(JUNE 29) – Friday’s boxing
action moved to a higher level of intensity at the Arthur R.
Outlaw Convention Center in Mobile, Ala., as nearly 70 young
boxers vied for a berth in the final round at the 2013 Junior
Olympic National Championships. The day’s victors featured
returning and Junior World Team Open Champions as well as new
faces on the national scene.
Just one day after defeating Junior World Team Open champion
Jordan White (Waldorf, Md.), Kawelo Alcos (Wapahu, Hawaii)
earned his spot in the championship bout with a split decision
win over Jeremiah Smotherman (St. Louis, Mo.). Alcos will face
Dylan Price (Sicklerville, N.J.) in the pinweight final.
Juliette Ladissa (Bronx, N.Y.) recorded the victory in the lone
female light flyweight semifinal bout on Friday night. Ladissa
defeated Danika Lara (El Centro, Calif.), 3-0 in their Friday
match-up to move on to the light flyweight finals and a bout
with Kianna Hernandez (Dallas, Texas).
Vergil Ortiz (Grand Prairie, Texas) moved on to the flyweight
final round contest with a unanimous decision in semifinal
action on Thursday. Ortiz defeated Keeshawn Williams (Washington
DC) to advance on to championship night where he will battle
Aaron Morales (Eufala, Okla.).
Junior World Team Open champion Shakur Stevenson (Newark, N.J.)
got the present he’d been hoping for on his 16th birthday with a
semifinal win. Stevenson is making a second straight trip to the
Junior Olympic National Championships finals following a 3-0
victory over Victor Morales, Jr. (Vancouver, Wash.) on Friday.
He will face Darren Cunningham (St. Louis, Mo.) for the light
flyweight title in Saturday’s finals.
Kristy Rodriguez (Naperville, Ill.) and Odalys Camacho
(Bakersfield, Calif.) will compete for the light bantamweight
gold medal in Saturday’s action. Both boxers recorded semifinal
victories on Friday with Camacho taking a split decision over
Mikaila Gutierrez (Kemp, Texas) and Rodriguez defeating Angie
Ornelas (Beaverton, Ore.) by a 3-0 margin.
The male bantamweight finale will feature a showdown between
defending champion Ruben Villa (Salinas, Calif.) and Junior
World Team Open titlist Devin Haney (Las Vegas, Nev.) following
tournament runs by both boxers. Haney advanced to the finals
with a 2-1 victory over Michael Dutchover (Midland, Texas) in
semifinal round action while Villa defeated Logan Yoon
(Honolulu, Hawaii) to move on to the bantamweight finale.
In female bantamweight action, emerging star Jayda Thomas
(Detroit, Mich.) impressed once again with a dominating victory
in her semifinal bout with Katrina Nahe (Antioch, Calif.).
Thomas stalked Nahe, landing strong shots en route to a second
round TKO victory. She will face off with defending champion
Melody Montes (Kissimmee, Fla.) in final round action following
Montes’ unanimous decision victory in her bout with Juanita
Chavez (Racine, Wis.).
Defending flyweight champion Isidro Ochoa (Fresno, Calif.)
earned a berth in his second straight championship bout with a
semifinal victory in his new weight division on Friday. Ochoa
won a unanimous decision over Gage Campbell (Wauseon, Ohio) in
their semifinal contest. He will face off with Junior World Team
Open champion Michael Nelson (Mansfield, Ohio) for the
featherweight title on Saturday.
The featherweight division was one of the deepest female weight
classes in the tournament and Jermesha Poke (St. Louis, Mo.) and
Anna Crutchfield (Greenville, S.C.) are the final two boxers
left standing. Poke and Crutchfield advanced on to the
championship bout with victories over Viviana Malgar (Glen
Grove, N.Y.) and Zoe Glass (Lansing, Mich.) respectively.
