USA Boxing News
 By Media Report on Doghouse Boxing (Oct 14, 2012)
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(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
USA Boxing, as the
national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member
organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a
member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). .
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