San Antonio lightweight and junior light welterweight contender "El Finito" Hector Tanajara's comeback has another hiccup. Tanajara was scheduled to fight Cuban Gold medalist and one of boxing's brightest prospects. Andy Cruz on the December 9th Regis Prorais- Devin Haney card in San Francisco. However, Tanajara, was forced to pull out due to an undisclosed injury. Tanajara has fought twice in the last 12 months while he fights to get back into the world title picture at either 135 or 140 pounds. He fought twice in his home city, stopping Antonio Meija last November, and returned this March and ourpointed Austin native Johnny Arellano. Tanajara suffered setbacks in 2021 and 2022, losing to William Zepeda and settling for a draw with Miguel Contreras in March 2022 before regrouping with trainer Robert Garcia and setting up a comeback that he has looked sharp in and has been successful in. Matchroom, the promoter of the Haney-Prograis card, has not announced a replacement for "El Finito".
Tanajara to Battle two-time Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz
San Antonio-based contender Hector Tanajara will get an incredible opportunity to get his career back on track and where everyone projected it to be when the Texan turned pro in 2015. Tanajara will battle Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz on December 9th at the Chase Center in Oakland, California, on the undercard of Regis Prograis Devin Haney.
Tanajara has compiled a career record of 21-1-1 (6) and has won two consecutive fights over the last 12 months as he has attempted to get his career back on track after suffering a loss to William Zepeda in the summer of 2021 and had to settle for a draw with Miguel Contreras in 2022. The Alamo City native's comeback has played out well, as he put forth two dominant performances against Antonio Mejia last November and then dominated Johnny Arrellano of Austin in March.
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.
Tanajara, Cortez, Impress in San Antonio Homecoming Fights!
Photo Credit: Alamo City MediaGroup
In the evening's main event, "El Finito" Hector Tanajara, of San Antonio, made it 2-0 in his comeback at 140 pounds, with a textbook, vintage, "El Finito" performance! Tanajara was as sharp as ever in scoring a lopsided unanimous decision over Johnny Arellano of Austin. Tanajara improved to 21-1-1 (6). The new weight seems to be a fit for the San Antonian. Tanajara has shown more pop on his punches. He was able to hurt Arellano time and again with clean, crisp combinations. He staggered Arellano in the second, again in the third, and nearly finished him a number of times, on his way to a lopsided victory by scores of 60-54xs and 59-55. It was the type of performance that reminds the world of the sharp skill, Tanajara posses that had him in the conversation with Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia. "I give myself maybe a B or a B+. I would have given myself an A if I got the stoppage." a victorious Tanajara said "I felt great in there. I felt calm, more like myself, and more aggressive. That's thanks to my team" It was vintage "El Finito" but the San Antonian wasn't satisfied or resting. The victorious San Antonian plans on being back in the ring in May and said he's going to be right back in the gym tomorrow "I'm going to be right back in the gym tomorrow. This was only a six-round fight. I feel great." a motivated Tanajara explained. As motivated as ever, he gave thanks to his Dad and Robert Garcia for the great work they did and said there's still work to do "I could have done some things better. I could have caught and shoot a little bit better." It's the best Tanajara has looked since his Alamodome victory over Juan Carlos Burgos back in 2020. It was a great sign that Tanajara is back and close to competing at the most elite level again. When asked what's next "We have one more fight in May." Tanajara said, "after that, sky's the limit. We are looking at any fighter at the top of 135 or 140... whatever is the best opportunity. If I get a fight at 135 with the right amount of time, I can make 135, but I like how I feel at 140, but if I have enough time, I can make 135 as well."
In the Co-main Daniel Cortez improved his record to 4-0 (2) with a first-round stoppage. The highly touted prospect from San Antonio, patiently stalked his much larger opponent, Ruben Martinez. Walking down his man, the 20-year-old Cortez was the physically strong man, and in complete control, Snapping off his jab, Martinez was uncomfortable from the opening bell. Cortez dropped his man with a single jab just past the midway point of the opening round, displaying his unique power. Martinez was able to make it to his feet. However, Cortez stepped up the pace a bit and ripped his opponent with a left hook to the body. He stayed on the attack and again rattled his opponent, this time with a one-two combination. Cortez struck again, Just before the bell rang to end the opening round. He put together a perfectly placed left-hook and right-hand combination that again put his outmatched opponent on the floor. Martinez reached his feet, but his corner had decided he had seen enough and stopped the fight. Giving Cortez the first-round TKO victory.
Also on the card was fan favorite Mayra Rodriguez of San Antonio. Rodriguez is also a professional model and ring-card girl. She can now add successful professional boxer to her impressive resume. Rodriguez scored a third-round TKO at the 1:31 mark and moved her record to 1-1 (1) by stopping Domonique Hernandez of Seguin fell to 0-1.
