By Michael J. Campbell

Professional bouts on Thursday and Friday evenings along with a three day state amateur championship led to a busy weekend of pugilistic action in Houston, Texas.

Promoter Chris Henard cut his teeth at the Stafford Centre with his debut card.  Boxers from Bill Benton’s Main gym in downtown filled out the bill and fans got to see some quick knockouts.  Steve Collins continued to please his fan club by rolling over opponents put across from him as he makes his way to an impressive but untested record.  Local amateur standouts Willie “Dynamite” Edwards and Craig Baker notched victories.  Edwards win came over ring veteran Anthony Greeley, while Baker made quick work of an overmatched debutant.

The performance of the night went to Larry Pryor who seems to have put early career losses behind him and has dedicated himself to staying in shape.  When healthy and on weight, Pryor is a tall slick fighter who can be tricky for anyone he faces.  Utter domination is what he had against Gabe Rivera whom had gone further with undefeated area prospects Cornelius White and Alfonso Lopez.  Cody Richard also had a good performance, showing off what he’s worked on since his pro debut draw, making the adjustment from an amateur to a professional style.

The end of an era came as one of the area’s beloved fighters fell in disappointing fashion and subsequently announced his retirement.  Bobby “El Jefe” Flores built a reputation in the fight community by being the type of person who’d give you the shirt off his back if he ever could.  This spirit made him someone everyone wanted to see excel in the ring.  And on seven occasions he not only performed, he took care of his business quickly, scoring knockouts in five, ten, twelve, and twenty-two seconds.  On this night, he didn’t have it though, and his 350 pound body betrayed him as a week-long sickness took his toll and even breathing became a problem by the start of the 2nd round.  After dropping his opponent twice in the opening stanza, Flores simply had no gas in the tank and was forced to retire from the bout and possibly from professional boxing.

In attendance to support their friends and stablemates were Contender IV star Felix Cora, Jr., Nagy Aguilera, Tiffany Junot, and J.C. Candelo.  Candelo returns to Baytown to attempt to get his career back to the prominence it once had.

Results from the Stafford Centre, Stafford, Texas
Chris Henard Promotions
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

Heavyweights - 8 rounds
Steve Collins (19-1, 15 KOs) of Houston, TX over Clinton Boldridge (8-14-1, 6 KOs) of Saint Joseph, MO by TKO at 2:09 of the 1st round.

Heavyweights - 4 rounds
Mike Copley (1-0, 1 KO) of Parsons, TN over Bobby Flores (7-2, 7 KOs) of Houston, TX by TKO at 2:45 of the 2nd round.

Cruiserweights - 4 rounds
Willie Edwards (7-0, 2 KOs) of Beaumont, TX over Anthony Greeley (7-30-3, 1 KO) of Monroe, LA by Unanimous Decision with 40-36 on all three judges’ scorecards.

Craig Baker (3-0, 3 KOs) of Baytown, TX over Calvin Perkins (0-1) of San Antonio, TX by TKO at 2:31 of the 1st round.

Light Heavyweights - 4 rounds
Larry Pryor (4-4, 2 KOs) of Houston, TX over Gabriel Rivera (7-6, 4 KOs) of Harlingen, TX by TKO at 2:54 of the 1st round.

Lightweights - 4 rounds
Cody Richard (1-0-1) of Orange, TX over Gerardo Alarcon (0-4) of Dallas, TX by Unanimous Decision with 40-36 on all three judges’ scorecards.

Referees
Sam Garza & Gary Simons

Judges
Kellie Yoh, Charles Phillips, & Ronnie Ralston

The following evening, Antonio Leonard brought boxing back to the Bar Rio in the heart of the Richmond strip in Houston.  A steady downpour didn’t keep fight fans away as the promise of big hitters, returning stars, hot debuts, and celebrity appearances brought out the masses.

Leonard promises action and demands good opponents from his matchmakers and on this night they brought in some highly experienced foes to give the locals some stiff tests.  In the main event, “Mean” Gene Hill was handed his first career loss by the savvy gatekeeper Zach Page.  Page is the type of guy that has faced a who’s who of prospects and always in their own hometowns.  He’s rarely been stopped and almost always wins rounds with a bevy of Majority and Split Decisions on his resume.

On this night, with Hill entering the ring at his heaviest weight ever in his career, he couldn’t find his haymaker KO punch which had been the demise of many who stood across from him.  Page worked his jab and tied up Hill whenever the undefeated attraction got too close.  Referee Bobby Gonzales constantly untied the tow trying to ensure continuous action, but Page kept control of the action and avoided any damaging blows from the big hitter.  In the end, he was rewarded for his efforts in a fair decision, something he’s not used to receiving.

Cornelius White continued his on the job training in looking very impressive by destroying ring veteran Shannon Miller.  White, with only a short amateur career under suspect tutelage, is starting to come into his own as a professional under the guidance of Bobby Benton.  The much anticipated return of Calvin Green to the fight forum was a positive one as he handled an upset specialist in Mikel Williams.  Williams defeated Juan DeLaRosa in his hometown, and also beat Houston’s Topita Gutierrez on two occasions.  Green looked much better than someone who’d only had one bout in the past six years.  He showed obvious talent and polish in dispatching Williams via shutout decision.  Green was buzzed by Williams in the 2nd but after recovering he came back to dominate the action and scoring a knockdown in the 3rd.

