Golden Gloves: national titles elude NM boxers
May 19—New Mexico amateur boxers performed well during last week's Golden Gloves nationals in Detroit. Championships, though, eluded their grasp.
Five New Mexicans, competing as part of the Colorado-New Mexico entry, went a collective 5-5 during the week.
Albuquerque 125-pounder Yoruba Moreu Jr. came closest to the brass ring, winning his first two bouts before losing by unanimous decision to New Jersey's Keith Colon in the semifinals.
Albuquerque super heavyweight Leroy Clark and Las Cruces 146-pounder Ariana Carrasco, who'd each won titles at the USA Boxing National Open in March at the Albuquerque Convention Center, won their Golden Gloves opening bouts before losing.
Clark, whose natural weight is 203 pounds, won at the National Open at 203-plus and decided to stay in the heavier weight class for Golden Gloves. He lost in the quarterfinals by split decision to Pennsylvania's Steven Williams.
Carrasco lost by disqualification for unsportsmanlike conduct to Chicago's Brianna Gulia, a ruling that Las Cruces' Rene Carrasco, Ariana's father, called "B.S."
"There's a lot of things I'd like to say," the elder Carrasco posted on Facebook, "but I won't."
Jimmie Perez, a New Mexico 112-pounder, won his first bout before bowing out by split decision against Cleveland's Marcellus Smith.
Kevin Whitaker, a 165-pounder from Hobbs, had the misfortune of facing 2023 USA Boxing national champion Marco Romero in his opening bout. Romero defeated Whitaker by unanimous decision on his way to winning the Golden Gloves title.
Carrasco, 20, is a U.S. Army Specialist 4 stationed at Fort Carson near Colorado Springs and competes for the Army boxing team.
Clark, 28, and Moreu, 19, are faced with the options of turning pro or remaining in the amateurs through the end of the year.
The USA Boxing Junior Olympics and Summer Festival, an event at which Clark won a gold medal last year (at 203 pounds), is scheduled for June in Wichita, Kansas.
USA Boxing nationals are expected to take place in December, though the event is not listed on the organization's website.
TRACK, TOO: Las Cruces amateur boxer Joscelyn Olayo-Muñoz capped a successful month of May by running a leg on Las Cruces High School's fourth-place team in the 4x400 relay on Saturday at the Class 5A state track & field meet in Albuquerque.
Earlier this month in Chula Vista, California, Olayo-Muñoz earned a spot at 106 pounds on USA Boxing's Youth High Performance team — and with it a spot on the U.S. team for the 2024 World Boxing U19 World Championships this fall (location and exact dates to be determined).
MADRID: Saturday in Redwood City, California, Albuquerque welterweight Xavier Madrid lost by six-round unanimous decision to San Diego's Jacob Macalolooy.
Madrid, a former St. Pius X and UNM running back, is 5-4 with two knockouts. Macalolooy remains unbeaten at 8-0 (four KOs).
All three judges scored the bout a shutout, 60-54. The Journal, scoring the bout off a video posted on Macalolooy's Facebook page, scored it 59-55 — giving Madrid the fourth round.
Despite the lopsidedness of the scorecards, the bout was competitive round by round.
UPCOMING: Albuquerque boxers Daniel Gonzalez and Amanda Lovato are scheduled for bouts on Saturday.
Gonzalez (5-1, two KOs), a welterweight/junior middleweight, is matched against Francisco Jalel Lopez (10-3-2, three KOs) in Salt Lake City. Lopez is from the Salt Lake City area.
Lovato (1-2-1, no KOs) is scheduled to face Melanie Timko (pro debut) in four-round flyweight bout in Lincoln, Nebraska. Timko, of Omaha, Nebraska, has considerable amateur boxing experience.
