Joel Martinez

Joel Martinez and Jake Ysasi Shine in Opening Of KO Live

At the Opening of KO! Live in Arlington undefeated super featherweight prospect Joel "The Owl" Martinez made a statement in the evening's co-main event. The long, rangy. 6'1 Southpaw, KO artist looked sharp in his return to the ring. Martinez who fights out of FHG Gym in Fort Worth, started patiently working behind a southpaw jab and stalked patiently until he found his opening late in the first round just after the 10-second clap Martinez unleashed on his opponent, Kendall Wardt with a body shot that sent him into the corner, and unleashed on him dropping him to a knee just before the bell. Ward got to his feet and started the second round, however, the writing was on the wall. Martinez, who was fighting with an injured left hand, was fighting with just a left hand hurt ward again with a right hook to the body that he put a left hand behind. Martinez trapped Ward into the ropes again and unloaded on him and a massive right hook put the outmatched Ward on the canvas for a final time, giving Martine the win, who has now won two fights in a row both by stoppage since his draw with Sean Brewer last summer. The Fort Worthian improved his record to 5-0-1 (3). 

Jake Ysasi. of Grand Prairie closed the show well in the main event and took care of Sean Hamilton of El Paso to move his record to 8-0 (2) in a scheduled four-rounder. Ysasi took a clear-cut decision and looked impressive in picking up his second consecutive win since his year-and-a-half layoff. Ysasi applied pressure brilliantly, and let his hands go, hurting Hamilton several times throughout the scheduled four-rounder. Ysasi continued to march forward despite several dirty tactics from Hamilton, including picking the Grand Prairie native up and dropping him on the canvas at one point. Hamilton hung tough and held on when needed, but Ysasi was far too classy and far too skilled as he closed the show in fashion and stayed aggressive throughout as he took the one-sided decision by scores of 40-36 and 39-37X2.

Also on the undercard was Arlington native Briana Carrera, who made her pro debut a successful one. A single right-hand dropped and stopped Jessie Clark in under one minute of the opening round. Carrera's record stands at 1-0 (1).

Texas 6 -Shooters! Six Texans Who Can Take a Huge Step Forward in 20024

Texas has run boxing for quite some time now. The pound-for-pound lists have been littered with Lone Star State natives. The following six fighters could potentially carry that load and be the next era of elite, world-class Texas fighters.

1. David Cardenas- San Antonio. San Antonio has produced a heck of a lot of great little men, and Cardenas could certainly be the next guy. Cardenas turned pro this summer in Mexico and shook off a jittery opening round to score a second round and has dominated every moment of every round since. He scored three consecutive KO's and then dominated Richard Hernandez, a veteran of 14 professional fights in December. Cardenas will be back in the ring in his home city on March 1st. Cardenas has solid pop for the weight, a sky-high ring IQ, and world-class feet. He is also best friends with San Antonio Spurs superstar Keldon Johnson, who can be seen in his entourage at each of his fights. Cardenas won multiple national championships in multiple weight classes as an amateur.

2. Felix Garcia- Laredo "El Gatito" the son of solid professional fighter. Garcia has already accumulated a record of 8-0 (1) and has just turned 18 years old. He turned pro in nearby Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. The 18-year-old is being moved quickly and has already fought eight rounders. He has also headlined cards. At just 17, the youngester headlined the Sames Auto Arena in his home city, and scored a unanimous decision over Jose Casiano. The Laredo nativ then followed that up with a points victory over undefeated Joseph Johnson and ended the year by fighting an eight-rounder in Mexico. The single KO in his eight pro fights is not indicative of his power. Garcia is still growing into his weight division (super featherweight), has tremendous agility and moves well is an excellent combination puncher who likes to march forward. Gatito is also fundamentally very sound and defensively responsible for an aggressive, action fighter

3. Joel Martinez- Fort Worth, "The Owl" is a bit of a unicorn, 6'1, southpaw, featherweight with tremendous one-punch power. After watching the hard-hitting Southpaw make his pro debut in November of 2021, I told him his biggest challenge was going to be hetting quality fighters to fight him. While, inactivity has played a part in his development. Martinez has secured four professional fights and expects to be back in the ring in February in Fort Worth. He is trained at FHG, the same gym as Edward Vazquez and John Vera, with coach Ray Berrera. He settled for a draw in July against "Gusto" Sean Brewer, and all things considered, that's not so bad. Outside of that, the consistent jab and massive left hand that the Fort Worthian sports has been unstoppable. He sports a 3-0-1 (2) record.

