National Collegiate Boxing Association Tournament begins at Foxwoods
By Alex Pierpaoli
On Thursday afternoon, Foxwoods Resort & Casino in Mashantucket, CT
hosted the quarter-final round of
the National Collegiate Boxing Association championship tournament. Over the
course of five and a half hours, thirty bouts featured
sixty competitors who squared off
inside the ring at the Fox Theater.
There was lots of action throughout
most of the bouts, five of which ended
in stoppages; Referee Stopped Contest
is the amateur distinction, with the result being a knockout of the technical
variety. Of the twenty-five official decisions rendered,
this writer would only argue with 2 of them, at the most and both of those were
close fights.
Without exception, the boxers in this
tournament each came to win, making for intense exchanges in some of the most
closely contested bouts. Couple the
athletes’ intensity with the brevity of three 2 minute-round contests and time
has been so compacted that each
second is there for the boxers to control and prevent their opponent from
taking from them. Of course, sometimes hand-to-hand combat is a lot uglier,
with more grappling or missing than punches exchanged,
but out of thirty fights there were probably only 2 stinkers in the bunch.
132 pounder, Jared Santos, of University
of Nevada Reno, battled Lock
Haven University's
Corey McQuiston. Round 2 was especially heated,
both guys landing with power, when Santos
scored a knockdown off a thumping
right hand. Sensing he’d hurt his opponent, Jared
Santos came raging out for round three and landed
a heavy combo that scored him
another standing 8 count. Corey McQuiston backpedaled, more cautious now and hoping to put some
distance between him and Santos’
heavy hands. When the bell sounded
it looked as though the referee was just
about to stop the fight. Jared
Santos advanced to the next round.
Josh Quintana of West Point switched
back and forth from southpaw to orthodox and battered
his southpaw foe, Richard Vansicien,
of University of Washington, 175 pounds.
Quintana overwhelmed
Vansicien, scoring two standing 8 counts before the referee stopped the contest in round one.
147 pounder, Norberto
Perez of the nearby, US Coast Guard Academy, in New London CT, broke the straps on his
opponent’s headgear with a right-left combination in round one. Calib Trotter,
of University of Nevada Reno took the blows a lot better
than his equipment did, and once the head-protector was replaced the action resumed.
Perez controlled the work-rate and
the distance in a competitive but one-sided
fight and he advanced to Friday
night’s round.
In another 147 pound contest. Sebastian Mims of West Point
battered Oscar Gomez of San Jose State University
and won the decision. Mims’ beautiful left hook and an excellent sense of
distance really told the story in the most lopsided
bout of the day. Oscar Gomez hung in there and kept trying but Mims’
naturalistic footwork, coupled with
heavy accurate combos, should make him hard to beat in this tourney.
Despite a bloody nose which the doctor looked at in the middle of round three, the US Naval
Academy’s Noah Weintraub finished strong and defeated
Lock Haven University's
Owen Gregory at 156lbs.
In a Sea versus Air match-up, 156 lbs, Jamen DesCartes of US
Coast Guard Academy battled James Monk of the US Air Force Academy. James DesCartes, a southpaw, got the better of the
second round, landing the right hook well, in a good action fight. James Monk poured
it on to finish strong but DesCartes, spurred
on by an enthusiastic cheering section, comes away with the win to advance.
Dave Montz, of Penn
State, thumped
Alex Gentry, of East
Carolina University,
gaining an RSC victory and advancing in the tourney. Both guys exchanged heavy shots from the start, but in the second
Montz connected with a heavy
combination that drew a standing 8 count from the referee. A few seconds later,
after another barrage, it appeared
Gentry surrendered when he was about
to receive a second standing 8. Penn
State gains an RSC win in
the 139lbs class.
JJ Mariano of University of Nevada
Reno and Jim
Lawson of the US Naval Academy showed
some real skill in a spirited,
action bout that featured lots of
contact between 139 pounders. The officials tabbed
Mariano the winner at the end of three in a close, exciting fight.
At 175 pounds, James
Kashmere of Shippensburg University of PA defeated
Jeff Fuss of West Virginia
University. Kashmere’s
cruder, bullying style won the favor of the judges, although this ringside
observer thought the clever boxing and work-rate of Jeff Fuss, especially in
the last half of the bout, should have prevailed.
The officials tabbed Kashmere the
winner and he advances.
185 pounder, Anthony Alexander, of the US Naval Academy, got
the worst of things in round one vs. Josue Gaytan of University of Nevada Reno.
Although taller, leaner and with a more chiseled-looking
torso, Alexander had all he could handle trying to hold off the busy,
battering-fists of Gaytan. Proving the old adage “looks don’t win fights” the
smoother, thicker-waisted Gaytan
prevailed by using good body
punching, clever head movement and a fusillade of heavy blows in the third
which garnered him a standing 8
count.