In two other fights of note, Jason "El Gallo" Limon outboxed Alexis "Bam Bam" Balderas, from the Rio Grande Valley, for the Texas State welterweight title. Limon needed to stay away from the heavy bombs from "Bam Bam" and he was largely successful in doing so. Bouncing back from his first career loss, Limon secured the biggest win of his career via unanimous decision by scores of 60-54x2 and 59-55 to move his record to 6-1-1 (2).
Another one of Robert Garcia's pupils Sylvestre Quinonez improved his record to 3-0 (1) picking up a third-round stoppage of Keith Smart. Quinonez scored a first and second-round knockdown. Overcoming a cut over his left eye, from a head butt, Quinonez stayed calm and in control and dropped Smart again right at the end of the second. In the third round, he again rocked his opponent with another clean left hook that staggered Smart. Quinonez pushed hard and unleashed a whirlwind of pinpoint power shots that poured in one after another until the referee came in to waive off the bout at 1:12 of round three.
In what may have been the most fan-friendly fight of the night, Luis Gallegos and Mustafa Malik traded knockdowns in the first round. Gallegos stayed on the aggressive and scored with a big right hand that rocked and wobbled Malik late in the second. Gallegos scored again moments later with another right hand that sent Malik into the corner. A massive right hand followed that up and put Malik down again right at the end of the second, this time for good. Giving Gallegos a second-round knockout to move his recur to 5-1 (5).
Tanajara Continues Comeback Friday in San Antonio
It wasn't long ago Hector "El Finito" Tanjara's name was mentioned in fights with Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia. Tanajara, one of San Antonio's brightest young stars, actually had signed a contract to fight Garcia on multiple occasions, when both fighters were promoted by Golden Boy. The Texan had signed to fight Garcia during the height of the pandemic. It was Garcia, who on multiple occasions, ducked the Alamo City native. "El Finito" Tanajara was regarded as one of the sport's brightest prospects before he suffered back-to-back hiccups. A stoppage loss to William Zepeda in the summer of 2021 and then a 2022 draw with Miguel Contreras on a Top Rank Card at the Save Mart Arena in Fresno, California.
It's been a year since the loss to Contreas, and Tanajara has regrouped and is rebuilding. He moved up to 140 from 135 pounds and picked up an impressive stoppage win back in November against Antonio Mejia to get back in the win column and get him back on track. There's a path for "El Finito" to get back to where he belongs. That's on the world-class stage among the most elite fighters in the world. The 26-year-old Tanajara's comeback continues Sunday afternoon in his home city at the Alzafar Shrine Auditorium. He will battle rugged contender Johnny Arellano in a six-round main event. There's a path back in place, Arellano is a step up, and assuming all goes well on Sunday, Tanajara is already scheduled to be back in the ring in May, where he will likely take another step up and get one step closer to a world title.
Arellano, an Austin native, despite having been inactive since 2019, is nobody's tune-up. He lost to Mykal Fok in Philadelphia in December of 2019 and has not fought since. Arellano, who sports a 10-2 (9) record, is a 6'2, long, rangy, hard-hitting boxer-puncher. He was a fairly well-regarded prospect not too long ago as well. Arellano suffered an early loss in his career. A controversial stoppage loss in his fourth pro bout, that he bounced back from. Following that loss, the Austin native scored seven consecutive victories, six of them by stoppage. He improved his record to 10-1, picking up high-caliber wins over respected names like D'angelo Keyes and Xavier Wilson on fairly big stages. Those wins got Arellano a big fight on a big stage against Fox. A fight that Arellano came up a little short in via unanimous decision. Although he has been inactive over the last three years Arrelano, given his size, skill, and pop, is always a threat and should be a decent metric to judge how far along Tanajara is in his comeback.
"El Finito" Hector Tanajara Returns in March on Loaded San Antonio Card
One of The Alamo City's brightest young stars Hector "El Finito" Tanajara, returns to the ring at the Shrine Auditorium in his home city, on Marvh12th. The fight will be held on a Sunday afternoon and is put on in conjunction with Gamez Law Firm, South Park Boxing, Robert Garcia Boxing Academy as well as Triple-A promotions.
Tanajara, a promising now junior welterweight fighter, ended a two-fight skid in 2021 and '22 that resulted in his first career blemishes a loss in 2021, and a draw in 2022. He returned home to San Antonio this past November to get back on track at a new weight and scored an impressive fifth-round TKO over Antonio Meija at the Tech Port Arena on the city's west side. It was an impressive return from the super-sharp contender who sports a 20-1-1 (6) and is still just 26 years old and still has world title aspirations to go along with world title skills that he reminded the boxing world of last November.
