SATURDAY AMATEUR BOXING

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By Rob Leon Guerrero

Saturday night’s Amateur Boxing Competition showcased some of the island’s young talent in the ring, delighting the crowd on hand. Sponsored by the Domino Luxx Group, the competition featured two dozen fighters, many of them making their debut.

Aaron Mcleland connects on a straight right to Zack Tenorio. (photo by Andre Gadia)

With a lineup of good fights, the main event featured Zac Tenorio (2-0-0) and Aaron Mcleland (1-0-0). Both fighters came in with strong supporting crowds, the former with his family and training partners there to cheer him on.  Tenorio looked poised before the fight, stoic and intense, seemingly unphased by his opponent, a significantly larger Mcleland. Mcleland enjoyed a dominating reach advantage and looked to land controlled shots from outside Tenorio’s range.

Tenorio was up to the challenge, moving inside of Mcleland and landing counter shots. A good exchange by the pair closed out the first round, providing a thrilling end. Much different from his quiet demeanor in the first, Tenorio came out on the attack in the second and third rounds, landing several body shots and showing strong defense against the reach of Mcleland.

“I saw that he was getting complacent, and I wanted to turn it up,” Tenorio said afterwards. Tenorio seemed to turn the intensity up to another gear, successfully pushing the tempo in the final round, landing body shots at will, and wearing down his opponent. With the flurry of attacks in the final two rounds, Tenorio stood as the winner by unanimous decision.

Adrienne Francisco delivers the 2nd round knockout punch on Bacardi Galves. (photo by Andre Gadia)

One of the surprise fighters making their debut Saturday night was more well-known to fans as a spectacular football and rugby player, Will Williams. Fighting against Chris Caballero, Williams was described as impressive, earning the win via referee stoppage in the first round.

“I actually took the fight on short notice,” Williams confessed. It should come as no surprise that Williams and Tenorio looked dominant in their fights, the pair are cousins who have trained together for years. “We’ve been training together for a long time,” Williams said.

“Will’s actually the first one of the cousins that has stepped up to fight,” Tenorio explained. Among the family of talented athletes is Josh Cruz, one of Guam’s premier volleyball talents.

When asked about stepping into a new sport, Williams was quick to bring it back to his family. “When your family’s watching, you don’t want to let them down. You want to come out and show them what’s up,” Williams said. “It feels good to train with my family, there’s a lot of talent there and it’s helped me a lot.”

Other fights

Will Williams and Zack Tenorio after Saturday night’s amateur fights. (photo by Andre Gadia)

Roland Manalo, Countershot def. Chris Bueno, Kontenda’s, via unanimous decision

Kyle Toves, Groundfu def. Jeremy Hocog, Raval’s, via 3rd round referee stoppage

Thomas Dye, Ultimate Martial Arts def. Steve Kasala, Hagatna Martial Arts Center, via 3rd round referee stoppage

Raynielle Rivera, Ultimate Martial Arts def. Hurao Sanz, Hagatna Martial Arts Center, via unanimous decision

Tedi Saol, Raval’s def. Bryan Abarca, Raval’s, via 2nd round referee stoppage

Ismael Magro, DLX def. Rudel O’Conner, Kontenda’s, via 2nd round referee stoppage

Luis Kaluu, Countershot def. Dylan Mobel, Ultimate Martial Arts, via 2nd round referee stoppage

Rion Alfred, Raval’s def. Francis Paulino, Ultimate Martial Arts, via unanimous decision

Adrienne Francisco, DLX def. Bacardi Galves, Kontenda’s, via 2nd round referee stoppage

Nicolas Raval, Raval’s def. Derek Padrones, Groundfu, via split decision

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