(JAN 24) (SPOKANE, WASH.) – The
2015 USA Boxing Elite National Championships relocated on
Friday, moving from the HUB Sports Center to Northern Quest
Resort and Casino’s Pend Oreile Pavilion for two sessions of
semifinal round competition.
The top two finishers in the three Olympic weight divisions from
this week’s national championships clinched the first berths in
the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Women’s Boxing and the
intensity of the semifinal round reflected the importance of the
bouts. 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and newly crowned world
champion Marlen Esparza (Houston, Texas) grabbed the first spot
of the Olympic Trials with a dominating 3-0 victory over former
featherweight champion Melissa Parker (Fort Carson, Colo.) in
the opening bout of the evening session. Virginia Fuchs (Kemah,
Texas) claimed the second spot with a 3-0 win of her own over
two-time light flyweight titlist Alex Love (Colorado Springs,
Colo.). Esparza and Fuchs will battle for USA Boxing National
Championships gold for the third straight year on Saturday
night.
Two 2012 Olympic
Trials participants will make a return visit in 2016 following
lightweight semifinal action. Mikaela Mayer (Los Angeles,
Calif.) snagged the first spot with a 3-0 win over Carmen Vargas
(Houston, Texas) in their semifinal showdown. The 2012 World
Championships medalist will face Lisa Porter (Van Nuys, Calif.)
in the lightweight title bout on Saturday.
A long awaited
rematch from the finals of the 2012 Olympic Trials took place in
the first women’s middleweight bout of the day. 2012 Olympic
gold medalist and reigning world champion Claressa Shields
(Flint, Mich.) took on former national champion Tika Hemingway
(Breckenridge, Pa.) for the first Olympic Trials berth in the
middleweight division. Hemingway, who is coming back off a long
layoff, showed very little ring rust in the highly anticipated
match-up. She looked to make the Olympic champion uncomfortable
and smother Shields’ shots in their semifinal match-up. Despite
Hemingway’s strong start, Shields didn’t get flustered and stay
focused on her game plan, particularly late in the bout. After
four rounds of closely-contested action, the bout went to the
scorecards and Shields took the decision on a split decision
tiebreaker. She will challenge another familiar opponent, 2012
World Championships welterweight silver medalist Raquel Miller
(San Diego, Calif.) in the finals. Miller clinched her Olympic
Trials berth with a unanimous decision victory over Naomi Grahm
(Colorado Springs, Colo.).
Two 2013 youth national champions squared off in flyweight
semifinal action on Friday at the Pend Oreile Pavilion. Antonio
Vargas (Kissimmee, Fla.) and Gilbert Renteria (Houston, Texas)
competed in an intense affair in the first elite division
tournament for both boxers. Vargas closed the bout in impressive
fashion on his way to a unanimous decision win. He will take on
Khalid Twaiti (Brooklyn, N.Y.) for his first elite division gold
medal on Saturday night.
Maliek Montgomery (Macon, Ga.) and Hector Tanajara (San Antonio,
Texas) faced off in a battle of 2014 National Golden Gloves and
National PAL champions in the lightweight division. Tanajara
boxed his way to a split decision victory and a spot in the
lightweight finale with reigning champion Genaro Gamez (San
Diego, Calif.).
In super heavyweight action, 2014 Youth World Champion Darmani
Rock (Philadelphia, Pa.) stepped up his competition level from
his tournament opener to battle 2014 USA Boxing National
Championships silver medalist Elvis Garcia (Tacoma, Wash.).
Garcia gave Rock a much tougher test in their semifinal match-up
but Rock pulled out the win by split decision to advance to
final round competition.
In the day’s early action, bantamweight Christina Cruz (New
York, N.Y.) once again earned a final round berth following a
first round TKO due to injury in her semifinal bout with Rory
Santos (Jber, Alaska). She will take on Jennifer Chieng
(Brooklyn, N.Y.) in final round competition on Saturday
afternoon.
2012 World Champion Tiara Brown (Fort Myers, Fla.) saw her first
action of the 2015 USA Boxing Elite National Championships
following a walkover win in Thursday’s quarterfinals. She
battled Indeya Smith (Grand Prairie, Texas) in the semifinal
round, utilizing her significant height advantage to win a
unanimous decision. Brown will take on Ashleigh Moore (Buzzards
Bay, Mass.) for the featherweight title in championship round
action on Saturday.
The men’s light welterweight division featured an action-packed
bout between Luis Feliciano (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Rahim Gonzales
(Sylmar, Calif.) in the second semifinal match-up. Gonzales got
off to a strong start but Feliciano stole the momentum late in
the fight, giving Gonzales a standing eight count. He moved one
step closer to his second straight Olympic Trials with a 3-0
decision over Gonzales. He will battle Eduardo Garcia (Houston,
Texas) in the championship bout.
The welterweight championship bout will feature a match-up
between two-time elite national champion Danyelle Wolf (San
Diego, Calif.) and 2013 youth titlist Samantha Kinchen
(Lexington, Ky.) following semifinal victories by both former
gold medalists. Wolf took a unanimous decision over Catarina
Lentini (Bethlehem, Pa.) while Kinchen defeated Melissa Kelly
(Everett, Mass.) by the same margin.
Two-time men’s middleweight champion Leshawn Rodriquez (Medford,
N.Y.) once again advanced to the tournament finale with a
unanimous decision win over Christopher Thompson (Flint, Mich.).
He will face 2014 welterweight silver medalist Chordelle Booker
(Brooklyn, N.Y.) in the middleweight finale on Saturday
afternoon.