4 Oscar Perez- Houston, The lone Houstonian on the list, may be the closest to taking that big step forward and fighting on a massive stage. The southpaw lightweight, sports an 8-0-2 (6) record and ended 2023 with KO's of John Herrera and before that scored a second-round TKO of Yesner Talavera in his own backyard. The 24-year-old already has a win over rugged journeyman Clay Burns of Fort Worth. Perez knocked out, KO artist Omar Urieta of Tyler in the second round and went in as the B-Side to fight Anthony Cuba in Los Angeles at the Crypto Arena on the undercard of Andy Ruiz VS Luis Ortiz and settled for a disputed draw in a fight that must observers that he won. A fight with 2023's winner of this award, RGV native Fabian Diaz, would be an intriguing fight and an interesting test for both men.

5. Guillermo Guiterrez- San Antonio, the second Alamo City native, just missed making our list last year and was certainly a part of it this year. The 25-year-old made rapid improvements and should be in line for a big-time fight in 2024. In 2023 his three opponents in 2023 had a combined record of 10-1-5. He beat Jaden Burnias. The lack of power that the Alamo City's native suggests may help Guiterrez out in securing a big-time fight. San Antonio produced two recent world champions in the super flyweight division in recent years with Josh Franco and Bam Rodriguez. Given his skills and combination punching, Guiterrez has a legitimate chance to join them as 115-pound world champions

6-. Travis Crawford- Corpus Christi. Corpus Christi has produced some good fighters in recent years: Xavier Nunez, John Rincon, and emerging amateur Julian Delgado, who will make his professional debut shortly, all top that list. 21-year-old lightweight Travis Crawford wasn't supposed to be among them. However, the massive leap he took in 2023, going 5-0 (2) and moving his current win streak to six, combined with his all-action, fan-friendly style, made Crawford, who started his career off at 0-2, become one of the top young fighters to watch. His career started with losses to hard-hitting monster Xavier Bocanegra, who is the prized pupil of legendary hall of fame traineer Ronnie Shields, and then a controversial loss to Joe DeGuardia promoted prospect Ronny Reyes in Reyes's backyard in a fight that Crawford probably deserved the nod. Crawford brings his all-out, fan-friendly stlye back to the ring on January 20th in Tennessee.

Edward Vazquez Shines at Riders Stadium

On a 105-degree day at Riders Field in Frisco, Texas, the heat seemed not to bother any of the combatants as all five fights went the scheduled distance, and hometown favorite Edward "Kid" Vazquez of Fort Worth delivered for his adoring hometown fans and delivered for his new promoter, the Hall of Famer Lou Dibella. Vazquez took a non-stop, all-action 10-round decision over Bryan De Gracia of Panama in the main event.

After a very competitive and bak and forth first six rounds of the fight, Vazquez started chopping his man down in the seventh. His relentless bodywork was paying dividends, and De Gracia was beginning to slow. A perfectly placed right hand set up by a stiff jab set the tone early in the seventh. Another precise uppercut snapped De Gracia's head back later in the round as Vazquez could not miss on the inside and showed a new level of elusiveness, slipping and dodging the heavy artillery of his opponent. "The Kid" ended the seventh in style ducking and dodging shots with his hands dropped, reminiscent of Pernell Whitaker, and the hometown crowd erupted with cheers for their man. The momentum of the fight had clearly shifted, while perhaps even on the cards, the momentum was now fully on the side of the Fort Worthian. A short chopping right hand stopped De Gracia in his tracks early in the eighth, and then a giant left hook moments later staggered Vazquez's opponent. The right uppercut and left hook o the inside were automatic and on point for Vazquez. With the fight clearly titled in his favor the last two rounds were perhaps "The Kid's" best. Vazquez said his opponent was in his ear talking to him, telling him, "He was going to outwork him" However, that was not the case as nobody outworks the Texan, and Vazques dug deep and landed with a beautiful straight right hand that took some more steam out of the Panamanian. Chants of "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie" began to pour in as Vazquez refused to take a step back and continued chopping down De Gracia's right hook left hand against staggered the fatiguing De Gracia with just over a minute left in the 9th. Vazquez closed the show beautifully in the 10th. Clearly emptying his tank in the final round, Vazquez started the final stanza off with a beautifully placed left hook followed by a right hand. Another three-piece combination landed nicely for the Texan as the Panamanian was fatiguing and began holding after the combination landed. Vazquez closed the show in style. Clearly the fresher man he was beating De Gracia to the punch, and when the fatigued fighter did fire off, Vazquez would counter with precision. The Fort Worth native delivered in his first fight with his new promoter, the Hall of Famer Lou Dibella, and took the clear-cut but hard-earned decision by scores of 96-94x2 and 98-92. The win moves Vazquez’s record to 15-1 (3).

