(Image by National Golden Gloves)
Last night's Regional Golden Gloves event had four exciting bouts advancing the winners to tonight's match in the finals.
The tournament is scheduled to have 14-17 bouts to determine this years Kansas-Oklahoma National Golden Gloves team.
Lightweight semi
In the lightweight (132 lbs) class, Humberto 'Tito' Tellez of Team Punisher from Winfield, Kansas pulled a close decision win over Brandon Douglas of Bad Lands Boxing gym from Oklahoma City.
Tito was able to pull off the win by landing the high number of scoring punches throughout the bout. Brandon showed great timing to his counter punches coming out of a defensive stance like a Floyd Mayweather, Jr. However, amateur boxing rewards busy boxers who are able to land the scoring punches regardless of the power in the punches.
Brandon landed power punches but the frequency the punches were outnumbered by Tito's. Tito has proven that he can handle hard shots in his recent bout against Markell Armstrong of Villa Boxing last month. Tito is able to persist with his game plan and continue to land the effective scoring punches.
Brandon has a great style for the professional realm and he may want to look over the USA Boxing's official rules to get a better understanding of what the amateur boxing officials are looking for. He may adjust his style a little bit and be as effective as Floyd Jr. was when he won the bronze in the 1996 Olympics. Tito advances to tonight's final event. (View videos Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, and decision.)
Noel Esqueda vs Ricardo Gonzales 2nd Rd stoppage (WichitaBoxing)
Welterweight semi
In the welterweight (152 lbs) class, Noel Esqueda of the Backyard Boys Boxing club from Wichita started off to a good start with a third round stoppage over Ricardo Gonzales of Bad Dog Boxing club from Wichita.
Ricardo, the less experienced of the two, made an impressive start by scoring a lot of the effective scoring punches as Noel was trying to figure him out. Ricardo was able to pull off the first round as Noel kept his guard down enabling Ricardo to rack up some scores.
In the second round, Noel was able to read Ricardo better by the middle of the round and started to catch him with some effective punches. With less than a The minute in the third round, Noel caught Ricardo with an inside left hook to the body. The hook stunned Ricardo and in a delayed reaction, he keeled over on the floor out for the full count.
Ricardo has come a long way with a short amount of time. Challenging a boxer of Noel's caliber and scoring as he did adds to his ring experience and will benefit him in the long run. Now he may want to work on toughening his abs in the gym.
Noel is known for his hard punches but he'll need to focus on scoring points to prepare himself for the nationals. It is imperative for Noel to keep his guard up in the first couple of rounds while he gauges his opponent.
Overcoming points deficit of 5 or more in the national tournament is nearly impossible to achieve. His coach, Johnny Papin, wasn't completely pleased with the win as he rightfully expected more from Noel. Tonight, we'll be able to catch Noel in action for the finals. (View videos Round 1, Round 2, and Round 3.)
Jose Arreola vs Charlie Floyd, Rd 3 stoppage (WichitaBoxing)
Middleweight semi
The middleweight (165 lbs) class drew a lot of excitement as Jose Arreola of Team Frost from Dodge City, Kansas stopped Charlie Floyd II of Sims Boxing Soldiers from Oklahoma City, Kansas in the third round.
Both boxers had bad intentions in their fists as they threw a lot of power shots throughout the bout. In the third round, Jose was able to catch Charlie with a hard overhand right dropping Charlie on his back. Charlie jumped up to his feet at the count of eight motioning to the referee that he was ready to proceed. As the bout resumed, Jose slipped inside Charlie's jab landing a hard right and immediately followed up with the finishing hard left jab dropping Charlie to the floor again.
The referee stopped the bout when Charlie was still on the floor at the count of eight. The ringside doctor and officials immediately climbed in the ring providing care to Charlie. Charlie was able to stand and walkout on his own with some rest and was checked out fine by the doctor. Jose advances to tonight's event for the finals. (View videos Round 1, Round 2, and Round 3.)
Super Heavyweight semi
The super heavyweight (201+ lbs) class wasn't your typical heavyweight bout. Jeffrey Page of the Backyard Boys has the hand and foot speed of a welterweight in the body of a linebacker. Jeffrey, the reigning heavyweight regional golden glove champ, was matched against the taller John Nofire of Tulsa Boxing from Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Jeffrey Page vs John Nofire (WichitaBoxing)
Not many super heavyweights will meet a quick boxer like Jeffrey so John's frustration in the bout is understandable. Jeffrey was able to make the most of his hand speed and foot work to win the decision in this exciting match. (View videos Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, and decision.)
Tonight would be the night to catch the top boxers of the Kansas-Oklahoma region as they compete for the national tournament. You may be able to see a 2012 Olympian in action at 7 pm at the Memorial Hall on 101 S. Walnut in Hutchinson, Kansas.
(Photos will follow and videos of every bout can be found on YouTube by following the link below. Results for female, juniors, and novice division click here.)
For other Kansas boxing news visit Front Page Boxing Kansas.
For boxing videos visit and subscribe to Wichita Boxing Channel on YouTube.
Follow on Twitter by clicking on the link above.
Comments
I saw the fight between ricardo n noel, it looked to me that ricardo was ahead in th fight. if he had not been hurt by the left hook to the body do you think it would be safe to say ricardo would of pulled off the upset against the much more expierenced noel?
I would say that the only fault to Noel is that he doesn't keep his defense tight while he's figuring out his opponent. He may be considered to be a slow starter but he'll get you once he has your figured out. Ricardo was a little tense (understandably so) because he didn't step in with his attacks which means he was a little nervous. If Ricardo wouldn't gained more confidence, it would be possible for an upset. However, Noel gets tougher and tougher throughout the bout. Ricardo gained a lot of experience in this bout and I can see him taking his game to another level with more experiences like this. Overall, I saw Noel taking his time. I would warn him that he won't get away with it at the nationals if he doesn't tighten his defense in the early rounds.
Thanks for your comment!
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!