A brief account of Travis Samuel, Felix Soria and Justin Salazar's--of Lincoln Boxing Club in Riverside, CA--first amateur fights.
Alex Suarez dropped me off at my house a little before 1:00 am this past Sunday. Alex and I had just been to the Pala Community Center (Pala Indian Reservation, CA), along with Joe and Tony Salazar, where Travis Samuel (18), Felix Soria (7), and Justin Salazar (Joe's grandson) had their first organized amateur bouts.
As noted in a previous blog, these boys have just recently begun training in earnest at the Lincoln Boxing Club (Riverside, CA), and all of us who watched them perform, including Felix's father, Ray, couldn't be more proud.
I'll post a more in-depth account of the evening on FightTube.tv, where I'm working on a series of stories about Travis and his foray into the world of boxing, but I'll give you a snippet here.
Felix's fight was with a more experienced kid with a frustrating style, i.e., constant lateral movement and quick counters when Felix got close. To his credit, Felix pressed the kid for three rounds and delivered punishment on the inside. One could tell that Ali Jr. wanted no part of our boy in close quarters.
Travis' opponent had, like Travis, no amateur experience, so they were on fairly equal terms, technically. Although Travis' better jab and solid uppercut, coupled with superior power, made for a short fight as the referee stopped the contest half way through the first round.
We were a little surprised at the stoppage, but, frankly, the outcome would've been the same no matter how long it went. Travis was just too strong for him.
Nine-year-old Justin (Joe's grandson) started a little rough, but had his man walking into a stiff left jab by round three.