The card will feature a load of Robert Garcia fighters that will include surging prospect, Daniel Cortez of San Antonio who was one of the top Texas prospects to watch emerge in 2023. Plus the long and rangy Junior Middleweight prospect Sylvestre Quinonez who resides in the nearby hill country will be featured on the card. There will also be a loaded undercard that will feature highly touted and hard-hitting Super Featherweight Henry "World Star" Arredondo, who has gone viral for a variety of knockouts and has been featured on nationally televised PBC cards. Additionally, rising blue chip prospect Javy Fernandez, who was also featured as one of the best prospects to watch in Texas will be back in action and will look to move his career record to 13-. Plus, touted welterweight prospect and former amateur standout Jason Limon will be in action, all of San Antonio. In another special attraction fight, fans will get another look at fan-favorite women fighter and professional model Mayra Rodriguez. Rodriguez has previously worked as a ring girl and is the current face of, and official model for, Fade Life Clothing.
Tanajara and other undefeated Prospects Shine at Tech Port Arena
"El Finito" Hector Tanjara showed the boxing world as well as the packed-out crowd at the Port Tech Arena in the west side of San Antonio, just a stone's throw away from where the touted prospect grew up, that he's still a world-class fighter. Tanajara was defined by his skills and speed, which got him to contender status, As he built up a 19-0 record by the time he was barely 23. Those elite-level skills are still intact. As he took apart rugged Mexican opponent Antonio Meija and stopped him in five. Tanajara had not secured a stoppage victory since early 2018 when he blew away Eduardo Rivera in the opening round.
Tanajara got going early behind a snappy jab. He set up his power shots like a savvy pro. A left hook dropped Meija in the opening round, which was a sign of things to come. The San Antonian used excellent movement and stayed calm and patient. Out jabbing, outworking, and out-landing his opponent over a one-sided affair. Tanajara measured his man perfectly and scored with thudding right hands, which eventually brought the bout to a halt as Meija's corner stepped in and waived the bout off after five brutal rounds.
The surprise of the night occurred in the evening's co-main event when fan favorite and hometown hero Robert "Biggie" Rodriguez had to settle for a draw with Irving-based opponent Dominique Griffin. A determined Griffin made it a fight using movement and refusing to stand in front of Biggie. After a close and competitive opening round Rodriguez, a southpaw, appeared to carry the second round with harder and more precise punches. He hunted the quicker North Texan down with straight left hands. However, Griffin stayed on the move and after an odd incident where he slipped out of the ring. Griffin regained momentum and used his jab to keep Biggie from walking In. He mixed in a good right hand in a competitive fourth. Griffin stayed to the game plan and continued to make Biggie miss, who appeared to grow a bit frustrated. Biggie rallied in the 6th. Scoring with a perfectly placed double uppercuts, and stayed on the attack. Perhaps taking the final stanza. To eek a very close and competitive draw. The judges scored it 57-57 and 58-56 each way.
The card also featured a litany of other highly touted prospects, such as Del Rio's own "Panterita" Jesus Martinez who scored the first stoppage victory of his young and promising career. A third-round knockout that came via a barrage of body shots, a well-placed body shot dropped Israel Camacho. In a veteran move, the 17-year-old Deo Rio native stayed down to the body and finished off his wounded opponent. Dropping him a second time which instantly brought in the referee to waive the bout off.
San Antonio native Daniel Cortez and 14x national champion Melissa Holguin both moved their record to 3-0 as well. Cortez took a giant step up in competition and took on an 8-8 fighter by the name of Jesus Arturo Guzman. Cortez showed off his immense skills on the inside, ripping uppercuts and hooks in close range. He was able to block most of his opponets return fire and remained in control, dominating the fight on the inside and outside picking up a unanimous decision by scores of 40-36 on all three cards of the scheduled four-rounder.
Decorated amateur and undefeated professional "La Joya" Melissa Holguin also of San Antonio stayed that way in a one-sided drubbing of rugged veteran and Chicago native Kim Colbert. Holguin put together a ferocious body attack that would have made Roberto Duran proud. She had her veteran opponent badly hurt several times and was on the verge of a stoppage. However, Colbert was able to endure till the final bell and for the second time La Joya picked up a lopsided decision over Colbert winning every round on every card. The judges were all in agreement 40-36.
Hector Tanajara Looks to Get Back
Photo Credit: John Ramos @ South Park Boxing Academy
Things have come full circle for "El Finito'' Hector Tanajara, the 25-year-old San Antonio native, is literally back where it all started. Tanajara will battle rugged journeymen Antonio Mieja in Friday night's main event at the Tech Port Arena. Tanajara, a west-side kid, talked about how he remembers kicking around a soccer ball in the area which is now the arena he will headline.