Jennifer Scott won her debut after he opponent defaulted with a knee injury before the start of the 2nd round.  Her stablemate, Joe Lewis didn’t fare as well, dropping his debut when he caught a punch that he didn’t see coming that resulted in him being discombobulated for several minutes.

Results from the Bar Rio at the Rio Events Center, Houston, Texas
Antonio Leonard Promotions
Friday, April 24th, 2009

Heavyweights - 8 rounds
Zach Page (17-23-2, 5 KOs) of Warren , OH over Eugene Hill (16-1, 7 KOs) of Dickinson, TX by Majority Decision with scores of 59-55, 58-56, & 57-57.

Super Middleweights - 6 rounds
Cornelius White (9-0, 8 KOs) of Houston, TX over Shannon Miller (24-43-8, 18 KOs) of Columbus, MS by KO at 1:43 of the 1st round.

Welterweights - 4 rounds
Calvin Green (20-3-1, 1 KOs) of Baytown, TX over Mikel Williams (8-22-4, 3 KOs) of Monroe, LA by Unanimous Decision with 40-35 on all three judges’ scorecards.

Lightweights - 4 rounds
Chris Hernandez (3-0, 2 KOs) of Houston, TX over Chris Quarrels (0-2) of Dallas, TX by TKO at 2:36 of the 1st round.

Women’s Lightweights - 4 rounds
Jennifer Scott (1-0, 1 KO) of Humble, TX over Geboria Mayfield (2-3,1 KO) of Columbus, MS by TKO at 0:10 of the 2nd round.

Light Middleweights - 4 rounds
Fernando Castaneda (3-3, 2 KOs) of Rosenberg, TX over Jevaon Boisseau (2-4) of New Orleans, LA by Unanimous Decision with 40-36 on all three judges’ scorecards.

Light Heavyweights - 4 rounds
Martin Pena (1-0, 1 KO) of Houston, TX over Joe Lewis (0-1) of Humble, TX by TKO at 0:26 of the 1st round.

Referees
Bobby Gonzales & Ronnie Ralston

Judges
Eva Zaragoza, Frank Adams, & Robert Bish

The USA Boxing Texas championships (Region 8) were hosted by the Gulf Association and held at Denver Harbor multi-purpose Center on Houston’s eastside.  The best senior division amateur boxers from the state were there trying to earn the right to represent their state at the national tournament.  Three days of action culminated with the finals being held on Sunday, April 26th.

Highlighting the event was the 119 pound category which pitted top 10 ranked Isaac Torres of Mission, TX, versus Under 19 national champion and World Youth Games bronze medalist Adam Lopez of Dallas.  Lopez defeated 2009 Texas state Golden Gloves champion Eric Manriquez in the semi-finals.  Torres came out strong and fast and kept a slight lead throughout the match which was high-paced but fought with a very high skill level as well.  Torres kept up the pace and pulled out a close victory.

Other highlights included seventeen year old George Rincon of Dallas continuing his run thru state competition by holding off a very spirited Brandon Soto.  National number one ranked Errol Spence again looked like the premier fighter in the state, not having much trouble with his opponents.  Spence, along with Lopez, and 112 pound champ Oscar Cantu won their weight classes at the 2009 Under 19 championships.

Kurtiss Colvin outclassed his opponent and now looks to make noise in the national tournaments.  An exceptional athlete, Colvin ran under 20 seconds in the 200 meters in his previous career as a Track and Field sprinter.

The lone stoppage in the final round came when Anthony Mack of Dallas, dropped Noel Ligon of Houston with a flush right hand.  A hybrid athlete with a 2-0 amateur MMA record, Ligon gamely rose to his feet but the referee compassionately halted the bout.
Winners advance to the USA Boxing National Amateur Championships at the Denver Coliseum in Denver, CO, in June.

2009 USA Boxing Texas Championship Results
Sunday April 26th, 2009
Open (17-34 years old) 3-3 minute rounds
106 lbs - Daniel Ybarra (Gulf) unopposed
112 lbs - Oscar Cantu (South) over David Ramirez (Southwestern)
119 lbs - Isaac Torres (South) over Adam Lopez (Southwestern)
125 lbs - E.J. Rodriguez (South) by walkover
132 lbs - Abraham Torres (Southwestern) over Gustavo Alarcon (Gulf)
141 lbs - George Rincon (Southwestern) over Brandon Soto (West)
152 lbs - Errol Spence (Southwestern) over Angel Resendez (South)
165 lbs - Kurtiss Colvin (South) over Timothy Meek (Border)
178 lbs - Robert Sherman (Gulf) over Samuel Clarkson (Southwestern)
201 lbs - Anthony Mack (Southwestern) over Noel Ligon (Gulf) by RSC
201+ lbs - Eric Reza (Border) over Adrian Taylor (Southwestern)