Vazquez's FHG stablemate Joel "The Owl" Martinez, of Fort Worth, was also in action when he battled Austin native "Gusto" Sean Brewer. After a bit of a feeling out process in the opening round, where both fighters who are tall and rangy for the weight class tried to find the range, and was mainly a battle of the jabs. Brewer landed the best shot of the round, a quick straight right that landed clean on the chin of Martinez. Martinez got going in the second with an early straight left from the Martinez, a southpaw set the tone, a short flurry put Brewer back in the ropes, and Martinez had found his rhythm. "The owl" ripped a right hook to the body. The Fort Worthian scored with another crisp straight left hand. The Austinite looked like he was unable to close the distance as Martinez scored with the straight left hand and would rip with power shots on the inside, closing out a very good second stanza. The third was more of the same, setting up the straight left off the jab and then landing on the inside a double right hook to the head and body scored for Martinez midway through the third.

Brewer needed something big in the last round after Martinez rallied in the middle two rounds of the scheduled four-rounder. After a solid left hand to his body that scored nicely and perhaps served as a wake-up call, Brewer got cooking. Brewer backed his man up and on the inside, ripped off two right hands that landed cleanly. He finally found his range and was landing cleanly with his straight right as Brewer appeared to be the fresher man in the final round, Shouts of "Joel Joel, Joel" rained in for the hometown fighter, but the visiting Brewer was undeterred as the visiting fighter closed out the round landing precise right hands in the pocket. In a fight that Hall of Fame promoter Lou DiBella called "the most obvious draw, I've ever seen." all three judges agreed and handed in identical scorecards of 38-38, making it a unanimous draw. Martinez's record moves to 3-0-1 (2), and Brewer is now 4-0-1 (3). Post-fight, both fighters thought they would have won if the bout was a scheduled six rounds and they had two more rounds to operate, and both combatants expressed interest in a rematch. Hopefully, if the rematch does happen later this year, it will be scheduled for six rounds. Both fighters are, high-level, blue-chip prospects, and four rounds was not enough for either man to make a definitive statement.

The card also featured fan favorite and Dallas native Shurretta "Chiccn" Metcalf who moved to 12-4-1(2), by outpointing the undefeated Melissa Odessa Parker of Houston, who fell to 6-1 (2), a very close and competitive majority decision that went to Mertcalf by scores of 78-74 and 77-75 with the third card an even draw 76-76, was hotly debated, by DiBellas who said he would write a letter to the commission objecting to the decision.

In another highly competitive decision, Dallasite Josh Shipman moved to 5-4 (2) over Orlando Rashad Coulter in a battle of all Dallas-based heavyweights. Coulter dropped to 5-2 (3), and came up on the wrong end of his second straight competitive decision.

Eddie Vazquez Returns to DFW, Headlines Riders Field!

Hall of Fame Promoter and boxing icon Lou DiBella brings home Fort Worth, native, and Featherweight world title contender Edward "Kid" Vazques home. Vazquez, 14-1 (3), will battle Panamanian KO artist Bryan De Gracia, 29-2-1 (25), in Saturday's main event at Riders Field, in Frisco, in what is a most-win fight for each man. The Fort Worthian inked a promotional deal with DiBella Entertainment last month. This will be the first fight of that deal, and another win will likely get the highly-ranked Texan closer to a world title fight. Vazquez had not fought in his home state since November 2021, when he dismantled Ezequiel Alberto Tevez in less than one round. Over the last two years, Vazques has fought on significant cards all over the US, including in the famous 2300 Arena in Philadelphia and the "Punch Bowl" in Carson, California. Vazques is currently riding a three-fight win streak with wins over touted contenders such as Misael Lopez and Viktor Slavinskyi. His lone defeat is a hotly debated loss in Arizona to Raymond Ford, a fight Ford's promoter, Eddie Hearn, acknowledged his fighter lost. Outside of that controversy, Vazquez has a flawless record. His opponent from Panama is also riding a hot streak. De Gracia has won five consecutive contest bouts, all by stoppage since his last defeat. In 2019, The Panamanian lost a thrilling slugfest to Eduardo Ramirez via 9th-round stoppage in Brooklyn's Barclays Center on the undercard of Lara-Castano.

In addition to Vazquez's return, the undercard is loaded with Texas talent. The Co-main event features fan favorite and bantamweight contender "Chiccn" Shurretta Metcalf, 11-4-1 (2), of Dallas. She battles undefeated Spring, Texas, native Melissa Odessa Parker, who captured the IBO Bantamweight title in her last outing by outpointing Mikenna Tansley in the Bayou Event Center in Houston.

Also on this card is a highly intriguing battle of unbeaten blue-chip prospects. Joel "The Owl" Martinez, of Fort Worth and an FHG Gym stablemate of Eddie Vazquez, will put his 3-0 (2) record on the line against the highly touted and upset-minded Sean "Gusto" Brewer, 4-0 (3) of Austin. Brewer now trains with former world champion Clarence "Bones" Adams in Las Vegas. That bout is scheduled for four rounds in the super featherweight division. 

