When promoter Michelle Rosado looking for fighters to bring boxing back to Tucson, she thought of all the guys she referred to as “road warriors.” With limited boxing opportunities in the Old Pueblo, many local fighters are forced to fight on the road, which led to the name of Saturday's fight — Guerra de Gallos.
At least one boxer in each of Saturday night's fights hailed from Tucson. In the main card, both fighters represented Tucson.
They didn't waste the opportunity to fight in front of their sold-out Casino del Sol crowd. All but one of Saturday's winners listed Tucson as their hometown.
Wilberth Lopez, one of the two main event boxers, was happy to be able to fight in the Old Pueblo — even if it was on the B side with all the out-of-towners.
"I love Tucson," he said. "It's where I developed as a fighter, where I grew up."
In the main event junior welterweights fight, Lopez took Alfonso "El Flaco Peligroso" Olvera eight rounds and prevailed. He claimed the fight by split decision (76-75, 76-75, 74-77).
A punch from Lopez momentarily knocked down Olvera and made fans gasp at the thought of a possible knockout so early in the fight. However, Olvera recovered entering the third round, moving Lopez around the ring and forcing his opponent to the ropes multiple times. By the fifth round, Lopez started bleeding from the top of his nose.
In the seventh round, Lopez was finally able to dictate the fight and push Olvera against the ropes. And in eighth, Lopez dominated the last minute.
"You get to the corner and your team keeps asking you how you knocked him down in the second, but now he's dominating," Lopez said. "So, you have to listen to your trainer and make adjustments."
Lopez called Olvera "a great fighter."
"He's a great friend, a great father and a great person," Lopez said of his opponent.
A welterweight match between Tucson's Christopher Gonzalez and Sergio Lopez of Phoenix, provided some early highlights. Gonzalez landed some great body shots and dipped low to over Lopez's jabs before being announced the winner by majority decision (40-36, 39-37, 38-38). Saturday marked Lopez's professional debut.
In the middleweight fight, Emmanuel Guajardo, from Tucson, beat Albuquerque's Jordan Gregory by unanimous decision. Gregory tried keeping his distance from Guajardo by reaching during his jabs throughout the four rounds, and even came back with a vengeance in the final round, but wasn't ab;e to stop Guajardo.
Mike Martinez got the night's first and only TKO during the bantamweight match against Bryan Ramirez of Kansas City, Missouri. It was also Martinez's first professional win. After a tangle of legs caused Ramirez to trip, Martinez knocked his opponent to the floor two more times before the official called the fight.
Nicholas Rhoads had an aggressive night in the ring against Hamilton Ash, of Whitefish, Montana, before being declared the winner by unanimous decision.
Jensen Ramirez's opponent in the lightweights match was also from southeastern Arizona. Jesus Arevalo, who comes from Sierra Vista, put up six competitive rounds against Ramirez, but lost by majority decision (57-57, 58-56, 58-56).
In the junior welterweights fight, Phoenix's Jose — who made his professional debut Saturday — managed to put Judas Estrada in the corner a couple times to put up some points and took the fight by split decision (37-39, 39-37, 37-39). The judges' decision was immediately met by the crowd's disapproval.
