(APR 7)
SPOKANE, WASH.
– A full week of outstanding boxing action across five newly
created divisions culminated with 27 final round contests on
Saturday at Northern Quest’s Pend Oreille Pavilion on Saturday
in Spokane, Wash. Saturday’s two sessions of Olympic-style
boxing competition featured championship bouts in the elite
men’s and women’s divisions as well as nine senior men’s
contests.
Light
flyweight Leroy Davila (New Brunswick, N.J.) kicked off
the evening session in a championship bout with Leopaldo
Martinez (Laredo, Texas). Davila fell just short of gold in
2012, taking silver in the event, but he moved up to the top
spot in 2013. The 2012 National PAL Champion and Independence
Cup silver medalist took a 3-0 unanimous decision over Martinez
to win his first USA Boxing National Championships title and a
spot on the AIBA Men’s World Championships team.
2012 Olympic
bronze medalist Marlen Esparza (Houston, Texas) has won
every USA Boxing National Championships event that she has boxed
in, entering 2013 with six gold medals on her resume. U.S.
Olympic Team Trials participant Virginia Fuchs (Kemah,
Texas) hoped to end her run in their flyweight finale on
Saturday night. Fuchs, who trains at Esparza’s home gym in the
Houston area, wasn’t intimidated by the first Olympic medalist
to vie for gold in USA Boxing National Championships action and
the two battled in an action packed contest. Yet, at the end of
four exciting rounds, Esparza was named the victor by unanimous
decision, adding a seventh national title to her ever-growing
list of accolades.
The men’s
flyweight bout featured an all-action fight between Olympic
Trials silver medalist Shawn Simpson (Chicago, Ill.) and
Malik Jackson (Washington DC) with both boxers swinging
hard and often throughout the three rounds. The crowd rose to
their feet to applaud the two boxers’ entertaining efforts at
the end of nine minutes while the scorecards were totaled, and
the announcer pronounced that Jackson had taken the bout on a
2-1 split decision.
The Windy City
had more luck in the bantamweight contest between Eduardo
Martinez (Aurora, Ill.) and Stephen Fulton, Jr.
(Philadelphia, Pa.). Martinez kept the pace high through the
rounds of boxing as the two battled it out, and he was named the
winner on a 2-1 split decision over Fulton.
The
featherweight division had the most competitors in the women’s
field and the two females left standing on Saturday faced off in
the final round bout. Jennifer Hamann (Seattle, Wash.)
and Rianna Rios (Alice, Texas) boxed for gold in the
fifth bout of evening competition. Hamann claimed the first
title of the event for the host state, winning a 2-1 decision
over Rios to win gold.
One of the
most highly anticipated bouts of the night was contested in the
women’s lightweight division as 2012 U.S. Olympian Queen
Underwood (Seattle, Wash.) battled reigning featherweight
world champion Tiara Brown (Fort Myers, Fla.). The
momentum swayed between the two elite fighters throughout the
eight minutes of competition with both boxers landing strong
clean punches. With the strong local support from her sister,
nieces and nephews decked out in their Queen Underwood t-shirts,
the 2012 Olympian won a split decision victory over Brown, 2-1,
to claim her sixth USA Boxing National Championship title.
In the men’s
lightweight contest, Underwood’s Independence Cup teammate
Kenneth Sims, Jr. (Chicago, Ill.) faced off with
Cresencio Ramos (San Antonio, Texas), and the bout got off
to an exciting start. Sims sent Ramos to the canvas in the first
round to take the early lead in the bout. Despite the slow
start, Ramos stayed focused, making the 2012 National PAL
Champion earn his victory. Sims accomplished just that, winning
a unanimous decision victory to win his first USA Boxing
National Championship.
Two newcomers
to the elite national scene battled it out in in the light
welterweight championship bout with home state boxer Nicholas
Jefferson (Tacoma, Wash.) facing Jose Alday (Odessa,
Texas) for the gold medal and a spot on the 2013 World
Championships team. Alday pulled out the win over the Washington
state boxer, winning the bout on a 2-1 split decision for USA
Boxing National Championships gold.
Jamontay Clark
(Cincinnati, Ohio) took home the gold medal in the men’s
welterweight contest. He won a unanimous 3-0 decision over
Tony Losey (Wichita, Kansas) in the final round bout to earn
his spot on the World Championships team.
Two World
Championships silver medalists faced off in the women’s
middleweight finale with 2012 welterweight silver medalist
Raquel Miller (San Francisco, Calif.) taking on light
heavyweight silver medalist Franchon Crews (Baltimore,
Md.). Crews took the title over Miller, winning a 3-0 unanimous
decision in the middleweight contest.
