Norcalboxing.net
WBO flyweight titleholder Melissa McMorrow makes the first
defense of her belt Friday night at the Civic Center in Kissimmee, Fla.,
against Yahaira Martinez.
McMorrow (7-3-3), a San Jose native, is coming off a massive
upset in May over Susi Kentikian (29-1, 16 KOs), whom she dethroned in Germany
by majority decision. While she has gone
from the hunter to the hunted, she has embraced the challenge.
“It’s a different place to be, but my approach hasn’t really
changed,” the 31-year-old McMorrow told BoxingScene.com. “It’s a little more motivating to know that
someone’s coming after something you’ve won, so that makes it more exciting.”
Trainer Eddie Croft of B Street Boxing in San Mateo, a
former three-time world title challenger, has helped to hone his fighter’s
craft at one weapon in particular.
“My right hand,” she said.
“I have always been a predominantly left-handed fighter. I prefer the hook over most other punches, so
I’ve been working on my right hand, especially against a southpaw.”
Croft discussed the pitfalls of fighting a lefty like
Martinez (7-3, 4 KOs), who hails from Aguadilla, P.R.
“She’s fighting a southpaw, her first time as a pro,” he
said. “That might give her a little bit
of an issue in the beginning, but Melissa gets stronger as the fight goes on.”
The reigning champion then lauded her challenger’s skills.
“[Martinez] seems to shoot the left hand pretty well and has
kind of a looping right hook,” McMorrow said.
“She seems pretty strong, but I’ve been training hard for her.”
McMorrow is expected to defend her title successfully, but
Croft is unwilling to discard their underdog mentality in order to maintain a
psychological edge.
“We always feel that way,” he said. “We always feel a little underestimated and
that we have a lot to prove, and she’s going out there to give her best
performance to date. The last fight, she
fought the best she has fought, but I know she has more to give.”
McMorrow came in at 110.75 pounds, while Martinez weighed 111.75.
McMorrow came in at 110.75 pounds, while Martinez weighed 111.75.
KNIGHT POUNDS JUAREZ,
WANTS McMORROW NEXT
On the heels of her landmark points victory over WBC
flyweight boss Mariana Juarez (35-6-3, 16 KOs) in Mexico City, unified
flyweight champion Ava Knight (left, with belt) is enjoying some
rest and relaxation in her hometown of Chico.
“I definitely took the fight to her,” Knight (NorCal No. 7; 10-1-3, 5 KOs) said. “She's a great champion, but I knew I had
done enough to win before they announced the scores.”
Knight’s trainer, Ben Bautista of West Oakland’s Champ
Nation, was more than pleased with his fighter’s performance.
“I told you she would do what we said we’d do,” Bautista
said. “Mariana was getting older and
just ran into a young lion queen.”
With Knight the de facto IBF and WBC champion, and Melissa
McMorrow the virtual WBO and WBA boss after beating Susi Kentikian (only the
WBO was technically on the line), is a “unification” bout between two local
stars in the cards?
“I think that would be the next fight I’d want,” Knight
said. “To have all the belts at
flyweight would be a great achievement.
I want to be the first.”
Her potential foil was just as eager to make the women’s
superfight happen.
“Of course I would love that fight,” McMorrow said. “Ava and I have very different styles, so for
one, it would a good fight. While making
a fight like that is never easy because of the politics of boxing, I think I
would win it.”
MARTYNIOUK FIGHTS
FRAZIER ON THUNDER VALLEY CARD
Lightweight prospect Stan Martyniouk (right, with Amir Khan) of
Antelope is ready to make his return on this Saturday’s main event against
Johnny Frazier (2-9-4) at Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln.
“I’m looking forward to getting back in the ring,”
Martyniouk (11-1, 2 KOs) told BoxingScene.com on Monday afternoon. “From what I’ve seen, Frazier’s a
counter-puncher so I’ve been getting ready for him and his style.”
Holding training camp in Hayward with reigning Trainer of
the Year Virgil Hunter, Martyniouk has fully recovered from a separated rib
cartilage injury that forced him to pull out of a fight with Javier “Pelos”
Garcia (8-2-1, 7 KOs), the nephew of celebrated cornerman Robert Garcia.
“The injury was so bad it hurt when I moved from
side-to-side, ran, or did anything,” Martyniouk said. “Now I’m back and I feel good. I sparred 18 rounds this week, and I’ve been getting
sharp.”
Since his charge Andre Ward’s late-round stoppage of Chad
Dawson, Hunter has become a hot commodity in the fight game, as Fernando
Guerrero, Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo, and Amir Khan have all stated that they
would join the Bay Area trainer’s stable.
At first, Martyniouk was concerned that Hunter would be spread too thin,
but has since grown accustomed to the new additions.
