Zeke Lopez, organizer of Sunday’s Amateur Box Off in downtown
Hollister, figured the 100 or chairs he sat up outside South County
Performance Cycles would be more than enough.
Hollister – Zeke Lopez, organizer of Sunday’s Amateur Box Off in downtown Hollister, figured the 100 or chairs he sat up outside South County Performance Cycles would be more than enough.
Apparently he underestimated how much the locals missed their boxing.
When the sport returned to the city for the first time in over two years, an estimated 300 people came out to watch 15 matches involving boxers ranging from 8 to 31 years old.
For most of the onlookers who paid $10 to get in, it was truly standing-room only. One boxing fan who didn’t want to pay for admission, though, even climbed on top of a neighboring crane lift to get a free overview.
“I loved seeing that guy way up there,” Lopez said. “It showed me how much interest there was for this.”
The interest was no doubt fueled by the inclusion of several local boxers.
In front of a home crowd full of friends and family, the Bulldog Boxing Gym of Hollister trotted out six of its own.
Tony Corrales, the first one to step into the ring, got the locals off to a solid start. But at one point, he was on the brink of defeat.
Corrales, who has had a problem with bloody noses in recent weeks, experienced one again early in his fight against fellow 13-year-old Marc Boneulos of Mendota.
“When I saw the blood, I told him they might stop the fight soon,” said Lopez, a trainer at Bulldog B.G. “He was getting nailed, too. So Tony knew he was in trouble.”
With one powerful body shot, though, all the trouble went right out the door.
Boneulos went down, and Corrales, who has been fighting for around a year, increased his record to 10-2.
“I had to stop the fight,” he said afterward, “or else it would’ve been stopped.”
The local fighters who came after Corrales had mixed results.
From the Bulldog club, Carlos Vargas, 12, beat an opponent from Watsonville, but 14-year-old Bryan Lopez and 11-year-old Jorge Hernandez lost back-to-back matches.
Meanwhile, Alfred Martinez, 15, fought hard but eventually succumbed to Jerry Monoragon, the much-acclaimed 16 year old from Orosi who has won both a Silver Gloves and a Junior Olympic title.
Then, in a match with plenty of local flavor, Gilroy’s Andrew Santiago, 11, outlasted 9-year-old Jonathan Casaca, a Hollister native competing in his first fight.
“My kids gave it all they had,” Lopez said. “I’m just glad they all got to box and have their parents come out to cheer them on.”
A pair of cousins from Morgan Hill also had a sizable cheering section.
Rene and Yvette Aguaristi train and live together with Rene’s father, who has a gym in his backyard. They’re “pretty much brother and sister,” according to Yvette, and both have goals of eventually turning pro.
On Sunday, with a swarm of grandparents and other relatives and friends in the crowd, the pair of 21-year-olds turned in a family sweep.
Representing the Red, White and Blue Club of Morgan Hill, Yvette Aguaristi held off Theresa Moreyda of Calwa, while her cousin, representing Stick and Move, defeated Moses Rivera of Delano.
Once that fight was finished, Lopez finally got a little time to reflect after plenty of planning and anxiety.
“Overall, as I look back on it, I think this was one of the best shows we’ve ever put on around here,” Lopez said. “Good boxing and a lot of people – I was very pleased.”
