REGION 1 RESULTS FROM MINNEAPOLIS
REPORT AND PHOTOS BY RAY KILGORE
PHOTO'S TO COME
This past Saturday March 24, 2012 Uppercut gym treated fans to some good action which saw:
200-pounder Ryan Watson, out of Twin Ports Duluth, stopped Charles Christen, out of Savage boxing, in round one.Christen faced a solid opponent in Ryan Watson. From the start, Watson took an aggressive stance as Christen came right at him. Watson landed a hard jab, and he followed that up with a right which made Christen change his tactics.
While Christen got in two decent shots, he missed with a blow which left him open to a counter, and Watson took advantage by landing a shot that forced Christen to dip—in an attempt to avoid the punch. Watson connected with a hard punch which rocked Christen and he fell to the canvas.
Christen remained down, not from being severely hurt, for a few minutes as he tried to gather himself during the count. To his credit Christen got up, and looked ready to go before his corner tossed in the towel.
“I went out there and tried to feel him out,” said Watson. “I realized he wasn’t going to throw nothing, so I loaded up with the right and followed that up with a hook, and the next thing I saw, he was on the ground,” said Watson. “It feels good. You rather have something like this [a fast victory] over a defeat.”
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120-pounder Tony Aitken, out of Fire house Gym, took a convincing decision over Gabriel Castilleja, out of White Bear Lake Gym. Aitken, pictured on the left, was too much for Castilleja who fought back at times
Castilleja is one personable kid. But it’s time that he and his coaches look at where his skills are, or try to match him with boxes who are at his learning curve.
While Castilleja did a better job in this fight, it was Aitken who took full control early. He chased Castilleja around the ring from start to finish landing jabs and trying to follow that up with right hands.
By round two if Castilleja did not stop Aitken, he was not going to get a victory. Castilleja looked unsure of himself during the round although he fought back here and there. The same sequence of events took place in round three as Aitken hit Castilleja at will, and he never had to worry himself about what come back from Castilleja.
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75-pounder Isayah Rolandson, out of Twin ports Duluth, took a decision over Adrian Contreros, out of North Dakota. 
Rolandson, pictured on the left, had to fight hard to get the victory over Contreros
This writer has yet to see Rolandson in a bad fight, and judging by the start of round one, it looked like Rolandson was going to deliver once again. Early into the round, Rolandson connected with a blow that knocked Contreros more off balanced; but he nevertheless took several blows and he didn’t fire back. The referee jumped in and gave Contreros a standing-eight.
After the count, Contreros showed Rolandson that he was still in the fight as he came back hard. Both boxers were happy to exchange, but it looked like Rolandson got the better of the two.
In round two, Rolandson was more control. He used his jabs, and he followed that up with right hands. Contreros showed energy by bouncing up and down, and moving side to side while trying to keep the fight in the center ring.
In the last round, Contreros tried to keep his momentum going, but he wasn’t able to reach Rolandson who used good jabs, and hard right hands to keep Contreros at bay.
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75-pounder Fransico Escamilla Jr., out of 4th St. Gym, Rochester, took a decision over Tony Narro out of North Dakota.
Escamilla Jr., pictured on the right, did enough to get the win over Narro
Escamilla Jr. got the better of the two boxers early by jabbing and moving. Narro never looked out gunned, but he wasn’t able to find a rhythm.
In round two Narro up his aggression, but Escamilla Jr. set up his blows by jumping in and out with punches.
In the final round Narro lost his footing often which allowed Escamilla Jr. to take advantage.
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110-pounder Haakon Deach, out of Uppercut Gym, took a decision over Julial Alvarez, out of Canada Gym. 
Deach, on the right, took a decision over Alvarez,
There wasn’t much action to start the round. But Deach might have stolen it by being slightly more active as he took the lead by landing jabs and doing the better work on the inside.
In round two, Alvarez ate more shots, and at one point he took too many as the referee gave him a standing-eight. But he was able to get in some good blows of his own although Deach never seemed hurt.
In the final round, Deach was in control as he pushed Alvarez back and was the aggressor by going to the body and using his right hands.
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155-pounder Joey Mendez, out of Team Eagan, stopped Marcos Metras, out of White Bear Lake, in round two
Mendez, pictured on the right, was a little too much for Metras,
Mendez looked to be the stronger of the two from the outset. He backed Metras up often which made Metras look unsure of himself. At one point Mendez connected with a good blow which rocked Metras; the referee gave Metras a standing-eight.
By the time round two came, Mendez continued his assault as he landed several blows . The referee gave Metras another standing-eight. Shortly then the bout was called off.
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70-pounder Jaylen Smith, out of Twin ports, took a decision over Nicholas Ennen, out of Fire House gym
Smith, pictured on the left, did good but Ennen did enough to get the win
While Smith was never out of the fight, Ennen’s height and reach made it too difficult for Smith to sustain a solid rhythm early into the bout. Smith's size made it a good fight as he was able to get in and out because of his quickness.