Leshawn
Rodriguez
(Shirley,
N.Y.) won the middleweight title with a tiebreaker victory over
Daniel Thomas (Concord, Calif.) in an east
coast-west-coast showdown.
The light
heavyweight crown went to Geremias Torres (Holyoke,
Mass.) following his final round contest with John Magda
(Rutherford, N.J.). Torres won a 3-0 unanimous decision over
Magda in the light heavyweight final.
The
heavy-hitting Joshua Temple (St. Louis, Mo.) took the
ring for the heavyweight bout, battling Michael Hilton
(Trenton, N.J.) in the second to last bout of the night. Both
boxers were swinging for the fences early, looking to land a
shot to end the bout. Hilton pulled out the 2-1 victory over
Temple to take the heavyweight crown.
The super
heavyweight division once again closed the show with former
heavyweight national champion Paul Koon (Philadelphia,
Pa.) taking on mutli-time national titlist Cam F. Awesome
(Kansas City, Kansas). Awesome maintained his hold on the super
heavyweight division, winning a unanimous 3-0 decision over Koon
to take the final gold medal of the night.
The senior
men, who chose to continue to box with headgear, were the first
group to the ring in Saturday’s afternoon competition. Flyweight
Charles Williams (Colorado Springs, Colo.) opened a great
day for the U.S. Army squad, winning the first championship of
the day. Williams won the first of two TKOs in his division,
taking a third round win over Andrew Moy (San Francisco,
Calif.) at the 1:34 mark of the final round.
The second
gold medal of the day went to a familiar name in the
Olympic-style boxing scene – Gary Russell. The younger brother
of 2008 Olympian and promising professional prospect Gary
Russell, Jr. (Capitol Heights, Md.) won the bantamweight
crown with a 2-1 win over Sharone Carter (St. Louis,
Mo.). With his brothers and father all shouting instructions
from the corner, Russell claimed a title his older brother won
for the first time in 2005.
A St. Louis
boxer enjoyed better luck in the third bout of the session as
Canton Miller (St. Louis, Mo.) claimed gold in the
lightweight division. Miller won the second split decision in a
row, defeating Javar Jones (Anderson, Ind.), 2-1.
Reyes Marquez
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) took the second win of the afternoon
for the U.S. Army squad in his welterweight championship bout
with Melquiades Ramirez (Denver, Colo.). Marquez won a
3-0 unanimous decision over Ramirez in the all-Colorado showdown
to take the gold medal.
Marquez’
teammate Marquis Moore (Fort Carson, Colo.) didn’t enjoy
the same luck in his bout with Christopher Galeano
(Bronx, N.Y.) in the middleweight final. Galeano used his height
and reach to outbox the charging Moore en route to a 3-0
unanimous decision and middleweight gold.
The U.S. Army
returned to the winning side in the light heavyweight
championship round bout. 2012 USA Boxing National Championships
silver medalist and Olympic Training Partner Steven Nelson
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) stepped up to the top of the medal
podium with a win over Randy Foster (Covington, Ga.).
Nelson won a 3-0 decision over Foster to take the light
heavyweight crown.
In heavyweight
action, Alvin Varmall (Laplace, La.) took the gold medal
with a victory over Hakim Lopez (Lithonia, Ga.) in their
final round bout. Varmall won a unanimous 3-0 decision in the
three-round bout over Lopez to claim the USA Boxing Heavyweight
National Championship.
Stephan Shaw
(St. Louis, Mo.) put his own stamp on the division in the final
senior men’s bout between he and George Faavae. Shaw
landed heavy shots throughout the bout before the referee called
a halt to the contest at the 2:52 mark, giving Shaw the TKO
victory and the gold medal.
Women’s elite
round action opened finals competition on Saturday afternoon and
it was the light flyweight division that kicked off their
championship bouts. Elisha Halstead (Philadelphia, Pa.)
took the first of nine gold medals in women’s elite action,
defeating Alejandra Mercado (Rockford, Ill.), 2-1 in
their championship contest.
2012 World
Championships bronze medalist and former national champion
Christina Cruz (New York, N.Y.) faced off with up-and-coming
youngster Ayanna Vasquez (Las Cruces, N.M.) in the
bantamweight final round bout. Vasquez was not intimidated but
the older and more experienced Cruz, making the bout exciting
throughout. Yet Cruz used her height and experience to take the
match on a 3-0 unanimous decision, adding another national title
to her already impressive resume.
Cruz’s fellow
Olympic Trials participant and teammate Bertha Aracil
(New York, N.Y.) took another national championship for the Big
Apple in her bout with Faith Franco (Duarte, Calif.).
