Torres vs. Ganoy for WBC super lightweight belt is on tap for April
Los Lunas southpaw Brandi Montoya to make ring return on same card
There’s no firm date, no secured venue, no approval from the New Mexico Athletic Commission.
Nevertheless, it appears an April boxing card, headlined by an intriguing junior welterweight bout between Albuquerque’s Josh Torres and the Philippines’ Ranee Ganoy, is going to happen.
Torres (13-3-1, six knockouts) posted his acceptance of the fight on Facebook. Albuquerque’s Jacob Maes, Ganoy’s co-manager, did the same. Isabel Chavez, co-promoter with her husband, Joe, also made an announcement on Facebook.
“We just got it wrapped up (Thursday) morning,” said Maes, who brought Ganoy (3611-2, 32 KOs) to Albuquerque last year.
Chavez Promotions’ previous two boxing events have taken place at the McKernan Events Center — one in August, headlined by Torres, and one in November featuring Ganoy’s United States debut. But it’s believed that location might be too small to satisfy the interest in a Torres-Ganoy fight.
In November, Ganoy dominated New Mexico veteran Shawn Gallegos in winning by sixth-round TKO.
Torres, Maes said, presents a far more serious challenge.
“Josh is strong; he’s got some skills,” Maes said. “When we talked about bringing Ranee over here, this is exactly what I planned.
“I planned for Shawn, just to see where we were at. Then, I was hoping to get a crack at Josh.”
The WBC USNBC super lightweight (the same as junior welter, 140 pounds) title will be at stake.
The card originally was targeted for April 11 but could be moved back to any of the succeeding April Saturdays, depending on the selection and availability of a venue.
I s abel Chavez al so announced that the card will feature the return of bantamweight Brandi Montoya. The Los Lunas southpaw was 5-2 and riding a five-fight win streak when she left in 2012 to enter the United States Marine Corps.
HEAVYWEIGHT UPSET: A professional boxing card Jan. 24 at the Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino was rife with knockouts, with only one of five bouts going past the third round.
But one of those knockouts packed a surprise punch: Mesita boxer Manuel Eastman’s first-round KO of Los Lunas heavyweight Cody East.
Eastman (2-3) had weighed in at 164 pounds for his previous fight, a November 2013 victory by unanimous decision over Henry Anaya III. Now, here he was fighting a 240-pound heavyweight in East, a boxer/ MMA fighter who had won his first two matches in the ring by knockout.
No worries. A video of the fight, found on Eastman’s Facebook page, shows him stunning East with a right to the head, then landing punches virtually at will until East finally sags to his knees.
Upset of the year? It’s early, but this has to be the leader in the clubhouse.
KUSHNER DIES: Cedric Kushner, an international boxing promoter who guided the career of Albuquerque’s Danny Romero from 1996-99, has died. He was 66.
Kushner signed Romero to a contract in June 1996. Two months later, the Albuquerque boxer won his second world title with a devastating knockout of Colombia’s Harold Grey in the Pit.
Kushner, a colorful South African who made and lost a fortune in boxing, was Romero’s promoter when “Kid Dynamite” lost his IBF super flyweight title to fellow Albuquerquean Johnny Tapia in 1997 and when he lost his bid for Vuyani Bungu’s IBF super bantamweight title in 1998.
The next year, Kushner, unable to secure another title bout, released Romero from his contract.
Romero had 52 fights during his outstanding, 14-year professional career. Yet, it’s likely he made more money during those three years — not that Kushner was solely responsible — than in the rest of his career combined.
TOGETHER AGAIN: Romero and his father, Danny Sr., have trained Albuquerque welterweight Hector Muñoz (23-131, 15 KOs) for his eight-round bout tonight in Philadelphia against Puerto Rican prospect Prichard Colón (12-0, 10 KOs).
Muñoz trained with the Romeros for two separate stints in the past. In 2011, he left their Hideout Gym to train with Johnny Tapia. He continued to train at Tapia’s gym after the five-time world champion’s death in May 2012 but returned to the Romeros to prepare for Colón.
Tonight’s card at Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena will be streamed at gfl.com.
GOLDEN GLOVES: An amateur card, staged under the auspices of the New Mexico Golden Gloves, is scheduled today at the McKernan Events Center, 933 Sunset SW. The event is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Tickets, priced at $12, are available at holdmyticket. com or at the door.