Junior World Team Open champion Keoni Adric, Jr. (Haleima,
Hawaii) will compete for his second national title of the year
in the lightweight finals. Adric claimed a split decision
victory over Charlie Sheehy (Brisbane, Calif.) in a
closely-contest semifinal contest. He will attempt to take his
fourth straight victory of the tournament on Saturday when he
battles Andres Cortes (Henderson, Nev.) in the championship
bout.
Fellow Junior World Team Open champ Iesha Kenney (Alexandria,
Va.) won her first bout of the 2013 Junior Olympic National
Championships in a lightweight match-up with Siane Moore (St.
Louis, Mo.). The win advances Kenney on to a final round contest
with the victor on the opposite side of the bracket, Cynthia
Arellano (Phoenix, Ariz.).
In the male light welterweight division, Mark Dawson
(Philadelphia, Pa.) claimed a unanimous decision win over Junior
World Team Open champion Brandon Trejo (Napa, Calif.). Dawson
will now battle Mykquan Williams (Hartford, Conn.) for the light
welterweight title in Saturday’s championship round action.
Hans Perez (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Charles Conwell (Cleveland
Heights, Ohio) will compete for gold in the welterweight
championship bout on Saturday. Perez, a teammate of 2012
Olympian Marcus Browne (Staten Island, N.Y.) claimed a unanimous
decision win over Angel Rios (Sacramento, Calif.) in his
semifinal contest while Conwell took a 2-1 victory in his bout
with Christian Rivera (Orlando, Fla.).
In middleweight action, 2012 Veles Cup team member Manjaro
Hills, Jr. (Baker, La.) faced off with Junior World Team Open
champion Suray Mahmutovic (Daly City, Calif.). Hills was not
bothered by Mahmutovic’s height advantage, giving the taller
boxer a standing eight count in the first round. He went on to
take a unanimous decision win over Mahmutovic to earn a berth in
the finals with Vernon Lee (Rock Island, N.Y.).
2012 Junior Olympic National Championships silver medalist Edgar
Berlanga (Brooklyn, N.Y.) will compete for gold for the second
straight year. Berlanga earned his berth in the 2013
championship round with a unanimous decision win over Jose Pena
(Houston, Texas) in semifinal action. He will face off with
Ferdinand Kerobyan (N. Hollywood, Calif.) for the junior
middleweight gold medal in Saturday’s action.
Mario Hernandez (Sparks, Nev.) and Sergio Flores (Overland Park,
Kansas) will compete for the 2013 Junior Olympic National
Championships title in the heavyweight division. The two boxers
competed in the final bout of the evening session with Flores
pulling out a tiebreaker victory over Wahzir Beyah (Hyannis,
Mass.) and Hernandez taking a unanimous decision win over Daniel
Jasso (Southgate, Mich.).
Super heavyweight Marcus Carter (Detroit, Mich.) enjoyed a short
afternoon in his semifinal contest with Brandon Shannon (Alto
Monte Springs, Fla.), winning a second round TKO. Carter will
challenge Taifer Rigaud (Arlington, Mass.) for gold in the super
heavyweight finale.
All of the final round bouts will take place in two rings on
Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Arthur R. Outlaw Convention Center,
and the championship round bout sheets are attached. The bouts
can be viewed via livestream on the USA Boxing website at
www.usaboxing.org/watch-live.
