Poteet welder crafts win

A welder by trade, Santiago Vazquez is good with his hands, relying on precise movements and handeye coordination to do the job.

When it comes to his avocation — boxing — the same skills apply.

On Friday, Vazquez needed all of those and more to defeat Isaac Noriega of Rockhead Boxing by split decision in a men’s senior open bout at 125 pounds on the opening night of the San Antonio Regional Golden Gloves tournament at the Second Baptist Church Community Center on the East Side.

Vazquez, 18, won a battle of southpaws by forcing his opponent into standing eight counts in the first and third rounds.

“I normally switch my stance when I fight another southpaw, but tonight I didn’t think it was necessary,” he said. “I was landing my left and picking my shots. I felt good.”

Vazquez trains under Gilberto Garcia at Castillo’s Boxing Gym on the South

Side, traveling 30-plus miles from his house in Poteet to the gym after he gets off work at 6 p.m.

“It’s tough but it’s worth it,” said Vazquez, fighting in the open division despite having just nine bouts under his belt. “I’ve been going there for 4-5 years now. I’ve come a long way in a short time.”

His bout was one of 24 contested Friday night, with 18 of those involving boxers from the Austin area.

All bouts were three rounds, with open division rounds lasting 3 minutes, novice bout rounds 2 minutes and youth bout rounds 1 minute.

Elsewhere, Ethan Perez of San Antonio rebounded from a slow start to defeat Trevon Fennell of Dead Game boxing in Austin by TKO in a men’s senior open 125-pound bout.

A southpaw, Perez put on an impressive display of punching, forcing his opponent into three standing eight counts before the referee stopped the contest at 2 minutes, 22 seconds of the third round.

Perez, 18, a senior at Stevens

High School and fighting unattached, used his superior reach and punching accuracy to take control of the bout.

“My dad told me to start doing what we worked on in the gym, which was going to the body,” said Perez, who has more than 80 bouts on his amateur résumé. “After the first round I felt I needed to open up and throw more punches.”

Eric Lopez of Ramos Boxing Club in San Antonio beat Gabriel Saldivar of Eagle Pass 3-0 in another men’s senior open 125pound bout.

“I stopped thinking so much and just went in there and started fighting,” said Lopez, 19, a landscaper who was appearing in his 12th amateur bout. “Sometimes when you overthink things, you start doubting yourself and don’t let your hands go. Tonight I didn’t do that.”

Boxers from Richard Lord Boxing Club in Austin won four of five bouts, at 132, 139, and two at 156 pounds, all in the men’s senior novice division.