Three Local Fighters in National Finals; L. Mitchell Drops Disputed Decision

By Ryan Maquiñana
Norcalboxing.net

S.F.'s Raquel Miller (in red) has the chance to add a Nationals gold to her Olympic Trials bronze medal on Saturday. (Team Miller)

Two Central California fighters and one from Northern California have advanced to Saturday's last day of competition at the USA Boxing National Championships in Fort Carson, Colo.

Top-ranked lightweight Jose Ramirez and bantamweight Jamie Mitchell of Pacific Grove won their semifinal bouts, as did Olympic Trials bronze medalist Raquel Miller, who moves on to the welterweight final.

Ramirez faces Cleveland's Raynell Williams, whom the Avenal native beat twice to win the Olympic Trials last August.  A trip to the Americas Olympic Qualifier in Brazil will be on the line.

Mitchell faces Pan-Am Games participant Christina Cruz, who moved up from flyweight to fight at 119 pounds.  Miller gets San Diego's Danyelle Wolf in her 152-pound championship.

Five other local fighters saw semifinal action but were eliminated.  The Sacramento duo of light flyweight Marina Ramirez and Brent Venegas III lost competitive decisions.  Fresno knockout artist Gary Salazar finally met his match in a defensive struggle, while Stockton heavyweight Antwon Abron's Cinderella run came to and end.

Perhaps the most controversial loss today involving a local pugilist was incurred by top-ranked super heavyweight LaRon Mitchell of San Francisco to Las Vegas' Brett Rather.

"I thought I boxed well enough to win, but Brett's a great guy and I wish him the best," a classy Mitchell said in defeat.  "I'm just glad to be able to share this experience with the kids when I get home."

Here are Friday's results along with Saturday's final matchups:

FRIDAY'S SEMIFINAL RESULTS

WOMEN

WOMEN'S LIGHT FLYWEIGHT (106 LBS.)

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NORCAL

Honolulu's Lisa Ha dec. #2 Sacramento's Marina Ramirez, 20-14

WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHT (119 LBS.)

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CENTRAL CAL

Pacific Grove's Jamie Mitchell dec. Massachusetts' Melanie Costa, 25-18

WOMEN'S WELTERWEIGHT (152 LBS.)

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NORCAL

San Francisco's Raquel Miller dec. Colorado's Tara Wesshaar, 29-2

MEN

MEN'S FLYWEIGHT (114 LBS.)

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NORCAL

New Mexico's Edmundo Guzman dec. Sacramento's Brent Venegas III, 16-13

MEN'S BANTAMWEIGHT (123 LBS.)

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CENTRAL CAL
Glendora's Joet Gonzalez dec. Fresno's Gary Salazar, 7-5

MEN'S LIGHTWEIGHT (132 LBS.)

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CENTRAL CAL
#1 Avenal's Jose Ramirez dec. Chicago's Kenneth Sims Jr., 27-14

MEN'S HEAVYWEIGHT (201 LBS.)
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CENTRAL CAL
Des Moines' Javonta Charles dec. Stockton's Antwon Abron, 13-5

MEN'S SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT (201+ LBS.)
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NORCAL
Las Vegas' Brett Rather dec. #1 San Francisco's LaRon Mitchell, 17-14

SATURDAY'S FINAL MATCHUPS

WOMEN

WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHT (119 LBS.)

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CENTRAL CAL

Pacific Grove's Jamie Mitchell vs. New York's Christina Cruz

WOMEN'S WELTERWEIGHT (152 LBS.)

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NORCAL

San Francisco's Raquel Miller vs. San Diego's Danyelle Wolf

MEN

MEN'S LIGHTWEIGHT (132 LBS.)

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Ramirez has a rematch of last year's Olympic Trials with Williams in the final. (Armando Mancinas)

CENTRAL CAL
#1 Avenal's Jose Ramirez vs. Cleveland's Raynell Williams


Boxing correspondent Ryan Maquiñana is 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 norcalboxing.net, or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.