(OCT 14) (TOLEDO,
OHIO) – The first round of national champions following the 2012
Olympic Games were crowned at the 2012 National PAL
Championships on Saturday night at the Seagate Centre in Toledo,
Ohio. All of the open division and 15-16-year-old boxers
competed in final round action with 31 boxers claiming national
titles. The night featured an early glimpse at many of the
athletes who will vie for spots in 2016 in both men and women’s
action.
Olympic
gold medalist
Claressa
Shields
(Flint,
Mich.) completed the repeat of her 2011 National PAL title with
a victory over
Franchon
Crews
(Baltimore, Md.) in the middleweight final. Crews kept the bout
close early on, but Shields stayed composed, using the tools she
learned over the last year en route to an Olympic gold medal.
Shields pulled away over the second half of the bout, winning a
30-19 decision over her World Championships teammate to win a
second straight National PAL Title and her first championship
since the 2012 Olympic Games.
Saturday
was a good night for the Ellis family with brother-sister duo
Rashidi
and
Rashida
Ellis
(Lynn,
Mass.) both taking national titles over accomplished athletes.
Rashida was up first, taking on 2012 Olympic Trials bronze
medalist
N’yteeyah
Sherman
(Barberton, Ohio) in the lightweight final. Ellis came in to the
bout fresh off a win over Olympic Trials silver medalist
Mikaela
Mayer
(Los
Angeles, Calif.) in semifinal action. Ellis got off to a quick
start and Sherman was never able to work her way back into the
bout. She kept her foot on the gas throughout the contest, en
route to a 37-14 final decision and the lightweight title. In
addition to the national championship, Ellis received the
Outstanding Female Boxer award in the open division.
Rashidi’s
title came in the welterweight division with Ellis battling 2012
USA Boxing National Champion
Patrick
Day
(Freeport, N.Y.). Following in his younger sister’s winning
ways, Ellis won a 25-17 decision over Day to win the
welterweight crown.
The men’s
light flyweight division opened competition in the final round
with only two boxers in the tournament bracket. 2012 USA Boxing
National Championships silver medalist
Leroy
Davila
(N.
Brunswick. N.J.) moved up one step on the medal stand, winning
the light flyweight gold medal. Davila defeated 2011 USA Boxing
National Championships bronze medalist
Norberto
Torres
(Orlando,
Fla.), by a 21-15 margin to take the first open division title.
In the
first tournament since the departure of three-time Olympian and
flyweight
Rau’shee
Warren
(Cincinnati, Ohio), 2012 Olympic Trials silver medalist and
Olympic Training partner
Shawn
Simpson
(Chicago,
Ill.) staked his claim on the weight division. Simpson won a
commanding 36-16 decision over his fellow Windy City native,
Christian
Williams
(Chicago,
Ill.) in his second bout of the tournament to take the title. A
strong third round by Simpson pushed the lead to a 20-point
margin to give him the 2012 National PAL championship.
In
women’s bantamweight action, multi-time national champion
Christina
Cruz
(New
York, N.Y.) added yet another gold medal to her already
impressive resume. Cruz faced off with
Heather
Han
(El Paso,
Texas) in the final bout. Han’s older sister, Jennifer, a member
of the first-ever Women’s World Championships team guided her in
the corner but she couldn’t overcome the more experienced Cruz.
She won a 22-10 final decision to take the bantamweight title.
In the
men’s bantamweight bout, 2012 USA Boxing National Championships
bronze medalist
Gary
Salazar
(Fresno,
Calif.) took a 26-20 decision over
Dennis
Galarza
(Orlando,
Fla.) to win the 2012 National PAL title. Despite Galarza’s
large height advantage, Salazar kept the pressure on en route to
the bantamweight crown.
The
women’s featherweight contest featured 2012 World Champion
Tiara
Brown
(Lehigh
Acres, Fla.) in her third bout of the tournament. Yet her fellow
finalist and 2012 Olympic Trials flyweight participant
Virginia
Fuchs
(Kemah,
Texas) wasn’t intimidated by Brown’s resume. She kept the
contest close throughout the four-round bout, but Brown pulled
it out at the end, taking a 23-22 victory over Fuchs to win the
featherweight title.
2012
Olympic Trials participant
Kenneth
Sims, Jr.
(Chicago,
Ill.) put an exclamation mark on a strong week of boxing in his
home state. Sims faced 2012 Junior Olympic National Champion
Malik
Montgomery
(Macon,
Ga.) in the lightweight final in one of the most entertaining
bouts of the night. Both boxers boasted a tremendous workload
throughout the bout with neither boxer taking a step back in the
three round contest. Yet it was Sims getting the better of the
exchanges and he went on to win a 34-20 final decision and the
lightweight title.
2012
Junior Olympic National Champion
Erickson
Lubin
(Orlando,
Fla.) made a seamless transition to the open division at the
National PAL Championships. Lubin grabbed attention throughout
the week on his way to a final round match-up with 2012 USA
Boxing National Championships silver medalist
Julian
Rodriguez
(Paterson, N.J.). Lubin took control of the bout in the opening
seconds and never let it go. He went on to win a 29-9 decision
over Rodriguez and his first senior national title. Lubin added
a second straight Outstanding Boxer of the Tournament award to
his list of accomplishments with an outstanding week of boxing
in Toledo.
In the
men’s middleweight division,
Daniel
Valdivia
(Tulare,
Calif.) took home the 2012 National PAL Championship. Valdivia
earned the title with a 21-17 win over
Peter
Reyes
(Long
Island City, N.Y.) in the middleweight final.