“Having all these great fighters around and seeing what
they’ve done drives me to work even harder,” Martyniouk said. “I was already getting good work with Karim
[Mayfield] and Mike Dallas, and I can’t wait to work with Khan when he gets
here.”
Exciting slugger Joe Gumina (2-1, 2 KOs) will also appear on
the show. The San Bruno cruiserweight
has already been in two brawls that have been nominated for NorCal Fight of the
Year.
Tickets start at $50 and can be purchased at Showclix.com.
SACRAMENTO’S AYALA
MAKES PRO DEBUT
Sacramento bantamweight Mario Ayala will enter the squared
circle for the first time as a pro on the Thunder Valley undercard.
Ayala (right, with trainer Marty Chima), a bronze medalist at last year’s National PAL and
quarterfinalist at the USA Boxing National Championships, is a fan-friendly
slugger who has built a name in the region for his propensity to fight inside.
“I just love to fight,” said Ayala, a Grant High alum who
will be facing Don Jose. “I’m tall for
my weight class, but I like to fight inside and trade.”
Chima, of Dogg Pound Boxing, would like to
transform Ayala into more of an all-around fighter.
“His strength is fighting inside, kind of like the way Diego
Corrales used to fight, but we’ve been working on teaching him how to box,
too,” Chima said. “He showed a little of
that in the Adidas Championships at Oxnard, when he won silver and we thought he
deserved gold.”
The bout will take place at 119 pounds, as Ayala has
descended from his amateur weight of 123.
“I’ve been sparring with a lot of good fighters, like John
Abella, Matthew Guerrero, and others,” Ayala said. “I’m just ready to go and to give the fans a
good show.”
San Francisco heavyweight LaRon Mitchell, a silver medalist
at last year’s National Championships and Olympic Trials in the 201-plus-pound
division, had his debut postponed until December when his opponent pulled out.
52-YEAR-OLD NAVE
RETURNS IN SAN RAFAEL SHOW
San Anselmo’s Paul Nave (right), all of 52 years
young, will add the latest notch to his remarkable career in San Rafael’s
Albert Park on Friday when he trades leather with Justin Danforth (6-18, 1 KO)
in an eight-rounder.
In his last outing 13 months ago, Nave (19-9-2, 8 KOs) gave then-unbeaten 25-year-old
Brandon Hoskins all he could handle, eventually falling by majority decision. Now the “Marin County Assassin” has a chance
to get back in the win column , and he doesn’t plan on slowing
down.
“It's not really the result (of the fight),
I know I have the talent,” Nave told the Marin Independent Journal. “I have a
son that's 9, not only that, but you can't do it forever. I enjoy proving
people wrong. I just know that with all the variables in life that I'm in the
twilight of my career.”
The undercard also features promising local prospect Aldwayne
Simpson (2-0), a welterweight from Richmond who clashes with Santa Rosa’s
Jovanni Rubio (7-15, 4 KOs). Amateur
star Rudy Macedo of Novato will fight in an exhibition bout against San
Francisco’s David Lopez.
“HARD HITTA” HOLDS
PUBLIC WORKOUT SATURDAY
S.F. jr. welterweight contender Karim “Hard
Hitta” Mayfield (left) will hold a public workout Saturday in West
Oakland’s Champ Nation Gym (2635 Magnolia St.) from 1-3 p.m.
Mayfield (16-0-1, 10 KOs), currently ranked sixth in both the WBA and WBO
140-pound rankings, will make his Oct. 27 HBO debut against Mauricio Herrera (18-2,
7 KOs) at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, N.Y.
“I’ve been training and gaining, not just training and
maintaining,” Mayfield told CSNBayArea.com.
“I’ve been grinding, not at the club, but at 24 Hour Fitness. I’m ready to put the world on notice. Herrera’s gotta go!”
CENTRAL TRIFECTA WIN
NATIONAL PAL TITLES
Region 11 took home three National PAL title belts last
weekend, with all of them coming from Central California boxers.
In the Open division, bantamweight Gary Salazar of Fresno (far right, with his father and Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields) cruised
to a 36-20 decision over Orlando’s Dennis Galarza to take top honors at 123
pounds, while Bakersfield middleweight Daniel Valdivia captured his third straight crown with a 21-17 victory over New York’s Peter Reyes
in the 165-pound title bout.
The J.O. division saw 119-pound Efren Lopez of Fresno Main
Event edging out Cincinnati’s Duke Ragan, 23-22.
With Jose Ramirez deciding to turn pro following London
2012, the future looks bright as far as finding candidates to be Region 11’s
next Olympian in 2016.
CSN
Bay Area Boxing Insider Ryan Maquiñana is a voting member of the Boxing Writers
Association of America and panelist for Ring Magazine’s Ratings Board. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out
his blog at Norcalboxing.net, or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.
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