Friday’s Semifinal Results
101 lbs/male: Dylan Price, Sicklerville, N.J., dec. Basil
Nasser, Dearborn Heihts, Mich., 3-0
101 lbs/male: Kawelo Alcos, Wapahu, Hawaii, dec. Jeremiah
Smotherman, St. Louis, Mo., 2-1
106 lbs/male: Derek Ochoa, Sanger, Calif., dec. Trey Aragon,
Victoria, Texas, 2-1
106 lbs/male: Aaron Perez, Albuquerque, N.M., dec. Jody
Gauthier, Opelouses, La., 3-0
106 lbs/female: Juliette Ladissa, Bronx, N.Y., dec. Danika Lara,
El Centro, Calif., 3-0
110 lbs/male: Aaron Morales, Eufala, Okla., dec. Edward Rojas,
Lakewood, Wash., 2-1
110 lbs/male: Vergil Ortiz, Grand Prairie, Texas dec. Keeshawn
Williams, Washington DC, 3-0
114 lbs/male: Shakur Stevenson, Newark, N.J., dec. Victor
Morales, Jr., Vancouver, Wash., 3-0
114 lbs/male: Darren Cunningha, St. Louis, Mo., dec. Caleb
Chesternut, East Pointe, Mich., 2-1
114 lbs/female: Odalys Camacho, Bakersfield, Calif., Mikaila
Gutierrez, Kemp, Texas, 2-1
114 lbs/female: Kristy Rodriguez, Naperville, Ill., dec. Angie
Ornelas, Beaverton, Ore., 3-0
119 lbs/male: Devin Haney, Las Vegas, Nev., dec. Michael
Dutchover, Midland, Texas, 2-1
119 lbs/male: Ruben Villa, Salinas, Calif., dec. Logan Yoon,
Honolulu, Hawaii, 3-0
119 lbs/female: Jayda Thomas, Detroit, Mich., won on TKO over
Katrina Nahe, Antioch, Calif., TKO-2
119 lbs/female: Melody Montes, Kissimmee, Fla., dec. Juanita
Chavez, Racine, Wis., 3-0
125 lbs/male: Isidro Ochoa, Frenso, Calif., dec. Gage Campbell,
Wauseon, Ohio, 3-0
125 lbs/male: Michael Nelson, Mansfield, Ohio dec. Gonzalo
Rodriguez, Bakersfield, Calif., 2-1
125 lbs/female: Jermesha Poke, St. Louis, Mo., dec. Viviana
Malgar, Glen Grove, N.Y., 3-0
125 lbs/female: Anna Crutchfield, Greenville, S.C., dec. Zoe
Glass, Lansing, Mich., 3-0
132 lbs/male: Andres Cortes, Henderson, Nev., dec. Cole Dante,
Honolulu, Hawaii, 3-0
132 lbs/male: Keoni Adric, Jr., Haleima, Hawaii, dec. Charlie
Sheehy, Brisbane, Calif., 2-1
132 lbs/female: Iesha Kenney, Alexandria, Va., dec. Siane Moore,
St. Louis, Mo., 2-1
132 lbs/female: Cynthia Arellano, Phoenix, Ariz., dec. Teresa
Jones, Rowlet, Texas, 3-0
138 lbs/male: Mark Dawson, Philadelphia, Pa., dec. Brandon
Trejo, Napa, Calif., 3-0
138 lbs/male: Mykquan Williams, Hartford, Conn., dec. Karrington
White, Tulsa, Okla., 2-1
145 lbs/male: Charles Conwell, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, dec.
Christian Rivera, Orlando, Fla., 2-1
145 lbs/male: Hans Perez, Staten Island, N.Y., dec. Angel Rios,
Sacramento, Calif., 3-0
154 lbs/male: Ferdinand Kerobyan, N. Hollywood, Calif., dec.
Amisael Jimenez, Sacramento, Calif., 3-0
154 lbs/male: Edgar Berlanga, Brooklyn, N.Y., dec. Jose Pena,
Houston, Texas, 3-0
165 lbs/male: Manjaro Hills, Jr., dec. Suray Mahmutovic, Daly
City, Calif., 3-0
165 lbs/male: Vernon Lee, Rock Island, N.Y., dec. Raul Muniz,
Jupiter, Fla., 3-0
176 lbs/male: Mario Hernandez, Sparks, Nev., dec. Daniel Jasso,
Southgate, Mich., 3-0
176 lbs/male: Sergio Flores, Overland Park, Kansas, won a
tiebreaker over Wahzir Beyah, Hyannis, Mass., TB (CORRECTED)
176+ lbs: Taifer Rigaud, Arlington, Mass., dec. Malik Titus,
Baltimore, Md., 2-1
176+ lbs/male: Marcus Carter, Detroit, Mich., won on TKO over
Brandon Shannon, Alto Monte Springs, Fla., TKO-2 (1:26)
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