Former
Under 19 National Champion
D’Mitrius
Ballard
(Temple
Hills, Md.) and 2012 USA Boxing National Championships silver
medalist and Olympic Training Partner
Steven
Nelson
(Fort
Walton Beach, Fla.) faced off in the light heavyweight
championship bout. It was Ballard taking the light heavyweight
title, winning a 26-19 decision over Nelson in the final round
contest to claim his fourth straight National PAL Championship.
Three
reigning Junior Olympic national champions won titles in the
junior age group with victories on Saturday night. Toledo’s own
Monica
Van Pelt
(Toledo,
Ohio) won a convincing 35-15 decision over
Gabrielle
Reyna
(Amarillo, Texas) in the first bout of the night, to take the
light flyweight title.
Two New
Yorkers added another national title to their 2012 resumes as
well. Featherweight
Christian
Bermudez
(Brooklyn, N.Y.) won an 18-8 bout over
Hector
Bayanilla
(Allentown, Pa.) in their championship bout while welterweight
Edgar
Berlanga
(New
York, N.Y.) won a 17-7 decision over
Travis
Jerig
(Zanesville, Ohio).
2010
Youth Games participant
Joshua
Temple
(St.
Louis, Mo.) battled
Christopher Campa
(Saginaw,
Mich.) in the heavyweight finale. Temple took his first National
PAL Championship with a 17-14 victory over Campa in the second
to last bout of the event.
The super
heavyweights closed the event with a match-up between Olympic
Training Partner
Stephan
Shaw
(St.
Louis, Mo.) and
Charles
Martin
(Carson,
Calif.). Both boxers enjoyed momentum at certain points during
the bout, and Shaw looked to mount a comeback in the fourth,
even giving Martin a standing eight count. Yet Martin claimed
the final championship of the event, taking a 20-14 decision.
Saturday’s Championship Bout Results
Open
Division
108
lbs/male: Leroy Davila, North Brunswick, N.J., dec. Norberto
Torres, Orlando, Fla., 21-15
114
lbs/male: Shawn Simpson, Chicago, Ill., dec. Christian Williams,
Chicago, Ill., 36-16
119
lbs/female: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., dec. Heather Han, El
Paso, Texas, 22-10
123
lbs/male: Gary Salazar, Fresno, Calif., dec. Dennis Galarza,
Orlando, Fla., 36-20
125
lbs/female: Tiara Brown, Lehigh Acres, Fla., dec. Virginia
Fuchs, Kemah, Texas, 23-22
132
lbs/female: Rashida Ellis, Lynn, Mass., dec. N’yteeyah Sherman,
Barberton, Ohio, 37-14
132
lbs/male: Kenneth Sims, Jr., Chicago, Ill., dec. Malik
Montgomery, Macon, Ga., 34-20
141
lbs/female: Bertha Aracil, Yonkers, N.Y., stopped Brandi
Berends, Sylvania, Ohio, RSC-3
141
lbs/male: Erickson Lubin, Orlando, Fla., dec. Julian Rodriguez,
Paterson, N.J., 29-9
152
lbs/male: Rashidi Ellis, Lynn, Mass. dec. Patrick Day, Freeport,
N.Y., 25-17
165
lbs/female: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich., dec. Franchon Crews,
Baltimore, Md., 30-19
165
lbs/male: Daniel Valdivia, Tulare, Calif., dec. Peter Reyes,
Flint, Mich., 21-17
178
lbs/male: D’Mitrius Ballard, Temple Hills, Md., dec. Steven
Nelson, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., 26-19
201
lbs/male: Joshua Temple, St. Louis, Mo., dec. Christopher Campa,
Saginaw, Mich., 17-14
201+
lbs/male: Charles Martin, Carson, Calif., dec. Stephan Shaw, St.
Louis, Mo., 20-14
Junior
Division
101
lbs/male: Geovanny Martinez, Chicago, Ill., dec. Saul Bravo,
Santa Ana, Calif., 32-23
106
lbs/male: Bruce Cardington, Brooklyn, N.Y., dec. Cortez Todd,
Detroit, Mich., 21-12
106
lbs/female: Monica Van Pelt, Toledo, Ohio dec. Gabrielle Reyna,
Amarillo, Texas, 24-11
110
lbs/male: Tyrone Arzeno, Allentown, Pa., dec. Mikhail
Montgomery, Macon, Ga., 24-11
114
lbs/male: Carlos Balderas, Santas Monica, Calif., dec. Lawerence
Newton, Deerfield Beach, Fla., 22-12
119
lbs/female: Jasmine Hampton, Ann Arbor, Mich., dec. Mariah Leon,
Lubbock, Texas, 17-8
119
lbs/male: Efren Lopez, Fresno, Calif., dec. Duke Ragan,
Cincinnati, Ohio, 23-22
125
lbs/male: Christian Bermudez, Brooklyn, N.Y., dec. Hector
Bayanilla, Allentown, Pa., 18-8
132
lbs/male: Nasir Jones, Philadelphia, Pa., dec. Mathias Ramirez,
Union City, N.J., 8-6
138
lbs/male: Marc Dawson, Philadelphia, Pa., dec. Dagoberto Mederos,
Brooklyn, N.Y., 29-8
145
lbs/male: Edgar Berlanga, New York, N.Y., dec. Travis Jerig,
Zanesville, Ohio, 17-7
154
lbs/female: Samantha Kinchen, Lexington, Ky., stopped Dazzlin
Turner, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, RSC-2
154
lbs/male: Malik Hawkins, Baltimore, Md., dec. Alexis Rocha,
Santa Ana, Calif., 15-9
165
lbs/male: Jason Bell, District Heights, Md., dec. Javonte Davis,
Gary, Ind., 22-9
178
lbs/male: Michael Barretto, Minneapolis, Minn., stopped Ruben
Villareal, RSC-1
201
lbs/male: Calvin Countesss, Abingdon, Md., won on walkover over
Evvan Botello, W/O
WBAN
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