The 2008 Junior Olympic National Championships commenced on Tuesday afternoon at the Superior Dome on the Northern Michigan University campus in Marquette, Mich. Over 200 of the nation’s top male and female boxers made the trek to Marquette for the annual event, which continually produces future Olympians and World Champions..
Six weight classes were contested in the first session of the four-day event. The first tiebreaker of the tournament took place in the light flyweight division as Joshua McShane (Waianae, Hawaii) faced off with Jovanni Diaz (Las Vegas, Nev.) in preliminary round action. After three rounds of action, the bout was deadlocked at 14 points apiece, but McShane claimed the victory with his 31-25 total punch count edge.
2008 Silver Gloves champion Antonio McGruder (Suitland, Md.) took his first step toward a second title in his contest with Kiun Evans (Little Rock, Ark.). McGruder enjoyed a quick start in the light bantamweight contest, building a 6-1 lead after the first. He doubled his point total in the second to take a 12-3 lead into the final round. Evans kept him from adding to his lead in the third, but McGruder went on to win a 16-7 decision over Evans to advance to quarterfinal competition.
In featherweight action, Byron Zamora (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) put an early end to his contest with Derik Jensen (Pocatello, Idaho). Zamora jumped off to a lightning quick start, leading 10-2 after the first two minutes of action. He quickly built on his eight-point lead in the second, taking a fifteen point lead in the second to cause the mandatory stoppage and claim the preliminary round victory.
George Rincon (Carrolton, Texas) made an early statement in his opening light welterweight bout of the tournament with Anthony Lindsay (Port Huron, Mich.). Early momentum was the key once again with Rincon moving out to an 8-0 advantage after the first round. The second round told a similar tale with the Texas boxer pushing his lead to a 15-0 margin to cause the mandatory stoppage and give Rincon the victory.
The light middleweight division of 154 pounds closed out the opening session of the event with two bouts. John Zabala (Wheat Ridge, Colo.) and Eric Bossler (Germantown, Tenn.) recorded the final two victories of the afternoon session, defeating Ivan Zubieta (Dallas, Texas) and Brandon Munoz (Huntington, Calif.) respectively.
In evening action, the flyweight division led off the session with seven preliminary round bouts. Deven Matos (Fort Washington, Md.) took control early in his bout with Jose Martinez (Jonesboro, Ark.). Matos’ strong output earned him the early lead before the referee called a halt to the bout at the :45 mark of the first to give Matos the victory.
Bantamweight Jesus Magdaleno (Las Vegas, Nev.) pitched a shutout in his preliminary round contest with Luis Feliciano (Milwaukee, Wis.). Magdaleno methodically built out his lead throughout the three round bout, taking a 5-0 edge after the first round. He added four points to his total in each of the last two rounds to win a 13-0 final decision.
Three lightweight boxers recorded preliminary round stoppages in their opening bouts. Sultahn Staton (Philadelphia, Pa.) started the trend with a first round stoppage of Thomas Gifford (Leola, Kansas) at the 1:35 point. Jose Benavidez, Jr. (Phoenix, Ariz.) quickly followed with a second round stoppage of Anthony Johnson (Jackson, Tenn.) at the :55 mark of the stanza. Brian Nichols (Brandon, Miss.) concluded the trio, stopping Ezra Cabang (Pahoa, Hawaii) in the second round of their lightweight match-up.
Pedro Sosa (Bronx, N.Y.) made his 2008 Junior Olympic National Championships debut in a welterweight contest with Giovani Santillan. He enjoyed a strong early start, riding powerful shots to a 5-0 lead after one round. Sosa held Santillan scoreless midway through the second, but he got on the board late in the round and Sosa took a 9-2 advantage into the third. The New York boxer extended his lead over the final two minutes to claim a 15-6 final decision.
The middleweight division closed the opening day of boxing at the 2008 National Championships with three preliminary round contests. Anthony Bailey (Memphis, Tenn.), Jose Santiago (Corning, Calif.) and Donald Anderson (Columbus, Ohio) earned the final first round victories, defeating Jerry Odom (Bowie, Md.), Julian Vann (Topeka, Kansas) and Richard Romero (Los Angeles, Calif.) respectively.
Quarterfinal action will be contested at noon and 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the Superior Dome in Marquette, Mich., on Wednesday.
