Slugging In San Diego: Martin The Headliner, But Gals Steal Show

The money rained into the ring as soon as the final bell rang. The $128  collected were in singles with a couple of fives and tens for good measure. The appreciative crowd got on their feet and cheered the two female flyweights, local girl, Amarys “La Reyna” Quintana (1-0) and Gloria Salas (0-2) of Cathedral City who had just put on a display of courage and resilience seldom seen. They were part of Bobby D’s show at the Four Points Sheraton in San Diego on Thursday night.

In the main event, Chula Vista’s Christopher Martin (14-0, 2 KOs) had a successful outing against Juan Jose “Pinocho” Beltran but it was the ladies, and especially one powerful male African warrior, Lateef Kayode, out of Nigeria, that left the audience of 750 buzzing. Much of the credit has to be given to Jorge Marron’s matchmaking since the fights were extremely competitive and sometimes compelling.

Beltran (18-11-3) of Los Mochis, Sinaloa is as tough as they breed them in that particular region of Mexico. He gave Martin, the current California Super bantamweight champion, a very good effort in losing the unanimous decision to the hometown kid.

Beltran came forward from the first second as Martin boxed from the outside. Both fighters were loading up on the power shots from the start. Beltran had some luck as he landed the left hand repeatedly in a very close first round.

In round two, Beltran landed an assortment of over hands as Martin tried to find the proper distance. Martin landed some good punches up the middle and then followed up with an uppercut and right hand that hurt Beltran.

The third round began and Martin began taking control with some quick uppercut and left hook combinations. Beltran fought back valiantly but his opponent’s seemingly superior size seemed to be taking its toll.

By the fourth, Beltran looked beat up but continued on as Martin countered him nicely with shots to the body and head. Good exchanges by both men closed out the round.

The fifth came and a gutsy Beltran refused to back down. Martin’s body shots were now clearly having their effect but Beltran proved to be extremely durable as he absorbed the blows and fought on like a warrior.

Beltran came out of the corner for the final round wanting to make an impression but was met with some accurate firepower in the form of uppercuts and body shots. A fast flurry by Martin sealed Beltran’s fate as he easily took the round. The scores were announced by Benny Ricardo as 59-55, 60-54, and 59-55 in Martin’s favor. “I learned a lot in this fight. Every fight is a learning experience and this guy was tough,” Martin said afterwards. “Now hopefully it’s on to bigger things.”

Kayode puts on impressive fireworks display

Lateef Kayode (6-0, 5 KOs) of Lagos, Nigeria completely annihilated the usually capable Marcus Dickerson (4-1, 2 KOs) of Vista, Ca in a scheduled six round heavyweight match. Both men were active immediately but it was obvious that Kayode was looking to put Dickerson to sleep as soon as possible.

Dickerson boxed and jabbed as he tried to stay away from the powerful Nigerian who invited Dickerson to bring the fight to him and exchange. Dickerson was able to avoid Kayode’s power shots for most of the round. But all it takes is one. Kayode landed a powerful overhand right to the head of Dickerson who crumbled dramatically. The time was announced as three minutes of the first round.

Quintana and Salas steal the night

Former amateur standout Amarys “La Reyna” (The Queen) Quintana from San Diego defeated Gloria Salas from Cathedral City, CA. in what was one of the more exciting brawls ever seen in a club show atmosphere.

The intensity was high from the first bell as both women traded shots evenly. Quintana boxing well as Salas came forward in aggressive fashion. It was back and forth action as “La Reyna” would land nicely with Salas coming back with her own firepower.

There were numerous overhand rights and lefts landed in the second as Quintana’s slightly superior technique began to show as she fought off the ropes with a cool demeanor. The third was pure non-stop action with Quintana landing repeatedly but Salas hung in valiantly and returned combinations.

The action was again fast and furious by the last round as Quintana would land big shots from the outside as Salas closed the distance and landed on the inside and bloodied her opponent’s nose. It was an amazing show of courage along with some very good skills by both women as they kept throwing meaningful punches until the very last second. The crowd showed its appreciation by raining dollar bills into the ring. The judges saw the fight as 38-38, 39-37 and 40-36 for Quintana in a fight that deserves a rematch.

Ramos out-brawls Adame

Junior featherweight Hugo Ramos defeated Jesus Adame Jr. in another barnburner. Both men came out fast and furious as they traded shots in the middle of the ring. Ramos dropped Adame in the second round and seriously wobbled him in the third. Adame would rally back with some heavy shots but Ramos kept pressuring. This was more of an exciting street fight than a real boxing match but it was entertaining for every second it lasted. The judges saw the cards as 39-36, 40-35 and 40-35 for Ramos

Roman bombs Martinez in one

Manuel Roman stopped Francisco Martinez in the first round with a barrage of lefts and rights that left his opponent dazed and sitting on the ring ropes. Tony Crebs stopped the bout at two minutes and forty three seconds as Roman won his pro debut in impressive fashion. Martinez drops to zero wins with four losses.

In the crowd:

Hot prospect “Cubanito” Gonzalez, Hall of Famer “Terrible” Terry Norris, contender Gerardo “Torito” Zayas, M.M.A. Fighter Brandon Vera, former contender Tony “Bazooka” De Luca and hot featherweight prospect Emilio Bojorquez.

Next card for Bobby D. Presents is set for June fourth.

At the Fourth and B:

Mark Dion’s first boxing card attracted about 550 people to the well known music venue where wins were posted by Damian “Bolo” Willis, Dennis Grachev, Bengi Garcia and Chris Chapman among others for a total of seven bouts. Dion stated he will return to the Fourth and B with another card in June.