THE LOS ANGELES MATADORS AVENGE THEIR ONLY LOSS OF THE SEASON WITH AN IMPRESSIVE 4-1 VICTORY AT HOME OVER THE MIAMI GALLOS:
With boxing legend Evander Holyfield in the crowd, the Los Angeles Matadors avenged their only loss of the season as they defeated the Miami Gallos four matches to one Thursday night. The Matadors currently lead the international standings in the World Series of Boxing having earned 16 points with the undefeated Baku Fire trailing by one point and hold a seven point lead over the second place Gallos in the Americas Conference.
“The Matadors are my home team,” Holyfield said. “I love these guys – they fight with a lot of heart.”
Added Holyfield, “Most U.S. fighters fight a slower style, so when they fight internationally they get beat. Now that the U.S. has the World Series of Boxing I’m sure we’ll win a lot of medals because this is giving us an opportunity to fight international opponents.”
In a rematch from the Matadors season-opener in Miami, bantamweight Fernando Martinez defeated Jose Luis Meza Ochoa in a unanimous decision scored 48-47. Martinez and Meza Ochoa set the pass for the night taking the fight the five round distance with Martinez picking up the win by decision, 47-47, 48-46, 48-46.
“I’ve been training and giving it my all,” Martinez said. “It was a tough fight, but I came here to win. I knew our team needed to start things off with a victory so it’s nice to get the win.”
In his Matador debut, lightweight Jose Saenz landed a split decision 48-47, 48-47, 48-47, against Adrian Martinez Medina.
“It feels good to get a win in my first fight for the Matadors,” Saenz said. “I had a few injuries that set me back a little bit. I’m just glad that I finally got to compete.”
Russell Lamour earned a unanimous decision over Ireland’s John Joe Joyce, 50-45 (twice), 49-46, in Joyce’s World Series of Boxing debut. Lamour’s speed combinations were no match to Joyce’s hooks as Lamour kept pressure on Joyce throughout the bout.
“He was kind of rocking the whole time so I had to time my punches a little bit,” Lamour said. “I got my timing right after a few rounds and started doing some damage. If it went a few more rounds I would have definitely stopped him.”
Heavyweight and Pico Rivera native Javier Torres gave his hometown crowd a unanimous decision over Craig Lewis in a bout that saw little defense. The all-action slugfest was scored 48-47, 49-46, 50-45.
“I used my patience and my distance,” Torres said. “I was a lot smarter in this fight. My corner was a big help. I used to just go for broke and try to bulldoze guys, but I wanted to fight a little different tonight and show that I could box and punch. I stuck to the gameplan and it worked. He was a lot slower than me so I just did what I had to do to get the win.
Also in attendance at Nokia Theatre was promoter Dan Goossen, who was impressed with the product.
“I think the World Series of Boxing is great,” Goossen said. “It’s a whole different look than what you’re used to seeing in amateur boxing. Whenever you get this type of competition at this level it can only help the future of Olympic boxing in the U.S.”
The Gallos lone victory of the evening came in a walkover as the Matadors forfeited the light heavyweight bout to Kenny Egan due to injury.
LA will host Miami in their next home bout on Jan. 27. Tickets, starting at $20, can be purchased by visiting www.ticketmaster.com or calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000.
The World Series of Boxing is a groundbreaking, international sports league with teams from three continents competing for five spots – bantamweight, lightweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight, in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
The Matadors will compete against three other North American teams, Miami, Mexico City and Memphis, for the next four months with the winner from the North American division advancing to the semifinals to compete against teams from other continents.
