(JUNE 30)
This past Saturday night at the Warm Springs Community Center,
Warm Springs Nation Boxing hosted a sixteen bout Pro-Am show
featuring some of the best young fighters in the central Oregon
region. The event, which took place as part of Warm Springs,
Oregon's annual Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days celebration, featured two
amateur women's bouts.
Local fan favorite Siagigi Hintsatake was certainly one fighter
on the card that the local crowd had strongly anticipated
watching. The come forward slugger always puts on a good fight
and she did not disappoint as she stopped Post Falls, Idaho's
Wintersky Erickson in the first round. Hintsatake got off to a
very quick start, pushing her opponent back with a barrage of
punches. Erickson, who had fought earlier in the night, tried to
fight back, but was seemingly overwhelmed by the number of
punches being thrown. Thirty seconds into the fight the ref
stepped in to issue a standing eight-count. After the count the
pace intensified and, after seeing that Erickson was not
responding, the referee stepped in. The always relentless
Hintsatake added another win to her record in impressive fashion
to the cheers of her local supporters.
Wintersky Erickson had a more successful go of it earlier in the
night when she took on Toppenish's Lateet Olney. The two had a
good spurt of back and forth action early in the first round,
but after a straight right landed square on the nose, Olney
retired, citing a possible broken nose.
The main event featured the return of Portland's Osvaldo "Waldo"
Rojas. Rojas had spent the last year on the sidelines, but as he
stepped back in the ring against Toppenish's Ryan Phillips none
of the rust that may be expected after a lay off was present.
From the outset Rojas (8-3 3KOs 150lbs.) set out to make the
fight, pressing forward behind his jab and firing hard shots to
the head and body. Though many were expecting to see some loss
in his step due to the lay-off and the fact that he was coming
off a defeat at the hands of up and coming prospect Michael
Finney in Las Vegas last year, he quickly dispelled those
concerns in the first thirty seconds of the fight. A hard right
landed square on the jaw and seemed to stagger Phillips
momentarily. Phillips (0-2 151lbs.) fired back, but his punches
were wide and looping, allowing plenty of room for Rojas to land
his counter shots. A precise right hand dropped Philips and
appeared to put him in serious trouble. After the mandatory
count Rojas pressed, seemingly wanting to end the fight in the
first round. He was met by a game Phillips who, although not as
skilled, displayed a big heart, firing back, giving fans a few
exciting flurries of action. By the end of the round, though,
Rojas was firmly in control, pressing methodically and
controlling the distance with his jab.
As the second round got underway it was obvious the end was
near. Rojas began to unload early and often, teeing off with
hard, accurate shots in close, while Phillips on the other hand
looked spent. Mid-way through the round Rojas found success,
hurting his opponent with a jab to the head followed by hard
shots to the body. Phillips grimaced every time he ate that
combination. With thirty seconds left to go in the round a
vicious right to the chin put Phillips down hard. The referee
immediately and wisely stepped in and called an end to the bout,
giving Rojas the TKO win
In the only other pro sanctioned fight on the card, Zillah,
Washington's Juan Esquivel added his fourth straight win after
his opponent Arnold Aleck quit on his stool at the start of the
third round. Esquivel easily took the first two rounds, working
well behind his jab and following up with a busy pace in close.
Towards the end of the the second round a hard right to the chin
seemed to hurt Aleck. Apparently that was all it took as Aleck
refused to come out for the third, giving Esquivel his fourth
TKO win. Esquivel, who took this fight on very short notice,
looked like his skills are improving. He's been working with a
new trainer and the difference was evident. Now hopes are that
he can stay busy and fight better opposition.
The most impressive performance on the amateur undercard
belonged to Medford, Oregon's Marco Arroyo. The young
lightweight scored a devastating second round knockout over
Nathan Youngman of Warm Springs. Arroyo looked slick in the
first round and easily controlled it with quick hands, good
lateral movement and a crisp jab. Youngman was in the fight
early on, fighting back gamely and landing his fair share of
leather, but Arroyo was the more accurate and dominant fighter.
In the second round Arroyo landed a thunderous straight right to
the chin dropping Youngman hard. The referee did not bother to
count and immediately waved the fight off as Youngman began to
go into convulsions. Thankfully medical personal were quick to
get in the ring and tend to the fallen fighter. Arroyo kneeled
with his trainer as they waited, clearly concerned for the
safety of his opponent. After a few minutes Youngman made it to
his feet and appeared to be ok. Arroyo showed a lot of skill in
the fight and a lot of class after the fight by waiting to
celebrate until after he knew his opponent was safe.
Medford, Oregon's Hector Alvarez stopped Yakima's Norman
Schuster in an exciting lightweight bout. Schuster boxed well in
the first round, using his jab to control the distance and rack
up points from the outside. While Schuster was the busier and
more accurate fighter in that first stanza, Alvarez remained
aggressive, pushing forward and looking for ways to cut the
distance and get in close enough to be effective. In the second
round Alvarez began to find his rhythm, cutting off the ring and
working the body in close. By the third round the unrelenting
body attack had slowed Schuster down considerably, giving
Alvarez the openings he needed. A hard right hand to the chin
staggered Schuster, forcing the referee to issue a standing
8-count. After the count Alvarez rushed in and quickly found his
mark with a flush right hand, sending Schuster crashing to the
canvas. The referee called it right as the bell was sounding to
end the round, giving Alvarez the TKO win.
Javin Diminick of Warm Springs and Medford's Michah Maldonado
gave fans a close and exciting three round bout. Diminick was
effective from the outside, using a long jab and lateral
movement to set up his power shots. Maldonado, meanwhile, found
success when he was able to close the distance and land in
close. The flow of the fight changed repeatedly with both
fighter having their moments. In the end two of the three judges
favored the outside work of Diminick, giving him the three round
split decision.
In other amateur action Adam Garcia stopped Xalius Bill in the
first round. Daniel Gregg and Rylee Corpuz fought to a draw.
Zentry Bill took a first round stoppage over Linoge Leclare.
Joshua Dave teed off early to force a stoppage over Cory Dwyer.
Kyle Sampson outworked Jonah Gaudy for three rounds before the
referee called it.
The evening also featured a number of exhibition bouts between
youngsters just starting out. In those bouts Damien Wolfe took
on Lamore Lafour, Serena Corpuz squared off with Tabitha
Shoulderblade, and Rylee Corpuz fought two exciting matches
against Dante Stevens.
The crowd left happy, having gotten their money's worth with
almost four hours of solid boxing action. Austin Smith and Warm
Springs Nation Boxing did an excellent job putting the event
together. Plans are underway to possibly have another show
sometime in September or October.