Fort Worth Native and undefeated jr welterweight Benjamin Gurment gets the opportunity of a lifetime Thursday night at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. He will have the opportunity to get some Texas redemption and catapult himself up the 140-pound rankings as he battles 2023 Prospect of the Year Abdullah Mason, 11-0 (9) of Cleveland, Ohio. Mason, a 19-year-old phenom, went 5-0 (4) in 2023, with his most recent win a second-round KO of Laredo Native Jose Cardenas last November. Gourmet, 8-0 (3), a rugged, hard-hitting, up-and-comer, is looking to bounce back from his disputed draw with Donte Strayhorn this past November in Mesquite. Its not been an easy path for the Fort Worthian, who trains with Ray Barrera at FHG Gym. In two of his first three fights Gourmet took on both Jordan Jones, an extremely successful amateur and Darius Bagley, a highly touted Dallas fighter. Gourmet was supposed to be the sacrificial lamb for each of these two men who were destinedto go on to bigger and better things. Gurment, a US Armey veteran, derailed the plains of both fighters, fighting each one to a draw. Gurment then went on to win seven fights in a row and capture the WBC Four-round belt by knocking out Yainiel Alvarez Telemaco of Cuba in 2022. The Fort Worth native will now look to derail the career of perhaps the sports brightest prospect. Gurment will look to do Mason what he did to both Jones and Bagley. The action will be on ESPN, and the card starts at 5:30cst on the ESPN+ app.
Ben Gurment Wins Again, Moves to 8-0 on Made Men Promotions Card!
Undefeated jr welterweight contender Benjamin "Hill" Gourmet of Fort Worth returned from a neck injury and a 7.5-month layoff on Friday evening's main event at the Southern Junction, which was put on by Made Men Promotions, and picked up where he left off. The 30-year-old from Fort Worth showed no ring rust at all and actually looked slicker and more defensive-minded than we had seen in the past. Using his jab a bit more and behind slicker movement, the southpaw landed at will on his rugged opponent, Antonio Meija of Nuevo León, Mexico, who was last in the ring with Hector Tanjara. A patient Gurment stalked his opponent with a persistent jab, mixing up head and body shots to perfection. A straight left with about a minute left in the opening round rattled Meij's cage. The Fort Worthian stayed on the front foot and scored with his lead jab and mixed in straight lefts when Meija would try to counter Gurment consistently made him miss throughout the four-rounder and would score with a counter left that began to slow his opponent down in the second half of the fight. Gurment delivered a hard right hook to the body that backed Meija up late in the third round. The Fort Worthian kept the pressure on in the final stanza and scored with a double left early in the round. The Nuevo Leon native was showing signs of wear and tear however the rugged Mexican was able to survive to the final bell which proved to be a moral victory. The scores were academic and one-sided as Gurment rolled to a unanimous decision victory by scores 40-36x2 and 39-37. Gurment improved to 8-0-2 (5) and with the support of his team expressed an interest in fighting Tanajara down the road.
Gurment's stablemate, 6'0 tall hard-hitting featherweight Joel "The Owl" Martinez of Fort Worth, was in action. Martinez, a southpaw worked behind a stiff jab. He doubled it up about and put a left hand behind it just moments into the fight. The combination caught the attention of his opponent Rensley Washington of Cincinnati, Ohio. Just moments later, the Fort Worth native scored with a short right hook that wobbled the Ohioan. The hook seemed to affect Washington, who appeared to lose his aggression. For the remainder of the four-round affair, Washington stayed mainly on the retreat as the Texan applied constant pressure and took what he was given. In the second, another straight left drove Washington into the ropes. The left hand sending Washington back seemed to be played on loop as Martinez could not miss with it, and it drove Washington back every time it scored. By the start of the fourth and final round, Martinez looked as sharp and fresh as in the opening round. A massive right hook snapped his opponets head back and sent him into retreat. "The Owl" stayed on the aggressive and landed a short left that rocked Washington, who appeared in serious trouble for the first time. The Ohio native was able to weather the storm and survived till the final bell. However, the decision was clear-cut, and Martinez moved to 3-0 (2). Post-fight the long, rangy featherweight expressed his intentions to "put on some muscle" and "move up to 130."
