In Chester, Pennsylvania, Las Cruces amateur boxers Samantha Ginithan and Ariana Carrasco won Golden Gloves national titles on Saturday.
Ginithan defeated Texas’ Brianna Carrera by split (4-1) decision for the 139-pound title, becoming the second New Mexican to win two Golden Gloves national titles and the first to do so in consecutive years.
The late Johnny Tapia won GG national titles in 1983 and 1985.
Ginithan had defeated Angie Miles of the Golden Gloves’ Buffalo franchise in Friday’s semifinals.
Carrasco, fighting at 154 pounds, defeated Indiana’s Suzana Rodriguez-Griffin by unanimous decision on Saturday for the title.
On Friday in the semis, Carrasco defeated Cleveland’s Rashida Elias by unanimous decision.
New Mexico boxers had never before won two Golden Gloves national titles in the same year.
Ginithan, a former college basketball player, won three bouts during the competition, improving her record as a boxer to 16-0.
Carrasco, an Organ Mountain graduate, actually qualified for nationals out of Colorado. She’s a member of the U.S. Army boxing program stationed in Colorado Springs at Fort Carson. She and Ginithan both were fighting for the Golden Gloves’ Colorado-New Mexico franchise.
Before Carrasco joined the Army, she and Ginithan both were coached in Las Cruces by Rene Carrasco, Ariana’s father.
MEANS LOSES: Tim Means fell victim to an Alex Morono guillotine choke, losing via second-round submission Saturday on a UFC card televised on ABC from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Means, of Moriarty, is 32-15-1 with one no contest. His 49 career MMA fights are the most of any welterweight on the current UFC roster.
After a competitive first round that Means won on all three official scorecards, the New Mexico southpaw scored a takedown a minute-and-a-half into the second. Morono (23-8, one no contest) was back on his feet 15 seconds later.
A minute or so later, Means, going for another takedown, lowered his head in the process. Morono quickly curled his right arm around Means’ neck as the two went to the ground.
Realizing there was no escape, Means tapped out moments later at 2:09 of the second.
At age 39, Means now has lost three fights in a row (to Kevin Holland, Max Griffin and Morono) for the first time in his career.
In an interview with the Journal on Thursday, the FIT-NHB fighter said he had two fights remaining on his current contract entering Saturday’s fight.
He said that, while he knows retirement is looming, he’s not ready to hang up the gloves just yet.
HOLM-SILVA IS ON: Lenny Fresquez’s longtime Albuquerque promoter/agent, confirmed to the Journal that Holm has agreed to face Brazil’s Mayra Bueno Silva on a July 15 UFC card in Las Vegas, Nevada.
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani broke the story on Wednesday, but Fresquez initially declined to confirm the matchup because no contract had been received from the UFC.
Later in the week, Fresquez said that while no contract had yet been signed, terms had been agreed upon and the fight was on.
Silva (10-2-1) has won three fights in a row and has won seven fights via submission.
Holm (15-6) has won three of her last four, the defeat a disputed loss by split decision to Ketlen Vieira. She’s coming off one of the strongest performances of her career, a victory by lopsided unanimous decision over former Jackson-Wink teammate Yana Santos.
