Local boxers enjoy success despite the heated match
Gilroy’s first amateur boxing event in a decade started with a bang and ended with blows.
Trouble started during the final U.S.A Boxing bout Sunday between 20-year-old Rosendo Guerrero from Sacramento and 24-year-old Jorge Roque from Greenfield.
Guerrero’s coach punched a spectator, who had been heckling his fighter. People in the crowd quickly stepped in after the coach came into the crowd. And it was broken up shortly after.
But it left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth as they made starting leaving after Roque won by default.
“It’s too bad something like this happened,” said organizer Rick Mello. “If the police were called, he could have been cited. I felt we had a good event even though we started an hour late. There was a good crowd that came out, and I think everyone enjoyed it.”
A couple hundred people packed the parking lot of Big O Tires in Gilroy to watch local teams and teams from around the area compete.
But with the nearly 100-degree weather, even the youngest 8-year-old competitor was sweating by the time he was down with his three one-minute rounds. The asphalt amplified the heat, and there was little shade for relief.
In one of the featured bouts, Gilroy boxer Danny Hernandez, 19, competed in his first match apart from the Bulldog Boxing Club in Hollister, where he used to train. Hernandez, 30-9, went against Aryan Hopkins from Sacramento.
Although Hopkins was nearly a foot taller even though he was two years younger, he still was able to record the victory in the four two-minute rounds.
Hernandez gave him a good fight, using his tight stance, counter attacks and defense to force Hopkins to miss consistently. A late rally in the final round helped Hopkins secure the victory.
“I thought I should have won, so I am not going to let it get to me,” said Hernandez, who hopes to go pro next year. “I can’t believe I didn’t win. But stuff like that happens sometimes.”
Since he switched gyms, Hernandez said he has been able to tone his skills more than before.
“Everyone in the area knows how I fight,” Hernandez said. “I need to work on new ways to throw them off.”
In the first match of the day, Hollister’s Bryan Lopez, 14, went against Nick Carson in the 115-pound weight class.
Lopez, 0-3, is still looking for his first win. He had a quick start, forcing his opponent to the ropes early. But Carson got some nice shots in and was able to throw Lopez to the ropes several times as the match progressed.
“He had me in the corner, and I didn’t know what to do,” Lopez said. “I tried to get away and throw punches when I could. He had a longer reach than me.”
“He lost this one, but I thought he won his previous two,” coach Lopez said.
Jorge Hernandez and Jonathan Casaca, who both came prepared to box, weren’t allowed to compete because their opponents were over the weight limit.
When Lopez was told that 13-year-old Tony Corrales wouldn’t be allowed to compete because he had more experience than the other boxer, Lopez almost packed up and left before the event began.
“They were within two bouts of each other,” Lopez said. “Then he said there was too much of a weight difference. But it was within the range. That was when I almost got fed up and left.”
After confiding, Corrales was allowed to box. He continued his hot streak with a victory over Edgar Zamudio from Napa despite injuring his thumb after the first round. Corrales improved to 9-1 after losing his first fight he ever competed in to a boxer who had about 30 fights under his belt.
Gilroy’s Andrew Santiago, 4-4, also didn’t get to fight because his competitor from Napa didn’t show up.
Manuel Gonzales, 12, of Gilroy, tried to work the corners in his match against Jonathan Guerrero, of Salinas.
Even though Gonzales lost his balance and fell outside the ropes, he still received the victory. He is now 2-0 in his young career, while Guerrero is 4-3.
“He moved his head well,” said Gilroy coach Rich Santiago said. “It was good for him to finish off a fight.”
“I tried to hit him in the chest,” Gonzales said. “The coach wanted me to pace myself. I gave it all I had in the third.”
Gilroy’s Jacob Hernandez, 24-4, pushed his opponent quickly in the rope in the first round. Then he got him to fall down in the third round when he pushed him to the ropes again.
“I used my jab to get to him,” Hernandez said. “I got a little winded with the sun. But I took the spray between the rounds and tried not to pay attention to the heat.”
Hernandez was coming off a two-month vacation from boxing, and, as a result, wasn’t quite as sharp as he could have been, his coach said.
Although Hernandez has seen his opponent three times already, the two boxers tentatively are planning to go at again in San Jose on Saturday.
Bulldog Boxing competed in Fresno on Friday. Casaca was not able to box there either. But four others had strong performances.
Freddie Martinez, 15, and Jorge Hernandez won their bouts. Corrales defeated James Dill, who wanted to face him him for awhile. And Bryan Lopez lost a close decision but won a trophy for fight of the night.
