New Mexico boxing cards line up
Unbeaten Holmes prepping to fight at Buffalo Thunder
Not only is New Mexico boxing not dead, it’s alive and ... punching.
In the first quarter of 2017, plus one day, three professional boxing cards are planned in the state. As well, a major amateur boxing tournament is coming to the Albuquerque Convention Center. The lineup: On Saturday, Santa Fe promoter Pat Holmes will stage a card at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino in Pojoaque. Holmes’ son, Brandon, an unbeaten (9-0) junior lightweight, is scheduled to fight the main event. Also scheduled to fight are Albuquerque junior lightweight Alex Holguin, Rio Rancho light heavyweight Sean McClain and Española welterweight Antonio Martinez.
On March 18 at the Convention Center, unbeaten (6-0, six KOs) Albuquerque flyweight Matthew Griego will be featured in a card staged by Victory Promotions. Griego is under contract to Victory, headed by longtime promoter and matchmaker Chris Middendorf.
Also scheduled to fight are Holguin and unbeaten (11-0, 10 KOs) Mexican welterweight Carlos Sanchez, a Victory contract fighter. Griego, Holguin and Sanchez all fought and won on a Victory-promoted card at the Santa Ana Star Center in July.
The March 18 card will be held in conjunction with the annual “Rumble in Rio,” which pits law enforcement officers vs. firefighters in boxing matches for charity.
As soon as Victory, the police and the firefighters move out of the Convention Center, USA Boxing will move in. The nation’s amateur boxing governing body will stage its Western Elite Qualifier and Regional Open Championships there from March 19-25.
Boxers in the open division (age 16 and over) will be competing for spots at 2017 USA Boxing nationals, scheduled for December.
On April 1, Legacy Promotions will bring boxing back to the Manuel Lujan Building at Expo New Mexico. The Lujan Building was the sport’s preferred venue in the 1990s but fell out of favor as the Indian Casinos came to the fore.
Legacy’s Eric Martinez could be suspected of playing an April Fool’s joke when he says the April 1 card will include New Mexico boxers Fidel Maldonado Jr., Josh Torres, Joaquin Zamora, Hector Muñoz, brothers Jason and José Luís Sanchez, José Osorio, Cristian Cabral, Isidro Castillo, Jordanne Garcia “and one other guy,” plus, of course, their opponents. To be continued on April 2, perhaps?
MALDONADO UPDATE: Maldonado (22-31, 19 KOs), the state’s most successful active boxer, was keenly disappointed when his scheduled Dec. 16 fight against Antonio Orozco (25-0 16 KOs) in California fell through. Orozco pulled out the day before the fight after fainting — apparently dehydrated in an effort to make the 140-pound junior welterweight limit — before the weigh-in.
Fidel Maldonado Sr., his son’s trainer and manager, said Golden Boy Promotions has told him they’ll require Orozco to fight Maldonado Jr. at a later date unless the former chooses to move up to the 147-pound welterweight limit. Maldonado and Orozco both are Golden Boy contract fighters.
In the meantime, Maldonado Jr. will face an opponent yet to be named on the April 1 Legacy card. Maldonado Sr. is responsible for securing his son’s opponent and promises it won’t be an easy fight.
“It’s gonna be a dangerous fight,” said Maldonado Sr., who has a particular opponent in mind. “Fidel needs to keep busy and get past this guy.”
If the Orozco fight doesn’t materialize, Maldonado Sr. has his eye on a rematch against Michael Perez (24-2-2, 11 KOs), who defeated Maldonado Jr. by disputed split decision in August 2012.
PEREZ TO BULGARIA: Albuquerque amateur boxer Aaron Perez is at the U.S. Olympic Training Center preparing for a trip to Bulgaria for an international competition, said Steve Garcia, president of USA Boxing’s New Mexico organization.
He’ll leave for Bulgaria on Feb. 5, Garcia said.
Perez is a state and regional Golden Gloves champion. He was the 2016 USA Boxing national runner-up at 132 pounds.