Borgs’ ultimate main event: Anthony
MMA fighter and wife welcome baby
Welcome to the world, Anthony Borg. Your timing was superb. Albuquerque MMA fighter Ray Borg and his wife (and fellow fighter), Amanda Lovato Borg, became first-time parents on Tuesday.
“Team borg grew by one today,” Ray Borg posted on Facebook, “and he is healthy and strong.”
Had Baby Anthony arrived a week later, Ray might have had serious difficulty focusing on his scheduled April 7 fight against Brandon Moreno on UFC 223 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
In his last outing, Borg (11-3) lost by fifth-round submission (arm bar) in his challenge for UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson’s title belt. A victory over Moreno (14-4) would keep him at the forefront of the division. Borg is the No. 3 challenger. Moreno, from Tijuana, Mexico, is No. 7.
Two highly anticipated fights headline the April 7 card: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson and Rose Namajunas vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
For Jedrzejczyk, it’s a chance to reclaim the UFC strawweight title she held in seemingly invincible fashion before her stunning loss to Namajunas by first-round TKO last November.
Ferguson-Nurmagomedov is generally considered a UFC lightweight title fight, though the organization has not officially stripped Conor McGregor of the belt. McGregor has not fought in the Octagon since November 2016.
SUMMER BOXING:
Two professional boxing cards are tentatively scheduled for the Albuquerque area on successive Saturdays.
Wrecking Crew Promotions, in the person of Albuquerque manager and trainer Fidel Maldonado Sr., is planning a card on June 16. Maldonado said he has secured a venue but was not ready to announce it.
The Wrecking Crew card, he said, would feature members of his Atrisco Boxing team: his son, Fidel Maldonado Jr., Matthew Griego, Brian Mendoza and David Proa.
Meanwhile, Legacy Promotions is planning a card on June 23 at Route 66 Casino Hotel, copromoter Jordan Perez said, pending final approval.
Perez and his brother and copromoter, Aaron, staged a card at Route 66 on March 17.
Aaron Angel Perez, Aaron’s son and Jordan’s nephew, made a successful pro debut on the March 17 card and will be featured on the June card. Otherwise, Jordan Perez said, “there’ll be some different faces.”
THE ALDERETE FACTOR:
On the March 17 Legacy card, Albuquerque light heavyweights Mike Alderete and Max Heyman were brought into the ring during an intermission to preview a future bout between the two longtime antagonists — presumably on the June Legacy card.
Not so fast, said Maldonado Sr., who said he is Alderete’s manager. He said he’s planning a bout between Alderete (7-7-2, three KOs) and Los Lunas’ Manuel Eastman (2-6-1, one KO) on the Wrecking Crew card.
If the Alderete-Heyman fight comes to pass, it would be a rubber match.
Alderete beat Heyman by eight-round split decision in May 2010. Six months later, Heyman (25-13-4, 14 KOs) beat Alderete by eighth-round TKO.
Apparently, hard feelings still exist. When they were brought up into the ring on March 17, Alderete charged at Heyman and the two had to be separated.
Alderete, 37, has not fought since August 2013. Heyman, 38, has not fought since June 2014.
GOLDEN GLOVES:
After a five-year stay in Albuquerque, the New Mexico Golden Gloves amateur boxing tournament will return next month to its longtime home in Clovis.
The tournament is scheduled for April 13-15 at the Roy S. Walker Recreation Center.
Clovis had hosted the Golden Gloves for almost a quarter-century, largely thanks to the efforts of longtime Clovis boxing coach Chuck Haas, before the move to Albuquerque in 2013. Haas died in 2014 at age 89.