In a bout that featured
lots of posing, feinting and hesitating from both men, counter-punchers Vinh
Thai, of UNLV, lost to Ceon Harris, of West Point.
Despite being speedy 119 pounders,
this match-up featured a startling
lack of action compared to most of
the other fights. However, it was certainly not due to a lack of skill on the
part of the combatants, but simply the clash of styles. The amazing reflexes
and speedy fists of Ceon Harris,
along with a busy third round, gave West Point
the win in a close one.
175 pounder, Taylor Tennyson of US Coast Guard Academy,
defeated Logan Brandt of the US Air
force Academy. Tennyson came out blazing in round one, but by the end of the
round Brandt had put some distance between them and was scoring on his
pressuring foe. Fighting out of a crouch, Tennyson seemed
to be tiring by the end of the second but Brandt took his own foot off the gas
as well. Tennyson won the third and the bout to advance in the tourney.
One hundred
sixty-five pounders, John Mejia of
West Point and Andrew Sensoli of University
of Michigan rumbled through the full 6 minutes. Sensoli, a taller
southpaw fighter, was unable to use his physical advantages due to the pure
aggression of the pressuring Mejia. Sensoli reached
for Mejia, repeatedly, in hopes of
catching him with something to slow Mejia’s rushes but overall Sensoli paid for
it. West Point's John
Mejia advances with the points win.
156 pounds, Dan Gibson of West
Virginia University
versus Colin Schmitt of University
of California Davis. In
round one where's Teddy Atlas?! A
shoelace just came untied on Gibson
and the referee called a halt to the
action to get it tied. Flashback to the Olympic tourney in London this summer, there
it seemed to happen quite often.
Schmitt is timing the longer-limbed,
taller Gibson and scoring with his own shots inside the slightly wider blows of
Gibson. That was another close bout. Got to assume the accurate punching of
Schmitt carried it but Gibson may
have landed more and more often
throughout. The judges like Colin Schmitt of UCAL Davis and he advances; the
was a good, spirited effort from Dan
Gibson of WVU
119lbs, Brandon Knox of East
Carolina University
versus Mike Magtalas of the US
Air Force Academy.
Compared to many of the exciting
bouts today this fight is downright ugly. Both guys drawing repeated warnings from the referee. Going into round three
it's really hard to tell who's ahead; there’s been lots of grazing, grappling
and missing. The judges see East
Carolina University's
Brandon Knox as the victor and he advances.
147 lbs, Jamal Ferguson of Indiana Univ of PA vs Glenn
Miltenberg of USAFA. Ferguson
landed heavier blows in the 1st,
Miltenberg more often. The second starts up with a heavy exchange, Ferguson gets the better
of it. Ferguson
is spending a bit too much time along ropes and Miltenberg is really making him
pay for it. Very close round, first half belonged
to Jamal Ferguson and second half to Glenn Miltenberg. In the third,
Miltenberg connects with a long straight right and scores a
standing 8 count. This looks as though Miltenberg may have stolen it with big 3rd. He has, Glenn Miltenberg of the US Air Force
Academy wins the decision over Jamal Ferguson and advances. That was a dramatic,
exciting bout, and both guys have crowd-pleasing professional-looking styles. There’s
nothing quite like welterweights.
In bout 4 pits 132 pounders, Justin Suen of US Naval Academy
against Kevin Jones of Westpoint. These guys are really letting their hands go,
accentuating the big difference between amateurs and pros. They are throwing
like activity counts a lot more here. Kevin Jones is just pouring on the
pressure. His supporters shout "sprint, sprint, Kevin!" from their
seats and listened, really never
stopped punching. Jones has got a
stinging one-two and amazing reserves of energy. And a gutsy effort from Justin
Suen who was outworked and a little
outgunned.
Bout number 27, 165 pounders, Will Morrill of Penn State
University versus Denis
Vorobyov of the US Air Force Academy. Morrill of Penn State has a bit of size
advantage here but Vorobyov is overcoming it with good timing and consistent
pressure. Vorobyov never threw one punch at a time, always combinations, always
pressuring with Morrill trying to hold him off, gamely but ineffectively.
Vorobyov advances at 165.
Bout 17 up now, Zach Hildebrandt of West Point versus Sam
Frankel of the University of Washington, 156 pounds. Frankel, a southpaw, is taking
the worst of things from Hildebrandt through the 1st round.
Hildebrandt scores a standing eight count in final seconds. Round two sees Hildebrandt
fighting like a man possessed,
winging punches and landing right hand blasts that produce another standing 8
count. The bout continues but not for long. Zach Hildebrandt has a
crowd-pleasing slugging style and he battered
the very game Sam Frankel to advance via RSC.
