USA Boxing Junior Olympics District Championships (Part 2)

Adrian Hernandez (left) ducks under a punch thrown by Jason Rivera at the USA Boxing Tournament at City Boxing in downtown San Diego. Saturday, March 13, 2010. All photos: Jim Wyatt

USA Boxing Jr. Olympics District Championship (Part 2)
Saturday, March 13, 2010, USA Boxing held their Junior Olympics District Championships at City Boxing in San Diego’s downtown. Throughout the day and into the night 21 bouts were contested. Here are the results from Bout #11 through #21.

Bout #11 featured 11 year-olds Israel Caballelo of Barrio Station gaining the decision over Roberto Maldonado of Vista. Caballelo did very well in the first two rounds scoring with blows to the head and stomach and then may have lost the third round as Maldonado started to gain confidence.

In Bout #12 Carlos Geraldo of the National City CYAC bested Daniel Morales of the Gutierrez Gym. After only eight months of training, Geraldo seems like a natural in the ring and kept his hands flying throughout. Each punch thrown confirmed that he knows all about staying grounded and how to use his leverage. With his stiff jab pushing Morales back, his opponent was kept off balance.  

Bout #13 was cancelled after Cesar Lopez of Real Deal was unavailable to compete against Brian Espinosa of Escondido. 

Bout #14 was selected the best bout of the tournament and it featured 17 year-old Jacob Martinez of Old School Boxing versus 18 year-old Jesse Torres, unattached.

When one goes searching for an example of a boxer with heart, they can now include Jacob Martinez. In the midst of being issued (3) eight counts, Martinez did not quit. He did however do enough to win over the hearts and minds of three judges. Without a doubt Torres was the slicker boxer and countered beautifully, but Martinez was relentless. No matter how many times he was tagged and he was tagged good; he kept coming back like a Pit bull to not only settle the score, but win.

Bout #15 featured Alfredo Rodriguez of Alliance Training Center going up against Jose Toribio of the National City CYAC. It was another classic battle between the smaller, lighter boxer, Toribio, working the inside against a taller and seven pound heavier boxer, Rodriguez.. Rodriguez took the first round quite easily as Toribio seemed content to measure his opponent. When the bell sounded for round two, it was Toribio getting off first and by the third round he actually dominated most exchanges, at least in the punch count.

Bout #16 featured 27 year-old Josue De La Sancha of City Boxing in his debut bout against 22 year old Gibran Perez of North County Boxing. De La Sancha knows how to use his jab and it kept his opponent at bay. When they did exchange blows, De La Sancha made sure his punch count was greater and scored well with a powerful left hook.

Bout #17 featured Rafael Nunez in a slower, more non-committal battle with Aaron Blanco of City Boxing. After being spoiled all day, these two slowed the pace down and the bout wasn’t really decided until the final round when Nunez peppered Blanco enough for the referee to give him a standing eight count. Up until that jab, jab, followed by an overhand right, the two traded stiff jabs that often connected at the very same time.

Bout #18 featured Sharyan Etozan of Encinitas doing battle with Luke Redondo of City Boxing. These guys threw some heavy leather. Only problem for Blanco, Etozan landed more punches and more than a few of Blanco’s bombs missed their mark.   

Bout #19 featured Edgar Garcia of La Gente versus Steven Vitug, a southpaw from the Alliance Training Center. Vitug, who had the height advantage, was quite impressive if you can overlook the fact that he rarely throws his jab, the one ingredient that makes the left hook work and make it seem like it’s appearing out of nowhere. Still, Vitug landed many left hands and did more than enough to impress the judges.     

Bout #20 Joe Sanchez of Old School Boxing had his hand raised in victory after overwhelming Cassius Cruz of the LA Boxing Club. Cruz let his friends and namesake down, by not jabbing or moving like the great one. He was more like a sitting duck as Sanchez poured it on. 

Part 1 of the tournament is in our previous article