Preliminary Results
6 P.M.
110 lbs: Luis Abrosio, Fresno, Calif., dec. Kurtis Hagi, Pearl City, Hawaii, 27-6
110 lbs: Andrew Baca, Pueblo, Colo., dec. Jesus Rojas, Columbus, Ohio, 23-6
110 lbs: Deven Matos, Ft. Washington, Md., stopped Jose Martinez, Jonesboro, Ark., RSC-1 (1:20)
110 lbs: Carlos Chavez, N. Hollywood, Fla., stopped Luis Rodriguez, Omaha, Neb., RSC-2 (:45)
110 lbs: Kelvin Heredia, Bronx, N.Y. dec. Daveon Gibson, Rock Springs, Wyo., 7-5
110 lbs: Andres Ramos, Mesa, Wash., dec. Jebarri Barr, Tampa, Fla., 36-16
119 lbs: Mike McGown, Hattiesburg, Miss., dec. Ansen Armitage, Hawaii, 28-8
119 lbs: Christopher Torres, Port St. Lucie, Fla., dec. Matthew Ludwig, Great Falls, Mont., 10-3
119 lbs: Jesus Magdaleno, Las Vegas, Nev., dec. Luis Feliciano, Milwaukee, Wis., 13-0
119 lbs: Chuy Alegria, Ft. Worth, Texas dec. Brandon Morris, Toledo, Ohio, 14-9
119 lbs: Marcus Gaddis, Landover, Md., dec. Randy Luciano, Passaic, N.J., 22-10
119 lbs: Ricky Rodriguez, Evans, Colo., dec. Victor Garcia, Boise, Idaho, 20-2
119 lbs: Jose Ramirez, Avenal, Calif., dec. Shadeed Floyd, Washington, DC, 21-4
132 lbs: Eric Sanchez, Salinas, Calif., dec. Junior Zunita, Beaverton, Ore., 26-13
132 lbs: Sultahn Staton, Philadelphia, Pa., dec. stopped Thomas Gifford, Leola, Kansas, RSC-1 (1:35)
132 lbs: Christopher Galeano, Bronx, N.Y., dec. Lucas Garner, Mohecan, Wis., 4-3
132 lbs: Jose Benavidez, Jr., Phoenix, Ariz., stopped Anthony Johnson, Jackson, Tenn., RSC-2 (:55)
132 lbs: Brian Nichols, Brandon, Miss., stopped Anthony Johnson, Jackson, Tenn., RSC-2 (:55)
132 lbs: Christopher Galeano, Bronx, N.Y. dec. Lucas Garner, Mohecan, Wis., 4-3
132 lbs: Manuel Rojas, Dallas, Texas, dec. Timothy Matthews, Toledo, Ohio, 19-2
145 lbs: Pedro Sosa, Bronx, N.Y. dec. Giovani Santillan, San Diego, Calif., 15-6
145 lbs: Juan Betancourt, Phoenix, Ariz., dec. Jorge Hernandez, Hollister, Calif., 16-15
145 lbs: Joshua Herrera dec. Martin Lagunas, Ruskin, Fla., 17-15
145 ls: Raul Zachery Prieto, El Paso, Texas won on retirement over Donald Griffin, Pine Bluff, Ark., RET-2 (1:53)
145 lbs: Chris Warden, Lusby, Md., dec. Bobby Bryant, Olive Branch, Miss., 15-8
165 lbs: Jose Santiago, Corning, Calif., dec. Julian Vann, Topeka, Kansas, 8-4
165 lbs: Anthony Bailey, Memphis, Tenn., dec. Jerry Odom, Bowie, Md., 7-6
165 lbs: Donald Anderson, Columbus, Ohio dec. Richard Romero, Los Angeles, Calif., 16-5
NOON
101 lbs: Mark Hernandez, Fresno, Calif., won on walkover over Tremaine Williams, W/O
106 lbs: Edwin Sandoval, Bakersfield, Calif., dec. Quincy Means, Pine Bluff, Mo., 15-12
106 lbs: Alejandro Hernandez, Detroit, Mich., dec. Barry Dudley, Shreveport, La., 20-5
106 lbs: Rogiello De la Garza, Dallas, Texas won on walkover over Victor Pasillas, San Bernadino, Calif., W/O
106 lbs: Joshua McShane, Waianae, Hawaii, dec. Jovanni Diaz, Las Vegas, Nev., 14-14 (31-28)
114 lbs: Zachary Borunda, Pueblo, Colo., dec. Javier Stone, Blue Island, Ill., 14-2
114 lbs: Manuel Avila, Fairfield, Calif., won on walkover over Lavisas William, Roberts, N.Y., W/O
114 lbs: Dennis Galarza, Orlando, Fla., dec. Elijah Peters, Tacoma, Wash., 7-1
114 lbs: Emmit Bolibol, Honolulu, Hawaii, dec. Ricky Lacefield, Lincoln, Neb., 7-4
114 lbs: Antonio McGruder, Suitland, Md., dec. Kiun Evans, Little Rock, Ark., 16-7
125 lbs: Joel Diaz, Palmdale, Calif., dec. Anthony LaPiere, 24-7
125 lbs: Luis Cortez, Las Vegas, Nev., dec. Gabriel Montoya, Cheyenne, Wyo., 11-5
125 lbs: Antoine Douglas, Washington, DC, dec. Richard Coronado, Phoenix, Ariz., 15-12
125 lbs: Abel Navarette, San Angelo, Texas stopped Shannen McCray, RSC-2 (1:43)
125 lbs: Byron Zamora, Port St. Lucie, Fla., stopped Derik Jensen, Pocatello, Idaho, RSCO-2
125 lbs: Eric DeLeon, Lincoln Park, Mich., dec. Jose Arambula, Harvey, Ill., 10-8
125 lbs: David Borjorn, Concord, Calif., dec. George Borges, Newark, N.J., 11-11 (24-22)
138 lbs: Jamal Alantez-Fox, Temple Hills, Md., dec. Joe Almanza, 19-5
138 lbs: George Rincon, Carrolton, Texas, stopped Anthony Lindsay, Port Huron, Mich., RSCO-2
138 lbs: Paul Cano, Clovis, Calif., dec. Arias Sergio, Racine, Wis., 19-5
138 lbs: Armando Gallegos, Caldwell, Idaho, dec. Willie Jones, Burlington, N.C., 8-4
138 lbs: Zeddie Adams, Cleveland, Ohio stopped Matthew Skaw, Hamilton, Mont., RSC-1 (1:44)
154 lbs: John Zabala, Wheat Ridge, Colo., dec. Ivan Zubieta, Dallas, Texas, 13-3
154 lbs: Joshua Nakagawa, Kihei, Hawaii, dec. Sammy Villa, Fair Oaks, Calif., 16-11
154 lbs: Eric Bossler, Germantown, Tenn., stopped Brandon Munoz, Huntington, Calif., RSCO-2 (:14)
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).