On the undercard portion of the event, Two exciting youngsters made successful pro debuts. Fernando Solís of Fort Worth dropped his opponent, Rashard Robinson of Dallas twice. Including in the third round with a vicious right hand. Robinson was as tough as could be and fought back hard. He was able to score on the inside as well and stopped Solis in his track on a handful of occasions. However, Solis would not be discouraged and used angles to land with right hands from a variety of angles. The Fort Worthian scored with a big right hand that rocked his opponent to seal the deal in the final seconds of the fourth round. Solis won the lopsided unanimous decision by scores of 40-35x3 to move his record to 1-0 (0).
Also on the card was Jaycob Ramos. The amateur standout from Plano, Texas, passed an incredibly difficult test and took a unanimous decision over Desmon White. White, who trains out of FHG in Fort Worth, scored with a clean left hook that rattled Ramos. However, the youngster from Plano ate it well and came back with a big right hand of his own late in the first. White fought hard and had moments on the inside. He began wearing Ramos down who became noticeably fatigues. The former amateur star was winning competitive rounds but was being tested and getting hit with clean shots. As he continued to fatigue, his jab disappeared, and Ramos relied on using really slick footwork to score with power shots on the inside. Ramos survived the tough test, picked up the win in his professional debut, moved to 1-0, and is now off to the races in what should be a superb professional career.
Former Heavyweight Title Holder Kendrick Releford Bringing Fort Worth Boxing Back in a Big Way
For decades Fort Worth boxing was a force to be reckoned with from the 80s to the 2000s. Fighters like the"Lone Star Cobra "Donald Curry, Paulie Ayala, Sergio Reyes, and heavyweight contender Kendrick Releford put Fort Worth on the boxing map and represented the city well. It gave the city its own identity, not just a city 35 miles west of the bright lights of Dallas. Fort Worth had its own identity and stood on its own. In recent years that identity has started to fade with fighters like Errol Spence and Maurice Hooker winning world titles and the emergence of upstart prospects like Vergil Ortiz Big D has stolen the spotlight.
Releford, a former title holder, spoke on the recent Golden Boy card held in Fort Worth this past summer that was headlined by Grand Prairie native Vergil Ortiz "I'm thankful for Golden Boy being here. I hate the fact that we have a Golden Boy card but never Fort Worth Fighters on it right here in our city." Releford explained that we have good fighters "they just need exposure."
Releford, is the owner of Dream performance Boxing Gym in Fort Worth and REMG, a professional boxing management Company, and is working to bring a list of boxing events to the area. First up is this Saturday, January 21st, an 80s throwback amateur event at OD Wyatt High School. He will follow that up with a card stacked with some of Fort Worths' best talent on February 11th, at the Southern Junction in Irving. Additionally, there are plans to bring three more cards to Funky Town in the upcoming months. With July 8th official, additional dates in April and June are in the works. "We're gonna put Fort Worth Boxing Scene on our back and take off." The former heavyweight title holder said and added " "it's building... it's only up" when asked about the direction of Fort Worth boxing.
February's main event will be between two Fort Worth natives. The undefeated Ben Gurment, 7-0-2 (5), and Emmanuel Tennision 3-3 (2), who has won two consecutive fights by stoppage and will be for the Texas state title. Releford said the two fighters "know each well. They have sparred plenty of times. It's going to be a great fight." it's a stacked card filled with some of Fort Worth's finest "the whole card is a crowd pleaser" Releford explained.
Other Fort Worth talent on the card includes a 6-foot-tall, featherweight, amateur stand-out, and unbeaten professional Joel Martinez. He will have a Fort Worth VS Dallas battle with Xzavier Jackson. Also, undefeated Gary Hampton will be on the card. A hard-hitting super featherweight who looks to move his record to 3-0.
