By Ryan Maquiñana
Maqdown.com
Despite drawing hometown hero Sonny Frederickson Jr., San Jose’s Andy Vences went into hostile territory to secure a 25-16 decision in the National PAL lightweight quarterfinals Thursday night in Toledo, Ohio.
“It was crazy in there,” Vences said. “I had to stay focused because every time he did anything, even if it didn’t land, the crowd would start yelling. Luckily I was able to keep my composure again and perform.”
Accumulating another early lead helped the South Bay fighter’s cause. At the end of the first round, Vences went ahead 9-2.
“I didn’t cruise, though,” he said. “I had to keep working hard and picking my shots. He kept coming forward and flailing wildly, so this time I talked with Ben [Bautista], my coach for this tournament, and he said to take a quick step back to set up my punches. I think I hurt him a couple times.”
Vences enters the final four in the 132-pound division. Tomorrow in the semifinals, he draws Toka Kahn Clary of Providence, R.I., the silver medalist at this year’s USA Boxing National Championships.
“I watched his last fight,” Vences said. “I think I’ll be able to beat him. He’s not a hard puncher. Hopefully the next time we talk, it will be before the finals.”
Maqdown.com was still waiting for Thursday results for two other fights involving Northern California amateurs.
Sacramento bantamweight Ramon Ayala had a quarterfinal battle with another Toledo native, Travon Smith. In the female tournament, San Francisco's Raquel Miller faced off against Andrecia Wasson of Centerline, Mich., in a semifinal bout.
Ryan Maquiñana is the boxing correspondent at Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. He’s a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Advisory Panel. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at www.maqdown.com or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.
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