Moreu Jr., Clark advance to Last Chance semis

Sep. 14—At the age of 18, Albuquerque amateur boxer Yoruba Moreu Jr. is two wins away from a berth in the US Olympic Trials.

Moreu on Thursday defeated Pennsylvania's Eric Martinez, the No. 1 seed in the heavily populated Elite Men's 125-pound weight class, by split decision (3-2) at the USA Boxing Last Chance Qualifier in Pueblo, Colorado.

He's scheduled to face Joel Hernandez of Renton, Washington in Friday's semifinals.

Moreu is one of two New Mexico fighters still competing in Pueblo.

Wednesday night, Albuquerque's Leroy Clark defeated Dallas' Ethan Eads by unanimous decision (29-28 on all five scorecards) in a super heavyweight (203 pounds-plus) quarterfinal.

Moreu grew up in a boxing family; his older sister Sharahya had a long and successful amateur career and won her pro debut in Atlantic City, New Jersey on July 22. Their father, Yoruba Sr., trains them both.

Moreu Jr., though, had never before had the success at the national level that he's having this week.

Of his son's leap forward, Moreu Sr. credits work Moreu Jr. has done with Albuquerque pro Josh Torres and former world champion Angelo Leo.

Moreu Jr. spent the past month in Colorado Springs, training at Santiago Boxing Club.

"All he did is eat, sleep and train this whole summer since he (last) fought in June," Moreu Sr. said on social media, "and not took a break."

On June 5, at the USA Boxing Summer Festival in Lubbock, Texas, Moreu Jr. lost his first-round bout to Kevin Soltero of Kansas City, Kansas.

At Last Chance, he's reeled off victories over Enrique León, Joseph Subia and now Martinez.

Having turned 18 on April 18, Moreu Jr. is the youngest fighter in the 125-pound bracket, his father said.

Clark, meanwhile, is scheduled to face another Texan, Michael Green, in Friday's semifinals.

Both New Mexicans' Friday bouts are scheduled for the early (noon MST) session. All bouts are being streamed at usaboxing.com.

Clark has already qualified for the Olympic Trials, having won the heavyweight (203 pounds) division at the Summer Festival in Lubbock. He opted to compete at super heavyweight in Pueblo, perhaps giving himself another Olympic option.

Wednesday, sticking, moving, and sharp with his right jab, Clark outboxed a bonafide super heavyweight in Eads.

Clark won the first two rounds against Eads, heavier and perhaps an inch taller than Clark's 6-foot-6, with clearly superior boxing skills.

Eads, though, came on strong in the third.

Clark, appearing to fatigue, allowed himself to get trapped in a corner, absorbed some hard shots and was given a standing eight-count by the referee.

The Albuquerque southpaw lost the third round on all three official scorecards. But Clark weathered the storm, and it was his hand that was raised afterward. All five scorecards read 29-28.

Wednesday's victory was Clark's second of the tournament.

Earlier on Wednesday, Las Cruces' Leon Hernandez lost by unanimous decision to Benjamin Smith of Bartow, Florida in a first-round welterweight (147-pound) bout.

Also Wednesday, Peralta's Alexa Garrobo withdrew from the tournament. Her coach, Anthony Rosales, said Garrobo wasn't feeling well and was suffering from anxiety.

LEGACY CARD: Albuquerque's Legacy Promotions has announced the matchups for its Nov. 4 card at Tingley Coliseum, with — as previously reported — Duke City flyweight Abraham Perez (8-0, four knockouts) fighting for an IBA world title in the main event.

Perez is matched against Mexico's Luis Villa Padilla (15-4-2, two KOs) in a 10-round bout for the now-vacant IBA title.

Aaron Angel Perez (10-1-1, six KOs), Abraham's older brother, is down to resume his career after a two-year layoff with a six-round featherweight bout against Rafael Reyes (20-16, 16 KOs), a native of Mexico who now lives and trains in Clovis.

A total of 10 bouts are listed, featuring — among others — Katherine Lindenmuth, Leonid Grachev, Xavier Madrid and Cristian Cabral.

Tickets, starting at $20, are expected to go on sale later this week.

THE OTHER LEGACY: Regarding the suspension notation attached to California promoter Justin Garner's listing on boxrec.com, that suspension apparently levied by the Colorado Boxing Commission, an inquiry by the Journal to the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies shed little light on the subject.

Garner promotes under the banner of Legacy Boxing and Entertainment Company.

As reported by the Journal and by boxingnewmexico.com, Garner — who has a card scheduled on Oct. 27 at the Albuquerque Convention Center — forfeited his Colorado promoter's license due to his failure to pay fighters for a January 2022 card he promoted in Denver.

In an email, DORA spokeswoman Sarah Werner wrote that Garner "voluntarily surrendered" his license as a consequence. No suspension per se was levied.

Asked about the boxrec.com notation, Werner wrote, "The state of Colorado is not affiliated with (boxrec.com) and has no insight into how they gather their information."

While "affiliation" may not be the proper term, every state and tribal commission in the United States provides and gathers information from boxrec.com.

At Tuesday's New Mexico Athletic Commission meeting, the NMAC informed Garner that he needs to get the listed suspension off the books before he's allowed to stage his Oct. 27 card.