By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
Championships were on the line Saturday night at the West Michigan Golden Gloves Finals and area boxers provided plenty of outstanding performances in front of a large and amped-up crowd at the 4 Mile Showplace.
The evening was highlighted by several high-octane bouts, but by far the most entertaining match of the 13-bout card was the battle for the 139-pound elite open title between Mike Guzman of Michigan Golden Gloves Association (MGGA) and Michael Carbajal of PK Boxing in Wyoming.
No strangers to each other, Guzman and Carbajal came into the bout having split their previous two meetings. With a West Michigan title on the line, the two boxers stole the show with a thrilling three rounds of boxing that saw both boxers unload big shots and flurries throughout. Time and time again the two fighters had the crowd on its feet cheering on the two pugilists who took turns delivering combinations and big right hands. In the end, Guzman had his hand raised in victory with a decision.
“He’s a brawler and I knew it was going to be a brawl,” Guzman said. “I tried to outbox him. He’s a tough fighter and I knew it was a going to be a battle of wills. It was a great fight, but I think my defense made the difference. I feel like I am built for this, but so is he.”
The West Michigan title was the second straight for Guzman who now sets his sights on winning a Michigan state championship next weekend.
“The job isn’t done yet,” Guzman said. “I want to win the state title.”
A fourth match between Guzman and Carbajal may be in the cards as both the winners and runner-ups from the West Michigan finals move on to the state finals where the top two placers from the East Michigan Golden Gloves make the trek west for the state semifinals and finals on Friday and Saturday.
Another outstanding, action-filled bout took place in the 132-pound elite open final where five-time state champion Aneudy “Junior” Rios took the next step toward a sixth state title. Like Guzman, Rios faced a familiar face in the finals in Kalamazoo boxer Gentle Gibson. Rios defeated Gibson in both the West Michigan and Michigan state finals last year.
Relying on his speed and quickness and in excellent condition, Rios came out pressuring Gibson the entire three rounds. Rios piled up the points with his steady barrage of punches, but Gibson kept busy himself firing off combinations and flurries that kept the crowd entertained for the entire three rounds. The pressure of Rios eventually made the difference as he won the match by decision.
“It feels great,” Rios said. “I did what I was supposed to do. I stayed mobile and I stayed busy. He’s a good fighter so I knew it would be a good challenge.”
Rios will most likely meet up with Gibson again in the state finals.
“Going into the finals this year I feel I am in way better condition and more confident,” Rios said. “I feel like my conditioning keeps getting better. I’ve always wanted to win six state titles. That’s my goal and that is what I’m going for.”
In all, a total of four open division titles were on the line. At 147 pounds, Ulysses Campos of MGGA won a decision against Malcolm Jones of PK Boxing. One of the most experienced and productive boxers in West Michigan, Campos came into the bout with a total of six West Michigan titles to his credit and four state titles on his resume.
Taking on a boxer with a mixed-martial arts background, Campos knew the match would be a challenge.
“Word on the street was he is a MMA fighter with a different style,” Campos said. “He was a little taller and he used his reach well. I used my experience and closed the gap on him and kept throwing punches. I think it helped that I was use to three-minute rounds.”
In the final elite open match Wyatt Alvarez of PK Boxing won a decision against Michael Lynn III of Team Glass of Lansing. The title was the first West Michigan title in his career for Alvarez.
A total of nine elite novice champions were also crowned during the card. One of the most entertaining bouts among the novices was between Forest Hills Eastern graduate Nasier Harris and Gohan Estevez Marte of PK Boxing at 156 pounds. Harris won by decision in a thrilling bout packed with plenty of action. He began to take control of the match in the second round and added a big third-round knockdown to help ensure the win.
“I figured him out about the middle of the second round,” said Harris, who won the outstanding novice boxer award. “I took control after that and got the knockdown in the third round. I was really hyped after that.”
At 147 pounds, Karon Cross of MGGA won a decision against Kolbe Lewis of TCB Boxing. A first-year boxer who graduated from Grand Rapids Innovation Central High School, Cross kept up the pressure to come away with the win in another bout that featured plenty of action.
“This feels really good,” Cross said. “I’ve been boxing for seven or eight months now. My trainer said I have made a lot of progress and he’s real proud of me.”
A pair of boxers from Sturgis came away with titles in the first two bouts of the card. At 125 pounds Gabriel Munoz Hernandez won a decision against Andres Hernandez Gomez. At 132 pounds, Stephen Ramirez captured a decision against Davone Jones of Lansing Crown Boxing.
At 139 pounds, DreAun Ellis of the Kalamazoo Boxing Club defeated Tiburcio Hernandez IV of the Eli J Boxing Club via a decision.
A trio of Lansing boxers also claimed novice championships. At 165 pounds, Ramadhani Haji of Team Glass won a decision against Isaiah Clay of Crown Boxing. At 176 pounds, David Venn of Crown boxing won a decision against Caleb Balsitis of MGGA. At 203 pounds, D’Angelo Williams of Team Glass won when the referee stopped the contest in the second round of his match with Jeremiah Simmons.
In the final novice division match, Victor Napoles of Holland Eli J Boxing Club won a decision against Brendan Campbell of Crown Boxing.
Boxing resumes this week with the Michigan Golden Gloves state semifinals on Friday and the Michigan state finals on Saturday. Doors open at 6 p.m with boxing to begin at 7 p.m. at the 4 Mile Showplace.
As usual, WKTV will be televising all five nights of this year’s tournament. Check this WKTV Journal Story to get dates and times.