The February 11th show will also feature the professional debut of Sammy "Cobra" Brown the 2022 regional and state Golden Gloves champion a fighter near and deal to Relefords heart "that's like my son... I Have a 21-year-old son.. he has developed really well.. it is his time to make a move now and we're ready... He's ready to start making money." Relford explained.
The event is promoted by Made Men Promotions, an out-of-state promotional company that has relocated to Fort Worth and is on a mission to highlight Fort Worth Fighters and get them the exposure they deserve.
Tickets for the February 11th event can be purchased on their website https://www.mademenpromotions.com/
Tickets for this Saturday's amateur event can be purchased at Eventbrite and start at just $15 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dream-performance-remg-talent-presents-an-80s-throwback-boxing-event-tickets-494561425537?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Ben Gurment Scores Devastating KO Wins WBC Tournament
Fort Worth's Benjamin Gurnment an Army specialist can now add WBC champion to his impressive and growing resume. After two fairly even rounds, Gurment turned to his opponent and had something to say to him, Yainiel Alvarez Telemaco, originally of Cuba, now fighting out of Hutto. The native Cuban turned to Gurment and allegedly mocked his power. That quickly proved to be a massive mistake as just two minutes into the third round Gurment, a southpaw, landed a perfectly timed left hand that about took Alvarez's head off and collapsed him like a building imploding. Instantly Alvarez was out and Gurment had his second unforgettable KO in his second consecutive fight. He moved his record to 6-0-2 (4) and claimed the WBC four-round big belt championship in the 140-pound weight class.
Also on the card Jake "The Snake" Ysasi captured the same WBC belt but in one division north. He scored a four-round dominant unanimous decision, which saw him pull all the tools out of the toolbox in what was likely his most impressive career performance. He switched southpaw at time, couldn't miss with the left hook, scored a vicious knockdown of his opponent, Sergio Augustin of Mexico, with an uppercut in the third round, and dominated the fourth to capture the WBC four-round belt and move his record to 4-0
In the main event, Marco Vazquez scored his second consecutive first-round knockout. Back in October, Vazquez stopped veteran Ulisses Jimenez in less than a minute and then completely overwhelmed Kasimu Yakubu with one second left in the opening stanza to move his record to 8-1(5) and recorded the fifth consecutive victory of his comeback, since suffering the only set back of his career to Jon Bullock back in 2016. Vazquez took over three years half. His comeback is going extremely well and Vazquez takes about moving down from 160 to 154 and making a world at an elite level at that weight class. The 6- foot- one-inch Vazques would have tremendous size at 154 to go along with the tremendous power and skills he possesses.
The card at the Southern Junction in Irving also featured two other four-round championship fights. In the first championship bout in the lightweight division, Omar Urieta of Tyler and Juan Manuel Castaneda, of Mexico City, Mexico, traded heavy artillery in the center of the ring for four incredibly exciting and event rounds. A left hook nearly dropped the Tyler native in the second, who was able to keep his footing, stay on his feet and rally back to earn a draw. Urieta has been the most exciting fighter in the series having scored two first-round knockouts in the first two rounds of the tournament.
In the featherweight division Moises Andres Sixto, scored a highly controversial majority decision victory over Haltom City's Brandon DeSpain. In a fight that DeSpain seemed to dominate the action and easily outbox Sixto, also saw DeSapin eat several low blows. The judges added insult to injury in scoring the bout in favor of Sixto in majority fashion. DeSpain suffered a controversial draw in the opening round against Luis Fernandez, in a bout the DeSapin also appeared to outbox his opponent but had to settle for a draw. Despain advanced to the next round automatically however when Fernendez missed weight.
Edward Vazquez Caps off a Breakout night for FHG & Fort Worth Boxing
It was an incredible night for the young up-and-coming fighters of Fort Worth, Texas. Four promising fighters, of all who train out of Ray Barrera's FHG gym handed in spectacular performances. The foursome went 4-0 with all but one coming by way of stoppage and one of which was an unimaginable come back.