The action was fast with Smith trying to leap, but Ennen fighting smart by using his reach and height to his advantage. Fans behind me were really into as some expressed their apprication for how Smith, with his samll stature was able to show so much heart.
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80-pounder Chris Morton, out of North Dakota took a decision over Darekurius , out of Canada. 
Lathlin, shown on the left, fought hard but Morton got the job done
This was a fun fight because Lathin started strong, but he gassed out toward the middle of the round which gave Morton chances to land his blows.
When Lathin got tired, he’d throw his punches from left field. There were times when Morton lost his footing, and the referee had to intervene. But when the action started up, Morton would run across the ring at Lathin—who just stood there waiting for Morton to run into something.
As the fight went on, Lathin’s mouth hung open but he fought his heart out, and in the end, Morton’s aggressiveness and better ring generalship won over the judges.
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166-pounder Anthony Rose, out of Uppercut Gym, took a decision over Puol Both, out of Circle of Discipline 
Rose, shown on the left, did some nice work so did Both
You know you’re at a good fight when you can’t make up your mind about who took rounds. Both boxers pushed the action at times, and Rose used a clever defense of keeping his gloves pinned to his face, and sneaking in jabs and right hands. It was, somewhat, amazing how Rose was able to land so clearly from this stance but he did.
In round two, Rose started to look tired as Both pushed the action. Both got in good jabs and right hands, but Rose, who never looked hurt, fought back. While this writer thought Both got the nod, I had no gripes with Rose getting the victory. He gave as good as he got, and the rounds were very difficult to score because of the back and forth action. Both men did a great job.
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Shelby Pickard, out of Uppercut Gym dropped a decision to Trasi Reddy out of Gust Gym, Wisc
Reddy, shown on the right, did well in the bout as did Pickard
This was an all out war as each woman got as good as she gave. Pickard kept her defense high and didn’t throw that much which made it easier for Reddy to get in shots. But it was Reddy who always started the round strong, and ended it that way.
In the final round, Pickard got in hard rights and how Reddy took them, and pushed forward only she knows. In the end Reddy got the win, but Pickard was in the fight all evening long.
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135-pounder Brad Katota, out of Canada, took a decision over Nicholas Christson, out of Rice St.
Katota, shown on the left, took the bout with ease
Given that it was Christson’s first fight back after a year, he didn’t do all that bad. Early into round one, Katota looked the more polished of the two as he started to jab, and land good right hands. Christson looked like he was fighting more off of muscle memory and not a game plan.
Round two is where Christson’s inactivity started to show. He was off-balance and stumbled a lot. Katota’s blows were more pinpoint.
By the final round, Christson looked gassed and he lost the round big. Katota connected at will as he walked Christson down over the long hall.
152-pounder Lorenzo Gonzales, out of Uppercut, lost a decision to Rondale Hubbert, out of Anoka.
Hubbert show on the left, did just enough to win
These two boxers met last year with Hubbert getting the nod. The first round was too technical as both boxers waited for the other to take the lead. But when the action did happen, it was Hubbert who got things going first with a jab and over hand rights.
But in round two, things heated up. Gonzales got the better of the two early, but Hubbert responded with his own counters and jabs. Gonzales was able to pin Hubbert on the ropes, at one point, and hit Hubbert with a good left-hook combo which snapped Hubbert’s head back.
In the final round, Hubbert took control as he circled and came forward. Gonzales didn’t do enough to take the round.
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135-pounder Nchatxu Vang, out of Rice Street, took a decision over Eberardo Espejo, out of White Bear
Vang, shown on the left, did well in the fight as did Espejo
This was a darn good fight. But depending on whom you ask, either Vang’s coach Johnny Johnson’s drama: screaming to the top of his voice during the action, and yelling, with all the extra explosiveness, instructions in between rounds, made the fight more entertaining or a distraction.
But Johnson’s melodrama must have worked since Vang was hyped and forced the action. Vang moved in behind his jab as he looked to set up his right hands. In round two, Vang continued to apply aggression, but this time, Espejo wasn’t having it. He came back with his own shots, and some of them forced Vang to adjust his headgear several times.
In the end Vang took the fight on his sheer aggression and higher punch output. Espejo was never hurt and by no means out of the fight at any point.
Champions Courtesy of Jason Hendrickson
123 - Xavier Griffin (COD)
132 - Mitch White (Savage)
141 - Delorien Caraway (COD)
152 - Rondale Hubbert (Anoka) will fight Veshawn Owens (COD) for this title at the Region 2 tournament next weekend
165 - Anthony Rose (Uppercut)
201 - Ryan Watson (Twin Ports)
There were 3 tournament bouts on Saturday...
152 - Rondale Hubert (Anoka) won a decision over Lorenzo Gonzalez (Uppercut)
165 - Anthony Rose (Uppercut) won a decision over Puol Both (COD)
201 - Ryan Watson (Twin Ports) won via RSC1 over Charles Christen (Savage)
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