Mendoza wins by 1st-round stoppage

Who says Thursday was a bad day for the New Mexico State Aggies?

Las Cruces amateur boxer Edwin Acosta, competing a few hours after the NMSU’s men’s basketball team was routed by Saint Louis in the NCAA Tournament, pounded out a far better outcome for himself.

Acosta, a freshman at State, defeated Albuquerque’s Juan Andrade in the open division, 141-pound class on the first night of the New Mexico Golden Gloves Championships at the Raymond G. Sanchez Community Center.

The victory moved Acosta a step closer to an open division state title and a chance to represent New Mexico against Colorado next month. The New Mexico-Colorado tournament will decide who goes to Golden Gloves nationals in Salt Lake City in May.

Acosta, who fights for Las Cruces PAL, had his hands full with his shorter, aggressive opponent. Andrade, fighting with Albuquerque professional Fidel Maldonado Jr. in his corner, scored well at times from in close.

That didn’t faze Acosta, who said afterward that he wanted to fight inside despite his height and reach advantage.

“I threw the cleaner punches, and I threw more punches,” the Oñate High School graduate said. “(Andrade) was landing mostly on my gloves.

“I already know how to box from the outside, so I wanted him to come in close.”

The Acosta-Andrade bout was the only open division, 141-pound bout contested Thursday. The tournament continues tonight and Saturday.

Later in the evening, Albuquerque’s Brian Mendoza scored an impressive victory by first-round stoppage against Hobbs’ Ryan Lechuga in a 152-pound open division bout.

Mendoza, who trains with Maldonado at Atrisco, displayed pro-style punching power before Lechuga’s corner asked the referee to stop the contest.

In another open division bout, Hobbs’ Mario Gonzalez decisioned Albuquerque’s David Duchaussche at 132 pounds.

Duchaussche, who trains with Robert Padilla and Victoria Cisneros at Jack Candelaria Community Center, landed some solid shots to the head. But Gonzalez, from Hobbs’ School of Hard Knocks, responded throughout the three rounds with a steady barrage to the body.

“That’s the key right there,” Gonzalez said. “Body all day.

“You train hard; you fight hard. That’s what I came here for. I didn’t come all the way (from Hobbs) to lose.”

In a 152-pound, open division bout, hard-punching Ronald Jones of Albuquerque PAL forced Antonio Segovia of Mad House Boxing to retire after the first round.

In a 100-pound bout in the age 14 division, Isaac Perez of Albuquerque’s MVP Boxing flashed skills far beyond his years in decisioning Andrew Silva of Boot Camp Boxing.

“It was a tough fight,” said Perez, his white trunks spattered with Silva’s blood. “The key was just work with him, work with him.”

Jonathan Loera of Albuquerque’s Warriors Boxing Club was an impressive winner over Team Tapia’s Leroy Chavez in a 116-pound Novice class bout.

In a disputed decision, Hobbs’ Daniel Dunaway defeated Gallup’s Oscar Rios in a 165-pound Novice bout.

Dunaway appeared exhausted midway through each of the final two rounds, but the judges ruled that he nevertheless landed more scoring punches — amateur boxing’s only scoring criterion.

In the only women’s bout of the night, New Mexico Military Institute’s Angela Cross overwhelmed Gallup’s Naomi Romero en route to a first-round stoppage in a 130-pound bout in the age 17 division.

Emmanuel Hammonds, Cross’ NMMI teammate, defeated Gallup’s Mario Mendez when the referee stopped the 176-pound Novice bout in the third round on the ring doctor’s advice.

In a 152-pound, open division bout, referee Eppie Quintana disqualified both contestants — Las Cruces PAL’s Adam Vasquez and TNT’s Marcus Ewing — for rules violations.
— This article appeared on page D6 of the Albuquerque Journal