Next is Emmanuel Osei of West Point versus Will Peterson of
the USAF Academy, 139lbs. Peterson has a major height and reach advantage over
Osei but so far he's not using it. Peterson is using straight punches better in
the 2nd but he gets caught with a big shot from Osei and receives a standing 8
count. Osei is really opening up on his stunned
opponent and he gets the RSC. Heavy-handed Emmanuel Osei has an explosive pressuring style and
Peterson really couldn't keep him off. Ref Stopped
Contest in rd 2
Kenny Smith of Lock
Haven University
went up against Mike Mourafetis of US Naval Academy in Bout 10, 147 pounds.
Round one looked very close and Mourafetis
looked to be a little bit busier
overall. Smith's corner is exhorting him to let his hands go. Kenny Smith is waiting a bit too long in
there, looking for openings that just aren't coming. The shorter Mourafetis is pressuring;
both guys are tired. There’s a heated
exchange to start the 3rd; Smith still a little out of range, his shots are falling
short of the target. Mourafetis is crowding him, both men are warned for holding. This
bout was close and both fighters know it. The
judges say Mike Mourafetis comes away with the decision and advances in the
tourney, very good effort from Lock
Haven University's
Kenny Smith.
139lbs up next, 3 rounds 2 minutes each, amateur rules,
Gabriel Sanchez of San Jose State University
versus Luis Quiles of West
Virginia University.
Both guys exchange heavy body shots. These are two thick and compact looking
139 pounders. Some grappling and man-handling of one another towards the end of
round one. Quiles has very unique wide-open style, he’s scoring with hooker-cuts
to the belly of Sanchez. Sanchez probably stole that second round on activity,
really letting his hands fly.
Luis Quiles probably needs
a big third round. Not sure if his moving, defensive style is a hit with the judges
either; while Sanchez is still pressuring, pursuing. As they await the decision
both fighters are talking and laughing with each other. The sportsmanship being
shown so far today has been impressive and refreshing. Gabriel Sanchez of San Jose State University
wins advances in the tourney.
Heavyweights and these men are super heavies, no doubt. 225lbs
plus I’m guessing. Drew Gensimore of Lock
Haven University
could be 245 perhaps. John Zemrose
of Indiana University of PA locks closer to 230. Gensimore is big southpaw and despite
his bulk he really pressed the
action in round one, smothering much of Zemrose's offense. Zemrose is busier
early in the round but the physicality of Gensimore really took over quickly. Watching
these heavies compared to the
lighter weight classes earlier today is almost like watching a different sport
altogether. Gensimore is landing heavy left hand bolts and body shots but
Zemrose might be touching him more often in bursts. The judge thought he was at
least although this observer wonders about that. John
Zemrose of Indiana University of PA did pushed
the action throughout against his bigger foe; but a good effort by Drew Gensimore
who has deceiving speed and
endurance. Zemrose advances.
Heavyweights, Ebeneezer Saint of West Virginia University
did battle with Max Goldwasser of the US Naval Academy. Goldwasser's a southpaw
landing with real power shots in the final seconds of the first. Both guys had
their moments in the first 2 minutes. These are not giant heavies, they are
leaner, quicker, maybe 215 a piece. Goldwasser is in control from long range.
Saint landed a single heavy
counterpunch in the second but it's the Navy boxer doing most of the scoring so
far in this fight. After three it’s the US Naval Academy’s Max Goldwasser that advances.
Sean Hunt of the US Naval Academy and Zach Barbara of University of Nevada Reno, 165lbs, put on quite a show
in the penultimate bout of the day. Both men landed
heavy blows through round one, with Hunt stunning Barbara a little more often.
The fighting was fast and heated,
filled with punches thrown with bad
intentions from both fighters. Although each round was competitive, Hunt
dominated and advanced in the tourney by decision win.
Josh Surgeon of USCGA is up against Albert Ta of University of Washington, 165lbs.
Wow, Surgeon is a hard-charging, wild-swinging middleweight
landing heavy left hooks especially in the final seconds of the round. Both men
had their moments in that round but Surgeon probably edged him. In the second Ta landed
well towards the end of the round but Surgeon should have a pretty serious lead
going into the 3rd and final frame. Josh Surgeon repeatedly
landed heavy clubbing blows on the
head of the incredibly tough Albert
Ta in that fight. His name may be Surgeon but there’s not a lot of precision in that
aggressive brawling style. Fun way to end the day for sure, Josh Surgeon wins
last bout of the day over Albert Ta and advances.
In other results:
Jay Doh of UNLV defeated
Evan Kamei of UCLA Berkeley, 125lbs
Josh Lopez of UMASS defeated
John Yarbough of ECU, 132lbs
Jacob Berggren of USAF
Academy defeated Josue Avila of ISU, 132lbs
Live coverage from ringside continues tonight and is
available through the show’s Twitter feed
(https://twitter.com/TalkinBoxing)
beginning at 6PM eastern. The tourney wraps up with the finals at 7PM tomorrow.
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