The night dominated by the Fort Worthians, that was dubbed "Homecoming" and took place in nearby Irving, Texas at the Southern Junction nightclub was capped off by a 93-second knockout victory by Edward "Kid Vazquez. The undefeated and highly touted featherweight who owns the WBC (USNBC) belt moved his record to 11-0 (3) and scored his second consecutive stoppage victory and the third in his last five fights.
Vazquez came out strong working behind the jab with slick head movement. Just moments into the fight he saw his opening and scored with a left hook to the body of his opponent Ezequiel Alberto Tevez that dropped him to the count of about 8.5. Tevez bravely made it to his feet but the writing was on the wall as an aggressive Vazquez stayed poised and kept coming forward. Moments later he landed a right hand right on the button that again dropped Tevez and this time brought in the referee to wave off the bout just 93 seconds after the opening bell.
The co-main event saw "The Wolf" Return home. "The Fort Worth Wolf " Tony Lopez has had boxing take him around the world. Having fought in Las Vegas, in the Staples Center in Los Angeles The Punch Bowl in Carson California, the Alamodome as well as many other venues, finally returned him. He made his homecoming a triumphant one. Staying patient the veteran Lopez threw a barrage of body shots that hurt his opponent, Diuhl Olguin, in the early stages. Lopez, a southpaw, worked behind his jab and with a major hand speed advantage flurried throughout the fight. He was able to work his opponent into the ropes and unleash four and five punch combinations against his rugged but overmatched opponent. With a loud cheering section behind him, Lopez taunted his opponent waving him in to come and exchange. In control throughout the scheduled six-rounds, Lopez stepped on the gas in the final round in an attempt to unload everything under the kitchen sink. Staggering Olguin several times but his tougher-than-nails opponent stood the test and heard the final bell. The verdict was academic as the "Fort Worth Wolf" picked up the win taking a UD by scores of 59-55, 60-55, and a much too close 58-56.
The two other FHG-based Fort Worthians on the card were Ben "Hill" Gurment, who scored the most unthinkable of knockouts. After getting knocked down in the opening stages of the first round from a stiff right hand from his then-unbeaten opponent Alan Rosas of Mexico. Gurment was stunned and rolled his ankle on the knockdown. He rose to his feet just before the ref reached the count of eight and fought on without his feet behind him an off-balanced Gurment was sent down yet again. Twice down in the first round, the Texan would likely need a knockout to win the fight. Behind the instructions of his trainer, Coach Barrera, "to stay locked in" Gurment stayed composed and fired his jab from the southpaw stance and began out boxing his opponent. Seemingly winning the second round and being the superior boxer Gurment seized control of the fight in the third, but winning rounds was not going to be enough. Gurment had to go for the stoppage, and after an apparent knockdown was rolled a slip, Gurment landed a thudding left hand to the body of his hurt opponent that severely slowed him down. Seizing the moment Gurment unloaded a barrage of power shots a left hand landed cleanly that buckled Rosas and a relentless Gurment did not let off the gas and unloaded on his wounded opponent bringing in the referee to wave off the bout at the end of the third round giving Gurment the TKO victory and moving his record to 5-0-2 (3).
Also on the card was Joel Martinez, a 6-foot tall hard-hitting southpaw Featherweight, who has a successful amateur career of over 150 fights. Saw him secure a second-round knockout in a fight that was allowed to go on way too long. Martinez, who is expected to be moved along quite quickly, was matched with a 2-0 (2) fighter for his pro-debut by the name of Bryan Macias. Macias was completely overmatched and hit the canvas a total of five times in less than two full rounds, A straight southpaw left from Martinez down the pipe dropped his man 1:20 into the fight. Macias was dropped again a second time right at the end of the first round from a right hook, left-hand combination that should have ended the fight right then and there. However, Macias was allowed to continue and was dropped twice more with the left hands in the first minute of the second stanza and then moments later with a sweeping left collapsed him like a building imploding on itself is 1:50 into round two secured the victory for Martinez in his pro debut to move his record to 1-0 (1).