.

 

 

In the third bout of the evening at 205 lbs., Cameron Clark (LCFD) won by UD over Michael Archuleta (MDC). Both boxers were well-conditioned and it showed by the pace of the opening round, which featured clean punching by both. This was a repeat of the opening round except that Clark was trapping Archuleta on the ropes and scoring to the body. Archuleta took a standing-8-count in the final round to seal the verdict in favor of Clark.

In the second bout of the evening at Heavyweight, Justin Lee (APD) won by TKO over Cesar Rivas (PNM). Both boxers had bad intentions at the opening bell, exchanging body blows for much of the round. In the second Lee started trapping his opponent on the ropes, where he did a lot of damage. Referee David Rios stopped the contest 15 seconds into the final round to save the game Rivas from further punishment.

In the opening bout of the evening at 205 lbs., Geovany Lorenzo, (USAF) won by UD over Sean Chavez (PPD/NMSP). Lorenzo opened the first round fast as Chavez appeared to be tight. Lorenzo attacked the body, while Chavez failed to move his hands. The second round was a repeat of the first with Chavez just not doing enough. In the final round, Chavez took a standing-8-count but then engaged in some good exchanges with Lorenzo.

 

 

 

Voices from the Corner: At the Olympic Trials being held in Lake Charles, Louisiana on Monday Abraham Perez advanced when his opponent Fernando Martinez did not make weight. His next bout will be on Wednesday when he faces Rosco Hill of Spring, Texas. Sharahya Moreu also advanced on Monday winning a split decision over Danielle Wolfe of San Diego,  California. On Wednesday she will face Jill Stafford of La Mesa, California.