Monroe
Hosts Toledo Golden Gloves The last of Michigan’s boxers to compete in Golden Gloves at the local level, before the national championships kick off in two weeks in Grand Rapids, took place this weekend in Monroe and Wisconsin. In Monroe, Joe’s Boxing Club hosted the annual Toledo Golden Gloves tournament, marking the first time ever that the Toledo franchise tournament has been held in Michigan. Wisconsin results will be posted when available. Joe’s and the Arthur Lesow Community Center (ALCC) gyms are part of the Toledo area for Golden Gloves competition. Likewise, boxers in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are included in the Wisconsin district which held its tournament this weekend as well. The first of two days of action kicked off Saturday evening at Monroe County Community College south of the county fairgrounds with eighteen contested bouts in all classes except Open, which was fought on Sunday. On Sunday, Sixteen championship bouts were contested including the upper seven Open classes. Winners in the Open class advance to the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, held this year in Grand Rapids May 5-10.
While there were too many quality, high-action fights to describe them all some were standouts. In the 132-lb Open class, Robert Easter, Jr. of Toledo’s Glass City Boxing Club won over an unattached Eliseo Duran in dramatic fashion with a second round stoppage. The Toledo southpaw dropped the less-experienced Duran to one knee twice, earning 8-cts, in the first round and once again in the second earning an RSC victory and a trophy for the best boxer of the tournament. Eastside’s Brandon Morris stopped both of his opponents in the Senior 119-lb division. He improved his record to .500 following Saturday’s RSC over Kendallville, Indiana’s Derik Runyon and one upped with his win by retirement over the same Indiana club’s Charlie Roark on Sunday.
Matthew Niziolek of Joe’s Boxing remained undefeated with his two wins to capture the 141-lb Novice championship. The Monroe fighter faced an aggressive Vaughan Urbina of Toledo’s Glass City who dominated the first round of Saturday’s action-packed match before Niziolek was able to counter to win by unanimous decision. On Sunday, Niziolek was too much for a debuting Lamar Robinson of White’s School of the Arts of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Monroe boxer won by RSC in the first round. Joe’s Steve Radinski stopped Fort Wayne’s Walter Hopkins on Saturday after three 8-cts in the first two rounds brought their 165-lb Novice bout to an end. Radinski won by decision over Toledo Titans southpaw Korval Watson to capture the championship on Sunday.
In a controversial decision on Saturday, Spyder’s Boxing’s Derek Slater won a split decision over Joe’s Dylon Minton in an Intermediate division bout at 65-lbs. A rematch in their only prior fight between Joe’s Jacob Brooks and Toledo’s Glass City’s Brad Walton at 152-lbs in the Novice division didn’t even the score as Walton again got the nod from the judges. In a first for this reporter, an 0-3 David Nieves of Toledo’s Central City Boxing Club won on a disqualification Sunday after it was determined before the 106-lb Senior fight started that his opponent, Eastside Boxing’s Angel Dominguez (1-1), was not wearing a groin protector. Sunday
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