Aracil won a 3-0 unanimous decision over Franco in the light
welterweight contest to win USA Boxing National Championships
gold.
In women’s
welterweight action, Danyelle Wolf (San Diego, Calif.)
won USA Boxing National Championships gold, defeating 2012
middleweight national champion Fallon Farror (Staten
Island, N.Y.) in their final round showdown. Wolf won a wide
unanimous decision over Farror in the final round bout to give
the California boxer the welterweight title.
The final bout
of the afternoon session took place in the light heavyweight
division as 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Olympic Trials
participants Tiffanie Hearn (Oxnard, Calif.) and Dara
Shen (Alexandria, Va.) faced off in the championship
contest. Hearn took the bout and the title, winning a 3-0
decision over Shen.
Saturday’s
Final Round Results
Elite Men
108 lbs: Leroy
Davila, New Brunswick, N.J., dec. Leopoldo Martinez, Laredo,
Texas, 3-0
114 lbs: Malik
Jackson, Washington, D.C., dec. Shawn Simpson, Chicago, Ill.,
2-1
123 lbs:
Eduardo Martinez, Aurora, Ill., dec. Stephen Fulton, Jr.,
Philadelphia, Pa., 2-1
132 lbs:
Kenneth Sims, Jr., Chicago, Ill., dec. Cresencio Ramos, San
Antonio, Texas, 2-1
141 lbs: Jose
Alday, Odessa, Texas, dec. Nicholas Jefferson, Tacoma, Wash.,
2-1
152 lbs:
Jamontay Clark, Cincinnati, Ohio, dec. Tony Losey, Wichita,
Kan., 3-0
165 lbs:
Le'Shawn Rodriguez, Shirley, N.Y., won on a tiebreakever over
Daniel Thomas, Concord, Calif., TB
178 lbs:
Geremias Torres, Holyoke, Ma., dec. John Magda, Rutherford,
N.J., 3-0
201 lbs:
Michael Hilton, Trenton, N.J., dec. Joshua Temple, St.Louis,
Mo., 2-1
201+lbs: Cam
F. Awesome, Kansas City, Mo., dec. Paul Koon, Philadelphia, Pa.,
3-0
Elite Women
106 lbs:
Elisha Halstead, Philadelphia, Pa., dec. Alejandra Mercado,
Rockford, Ill., 2-1
112 lbs:
Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas, dec. Virgina Fuchs, Kemah,
Texas, 2-1
119 lbs:
Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., dec. Ayanna Vasquez, Las Cruces,
N.M., 3-0
125 lbs:
Jennifer Hamann, Seattle, Wash. dec. Rianna Rios, Alice, Texas,
2-1
132 lbs: Queen
Underwood, Seattle, wash. dec. Tiara Brown, Ft. Meyers, Fla.,
2-1
141 lbs:
Bertha Aracil, Yonkers, N.Y., dec. Faith Franco, Duarte, Calif.,
3-0
152 lbs:
Danyelle Wolf, San Diego, Calif., dec. Fallon Farrar, Staten
Island, N.Y., 3-0
165 lbs:
Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md., dec. Raquel Miller, San
Francisco, Calif., 3-0
178 lbs:
Tiffanie Hearn, Oxnard, Calif., dec. Dara Shen, Alexandria, Va.,
3-0
Senior Men (headgear/do not advance to international
competition)
114 lbs:
Charles Williams, Colorado Springs, Colo., won on TKO over
Andrew Moy, San Francisco, Calif., TKO-3 (1:34)
123 lbs: Gary
Antonio Russell, Capitol Heights, Md., dec. Sharone Carter, St.
Louis, Mo., 2-1
132 lbs:
Canton Miller, St. Louis, Mo., dec. Javar Jones, Anderson, Ind.,
2-1
141 lbs:
Patrick Harris, Hyattsville, Md., won on walkover over Robert
O'Quinn, Lansing, Mich., W/O
152 lbs: Reyes
Marquez, Colorado Springs, Colo., dec. Melquiades Ramirez,
Denver, Colo., 3-0
165 lbs:
Christopher Galeano, Bronx, N.Y., dec. Marquis Moore, Colorado
Springs, Colo., 3-0
178 lbs:
Steven Nelson, Colorado Springs, Colo., dec. Randy Foster,
Covington, Ga., 3-0
201 lbs: Alvin
Varmall, Laplace, La., dec. Hakim Lopez, Lithonia, Ga., 3-0
201+lbs:
Stephan Shaw, St. Louis, Mo., won in a TKO over George Faavae,
Carson, Calif., TKO-3(2:52)
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