MIAMI – The Miami Gallos were in action on this St. Patrick’s Day evening against the Los Angeles Matadors to close out the regular season of the World Series of Boxing. While Los Angeles came into the match having just clinched the Americas conference championship, Miami wanted nothing more than to stop their losing streak and end the season on a positive note.
Bantamweights (54 kg/118 lbs) Luis Miguel Diaz (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) and Fernando Martinez (Buenos Aires, Argentina) started the action of the night at The Fillmore Miami Beach. Gallo Diaz came into the bout with a 1-4 record, while Matador Martinez carried a 4-0 record and hopes for a victory to qualify for the WSB individual championships. From the opening bell Diaz would take control of the bout, making Martinez chase him around the ring. Diaz would go on to win convincingly, 50-45, 49-46, 49-46.
With the Gallos up 1-0 over the Matadors, lightweights (61 kg/134 lbs) Roberto Navarro Gonzalez (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) and Eric Fowler (Houston, Texas) took to the ring, and again an individual championship qualification was at stake, this time for Fowler. The two fought a back-and-forth brawl during the first two rounds, until Navarro Gonzalez came close to dropping Fowler in the third. The intensity would continue for the remainder of the fight, with Navarro Gonzalez getting the split decision victory, 47-48, 48-47, 48-47, and dashing Fowler’s hopes of competing in the individual championships.
Heavyweight (91+ kg/201+ lbs) Paul Koon (Philadelphia, Penn.) faced Javier Torres (Pico Rivera, Calif.) in the third bout of the night, wanting nothing more than to secure the team victory for the Gallos. Koon started strong, controlling Torres in the early rounds. Torres would show a lot of heart, trying to get back into it as the fight went on, but Koon was able to hold onto the victory, 49-46, 48-47, 48-47.
In the middleweight (73 kg/160 lbs) bout, John Joe Joyce (Mullingar, Ireland) and Russell Lamour (Portland, Maine) competed in a rematch from their January 13th bout in Los Angeles. Joyce had fallen in the first meeting, and Lamour would be victorious again tonight, with scores 45-50, 46-49, 47-48.
Light heavyweight (85 kg/187 lbs) Kenny Egan (Clondalkin, Ireland) closed the evening with a bang, when referee Frank Santore, Jr. stepped in and stopped the bout against Elber Passos (Salvador, Brazil) at in 2:47 in the second round. Egan was able to capitalize on a right hook to the head, and then proceeded to pressure Passos until the call.
“Tonight I wanted to box well for my family that came to see me fight,” said Gallo Kenny Egan. “I went in there and picked my shots, listened to Coach Angel when he told me to stay in and box inside, and when I saw the opportunity I went in for the kill.”
The Gallos finished the season with a 4-8 record, good enough for third place in the WSB Americas Conference.