Hometown hero Patrick Ferguson (Spokane, Wash.) continued his
improbable run through the tournament in the final bout of the
early session with Kato Montgomery (Garfield Heights, Ohio).
Montgomery grabbed the early momentum but Ferguson didn’t get
discouraged and continued to press forward. With less than 30
seconds remaining in the bout, he won a TKO victory over
Montgomery to earn a final round berth along with Vardan
Khatachatran (Los Angeles, Calif.).
Final round compeitition will be contested in two sessions at
noon and 6 p.m. at the Pend Oreile Pavilion. Tickets are
available at the door or online at www.northernquest.com.
Friday’s Semifinal Results
5 p.m.
112 lbs/female: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas dec. Melissa
Parker, Fort Carson, Colo., 3-0
112 lbs/female: Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas, dec. Alex Love,
Colorado Springs, Colo., 3-0
114 lbs/male: Khalid Twaiti, Brooklyn, N.Y., dec. Luis Delgado,
San Antonio, Texas, 2-1
114 lbs/male: Antonio Vargas, Kissimmee, Fla., dec. Gilbert
Renteria, Houston, Texas, 3-0
132 lbs/female: Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., dec. Carmen
Vargas, Houston, Texas, 3-0
132 lbs/female: Lisa Porter, Van Nuys, Calif., dec. Mioshia
Wagoner, Lawrence, Kansas, 2-1
132 lbs/male: Hector Tanajara, San Antonio, Texas dec. Maliek
Montgomery, Macon, Ga., 2-1
132 lbs/male: Genaro Gamez, San Diego, Calif., dec. Jamaine
Ortiz-Rodriguez, Worcester, Mass., 3-0
141 lbs/female: Queen Underwood, Seattle, Wash., dec. Rashida
Ellis, Lynn, Mass., 2-1
141 lbs/female: Nakarri Jones, Tampa, Fla., dec. Nisa Rodriguez,
Bronx, N.Y., 2-1
152 lbs/male: Ardreal Holmes, Flint, Mich., dec. John Williams,
Baton Rouge, La., 3-0
152 lbs/male: VeShawn Owens, St. Louis Park, Minn., dec. Paul
Kroll, Philadelphia, Pa., 3-0
165 lbs/female: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich., dec. Tika
Hemingway, Breckenridge, Pa., 2-1
165 lbs/female: Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif., dec. Naomi
Graham, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3-0
178 lbs/male: Edward Ortiz, San Antonio, Texas dec. Niko Valdes,
Miami, Fla., 3-0
178 lbs/male: Julio Perez Campusano, Roxbury, Mass., won on
technical knockout over Tory Williams, Mandeville, La., TKO-1
201+ lbs/male: Darmani Rock, Philadelphia, Pa., dec. Elvis
Garcia, Tacoma, Wash., 2-1
201+ lbs/male: Marlo Moore, Hayward, Calif., dec. Alante Green,
Garfield, Ohio, 3-0
12 p.m.
106 lbs/female: Maureeca Lambert, Glen Ellyn, Ill., dec. Felicia
O'Brien, Sudbury, Mass., TKO-3
106 lbs/female: Brittany Delgado, Center Moriches, N.Y., dec.
Arlene Villalobos, Whittier, Calif., 3-0
108 lbs/male: Melik Elliston, Denver, Colo., won on TKO over
Adrian Ghisoiu, Junction City, Kansas, TKO-3
108 lbs/male: Pablo Ramirez, Weslaco, Texas dec. Shurretta
Metcalf, Dallas, Texas, 3-0
119 lbs/female: Jennifer Chieng, Brooklyn, N.Y., dec. Shurretta
Metcalf, Dallas, Texas, 2-1
119 lbs/female: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., won on TKO over
Rory Santos, Jber, Ak., TKOI-1
123 lbs/male: Rudy Garcia, Los Angeles, Calif., dec. Anthony
Chavez, San Bernadino, Calif., 2-1
123 lbs/male: Christopher Colbert, Brooklyn, N.Y., dec. Michael
Angeletti, Spring, Texas, 3-0
125 lbs/female: Ashleigh Moore, Buzzards Bay, Mass., dec. Leesa
Daniel, Austin, Texas, 2-1
125 lbs/female: Tiara Brown, Hyattsville, Md., dec. Indeya
Smith, Grand Prairie, Texas, 3-0
141 lbs/male: Eduardo Garcia, Houston, Texas dec. David Mijares,
Pasadena, Calif., 2-1
141 lbs/male: Luis Feliciano, Milwaukee, Wis., dec. Rahim
Gonzales, Sylmar, Calif., 3-0
152 lbs/female: Samantha Kinchen, Lexington, Ky., dec. Melissa
Kelly, Everett, Wash., 3-0
152 lbs/female: Danyelle Wolf, San Diego, Calif., dec. Catarina
Lentini, Bethlehem, Pa.,
165 lbs/male: Leshawn Rodriguez, Medford, N.Y., dec. Christopher
Thompson, Flint, Mich., 3-0
165 lbs/male: Chordelle Booker, Brooklyn, N.Y., dec. Randy
Foster, Covington, Ga., 3-0
178 lbs/female: Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md., won on TKO over
Joy Rotstein, Brooklyn, N.Y., TKO-1
201 lbs/male: Vardan Khachatrian, Los Angeles, Calif., won on
TKO over Ryan Watson, Duluth, Minn., TKO-1
201 lbs/male: Patrick Ferguson, Spokane, Wash., won on TKO over
Kato Montgomery, Garfield Heights, Ohio, TKO-3