Arizona Boxing News & Notes With Don Smith: Lopez under Fire, Santiago Defends Title & More
By Don Smith
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 20 Jan 2015
Boxing Fans,
Special Edition: Pressure for Azteca boxing Coach Jose Lopez to resign his position and forfeit his membership as a member of USA Boxing Arizona is mounting. His critics maintain Lopez is an unfit example to be a leader of young kids due to his alleged abuse of rules and his disregard for authority. Lopez (Coach of a very successful amateur team) sees the chase after his scalp as a vindictive pursuit based on personal jealousy and contempt. As an impartial journalist, I cannot and will not take sides in a dispute that should be settled in accordance to rules and regulations adopted by USA Boxing.
We first got wind of his alleged problem when a California Silver Gloves Official confiscated Lopez?s boxing passbook at a recent Silver Gloves Tournament(1/9-11/15) in Pasadena, California over allegations that Lopez forged a signature and wasn?t truthful about passing a background check. He, according to one official, claimed to be a resident of California which is contradictory to what members of the USA Boxing Arizona believe. The Azteca Boxing Gym and Club is located in Phoenix; furthermore, Lopez uses a Phoenix phone number as a source of contact; he also owns property in California.
Mr. Lopez denies any wrong doing, but he is temporary stopped from coaching amateur boxing while the investigation continues. I contacted USA Boxing National officials in Colorado shortly after receiving word of the perceived suspicions and they insisted the matter should be handled by Arizona and California amateur boxing authorities.
Some local members disagree and vehemently argue that the National arm of USA Boxing in Colorado should step in and decide the matter.
As always in such matters, I asked USA Boxing Arizona President Jake Magallanez to weigh-in on the situation and he issued the following statement of opinion:
?Silver Glove events are sanctioned by USA Boxing rules, but have their own age/weight division and their own Regions and advancing Tournaments. All organizations must abide by Federal Law that protects the rights of Amateur Athletes right to participate and compete so long as the rules governing the
Competition is abided by. As far as Jose Lopez?s resignation, it is approved and completed by the National office. He owns property and works back and forth from Arizona and California, but the book (in question) is issued through USA Boxing. It should be a violation of his rights for Silver Gloves Staff to confiscate his book without due process. He goes through the same background check as anyone in the entire United States, and passed it to be registered.
The athlete that entered out of New Mexico is for Silver Gloves to determine is he is eligible or not for Region 8 competition. They had to return Jose?s passbook to him and he went to California to pick it up. Until the National Office informs me of a problem with his registration, I must uphold it as good and legal. Thanks?.Jake.
Ring Notes: This columnist got jostled a bit last year from Canadian welterweight boxer Steve Claggett when I printed that the now 20-2 fighter with 14 knockouts agreed to fight Phoenix?s Jose Benavidez Jr. at the Celebrity Theater in the Valley of the Sun. Claggett swore my story was pure fabrication and he unabashedly trashed me royally over the unforgiving internet.
A source close to Claggett backs my assertion that the bout was agreed upon in principle, but he backed out due to money and the old cold feet syndrome. He roughed me up and skewed my reputation a bit. At least one publisher refused to print that column because of Claggett?s abusive non-stop tirade against me. The fight never came about and at least one publisher refused to carry my story because he questioned the veracity of my source. Claggett went on to spread the word that he suffered a dog bite and was unable to bite. I asked to speak to the dog who bit or the doctor who treated the bite and I am still waiting for the info.
According to BoxRec, Claggett is scheduled to meet Russian Konstantin Ponomarev (26-0-13 knockouts) on January 24 in Colorado and return to the ring on March 6 do battle in Calgary, Alberta at the Chinese Cultural Center. If he wins both fights, I will be very impressed; the Russian is one tough cookie.
Boxing promoter Sonny Gutierrez (Fight Hard Promotions) called to apologize about forgetting to call me back with details about his promotional debut at the Media Center at the very comfortable Renaissance Hotel in Glendale on Friday, March 20.
Heads up job by Sonny and his partner (Rigoberto Ledezma) to find a new boxing venue. I know of two previous promoters who had their eye on the Glendale location, but failed to land the 3,400 seat venue. Fight Hard will introduce Alexis Santiago, Mario Esparza, Keenan Scott Carbajal, newcomer Vincente Cano and fast rising Abel Ramos from Casa Grande Arizona on their first of several planned fights in Glendale. Santiago (17-3-1) will be defending his WBC United States (USNBC) featherweight title in the headline bout. More fighters will be added to the boxing menu and when Fight Hard releases the into, it will be forwarded to our anxious readers. Timing is very important and boxing often suppresses information and therefore hampers gate sales; still waiting for name of Match Maker and ticket prices from Fight Hard. The West side definitely needs a boxing venue to go to. Ringside Promotions used to present shows inside Westgate, but its? been years?welcome back.
Quick Hits: Boxing promoter Dmitry Salita and boxer Junior Wright (12-0) paid tribute to the two ambushed New York Police Officers recently and offered N.Y.P.D officers one half priced tickets to his 1/22 fight?. Former world boxing champions Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield will participate in a Celebrity Flag Football challenge in Surprise Arizona at the Surprise Recreational Campus on January 31 between the hours of 2-5 p.m. Doug Flutie, Duane Culpepper and a other former NFL stars will join in for an afternoon that promises fun for all??Until Next Time!
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Don Smith.
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