It has been quite a journey for the San Antonian to get here. Not long ago he signed a contract to fight Ryan Garcia. A contract that was never signed by Garcia. A Garcia-Tanajara would have been a mega fight in late 2020 or early 2021. The high-level scrap between two all-world unbeaten lightweight prospects never materialized. A duck by King Ry! Tanajara takes a more humble approach. When asked if he was ducked by the undefeated star. El Finito said "All I know is I signed that contract multiple times."
Tanajara had compiled a 19-0 record and was in discussions for huge fights with both Garcia and now undisputed lightweight champ Devin Haney. Fights that would have put the Texan in another stratosphere and fights he could have won. When Fort Worth-based journeyman Clay Burns, who fought both Tanajara and Haney at similar stages of their careers, was asked who had better skills, Haney or Tanjara? Burns responded without hesitation, "Oh, Hector! That kid is sharp!" That's the level the San Antonian was operating. He still has those "sharp skills" and he still has Trainer of the Year Robert Garcia in the corner.
However, things have taken an unexpected turn for Tanjajara after the mega fight with Garcia fell through. Tanajara returned to the ring against undefeated prospect William Zepeda and suffered his first loss. An unexpected loss in a fight that was supposed to put him in position for a world title. He came back 8-months later in a must-win fight. He looked incredibly sharp in the first half of his battle with Miguel Contreras before running into a brick wall and struggling through the second half of the fight and having to settle for a draw in a fight where he was clearly the sharper and more skilled fighter.
It has been 34 months since Tanajara last won a fight. It was perhaps a career-best win, a one-sided beatdown of Juan Carlos Burgos. He looks to get back on track at a new weight class. He moves up to 140 (jr welterweight) in a move that seems to make sense. He should have more power in the weight class and better stamina which seemed to be his downfall in the second half of the Contreras fight which caused him to have to settle for a draw. "El Finito" seemed to be suffering from the weight cut. 140 looks to be a better fit for Tanajara, who says he "feels good at 140." Head trainer Robert Garcia noted, “Hector is coming off a loss and a draw, and I want to build him back up slowly.” That rebuild starts Saturday night, right back where it all started. The west side of San Antonio, right by where that little kid was once kicking around the soccer ball. He now looks to get back into the world title picture.
Hector Tanajara Looks To Bounce Back in Fresno
San Antonio has quickly become the hottest city in the US for up-and-coming boxing stars. No star was shining brighter than the immensely skilled lightweight Hector "El Finito" Tanajara. He had compiled 19 straight wins had barely lost a single round and was on a fast track to becoming a world champion in the sports hottest division. He had captured, the WBC USNBC lightweight strap had scored a career-best win in the Alamodome against Juan Carlos Burgos and looked as sharp as any prospect in the sport. Covid hit, Tanjara was out of the ring, then a fight with Ryan Garcia, when King Ry seemingly ducked the fight. He instead opted to not fight at all. Leaving The San Antonio Native was left without a fight. A year and a half layoff for El Finito when it was all said and done. However, when he did get back into the ring he got a huge opportunity. The young, unbeaten upstart was scheduled to fight for the WBA Continental Americas title. That's when things went sideways for the Alamo City prospect. Tanajara squared off with an unbeaten but somewhat unknown prospect named William Zepeda of San Mateo Atenco, México. After an impressive opening stanza, Tanjara was unable to stay off the ropes and keep the fight in the center of the ring. Despite his finely tuned skills on the inside, Zepeda was just too much for the Texan. Zepeda broke his opponent down and trainer Robert Garcia informed the ref Tanajara could no longer continue handing El Finito his first career loss.
It's been nearly was eight months since that defeat and Tanjara looks to bounce back this Friday night on a Top Rank card in Fresno, California, that will air on ESPN. He will do battle with Miguel Contreras 11-1 (6), of Bakersfield, California. Contreras took his first career defeat on the same card. He was stopped in two rounds by hard-hitting Dominican Prospect Starling Castillo.
It's a big challenge for the Texan as both fighters absolutely need a win to stay relevant in the talent-loaded 135-pound division. Whoever captures the win likely goes back into title contention, while the loser takes a major step backward and becomes somewhat irrelevant in the lightweight division at least for the time being. Knowing exactly what on the line and how big the fight is Tanajara, didn't need or want a tune-up and is willing to travel to Contreas's backyard to prove that would happen in July to Zepeda was a fluke and that the skills and speed that shot him up the rankings are still all there. He wants to prove it was not hype it was an off night and he is as good as advertised. Prior to the Zepeda loss, there were conversations about fights with both Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney, who now holds the WBC lightweight title. A win puts him right back into those conversations