Additionally, rising heavyweight slugger Rashad Coulter, 5-1 (3), of Dallas, looks to bounce back from his first career defeat. In February, Coulter came up on the wrong end of a close decision dropping an entertaining fight with Edgar Ramirez.

In addition to the loaded card, fans who purchase a ticket, are invited to stay and watch the live closed-circuit viewing party as DeSoto native Errol Spence battles Terence Crawford for the undisputed welterweight crown. 

Tickets can be purchased at the link below: 

Live Boxing at Riders Field w/ Spence/Crawford PPV Fight - MyProVenue™ (tickets.com)

Battle of Unbeaten Texans: Joel Martinez VS Sean Brewer in Talks

Not too often in our sport do we get two undefeated, highly touted prospects just entering their primes to face off. Even more rarely are both fighters from Texas. However, that's exactly, what is in discussion for July 29th at Riders Field in Frisco. Joel "The Owl" Martinez, 3-0 (2), and Sean "Gusto" Brewer, 4-0 (3), are in heavy talks to square off on the undercard of the IBF intercontinental title fight between Edward Vazquez VS Brayan De Gracia. A win would propel the winner to the top of the 126-pound prospect discussion although the fight will be held at the Super Featherweight limit of 130-pound limit. Each fighter has acknowledged that 126 in their preferred weight class.

Martinez, a Fort Worth native, is a 6'1, tall, long-range, hard-hitting southpaw that has destroyed everything in his path thus far. "The Owl ''currently trains with coach Ray Barrera at FHG Gym in their home city of Fort Worth. According to Team Martinez, they have accepted the fight, and the contract is being sent to Brewer's team. Martinez was eager for the fight saying, "I'm willing to accept whoever they offer. I want to move up the rankings."

Brewer, an Austinite, is a hyper-athletic boxer-puncher with lightning-quick reflexes and surprising power. He has been used as a B-side early in his career and hasn't just won but has scored quick, easy knockouts when he was brought in as the B-side, to lose. In just his second pro bout, he was used as the sacrificial lamb on a Thompson Promotions card for a Thompson promotions prospect named Ivan Zarate. Brewer would not accept his fate as a B-side saying, "...being the B-side, being in the locker room with other B-side fighters, who already accepted the fate of losing, I was like no! This is not me." It certainly was not, as Brewer annihilated Zarate in one round. He repeated the feat in his last outing against Christian Renteria, scoring another first-round KO, this time in the main event of a Thompson Promotions card back in October. Brewer is currently trained by former World Champion Clarence "Bones" Adams in Las Vegas.

Edward Vazquez to Headline Loaded Card at Riders Field in Frisco

Last month "Kid" Edward Vazquez of Fort Worth made headlines by announcing his signing with hall-of-fame promoter Lou DiBella. Now the 27-year-old Fort Worthian will headline a card less than an hour from his hometown at Riders Field, formerly known as Dr Pepper Stadium in Frisco, the home of the Frisco Rough Riders, the Double-A affiliates of the Texas Rangers. Vazquez, 14-1 (3), will battle Brayan De Gracia, 29-2-1 (25), of Panama, for the IBF Inter-continental featherweight belt. A strap recently held by Shakur Stevenson and Kid Galahad. De Gracia is best known for his previous performance in the US. The Panamanian was stopped by Eduardo Ramirez in nine rounds, in a fun back-and-forth affair on the undercard of the Brain Castano-Erislandy Lara scrap at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Vazquez last fought in February and outpointed Misael Lopez on a SHOWTIME, SHOBOX card that aired live from Topeka, Kansas. A card that was also promoted by DiBella and apparently impressed him enough to ink a deal with the North Texan. Vazquez is currently ranked in the top ten by the IBF. Luis Alberto Lopez is the sanctioning body's current world champion, and the top two spots in that division's rankings are currently vacant.

A loaded undercard also features fellow Fort Worthian and FHG Gym Stablemate Joel "The Owl '' Martinez, 3-0 (2), in a super featherweight affair. Dallas-based world title contender Shurretta Metcalf, 11-4-1 (2), will battle Melissa Oddessa Parker, 6-0 (2), of the fighting city of Spring, Texas, in an 8-round affair. Also on the card is hard-hitting Dallas middleweight prospect Miguel Angel Hernandez, 7-0 (6) will be in action in a six-round fight. Hernandez last fought on the Brandon Figueroa-Mark Magsayo card in California back in March and scored a six-round decision over Dario Guerrero-Meneses.

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.

Joel Martinez Shines in Epic Night for Fort Worth Boxing and FHG Gym

6ft tall southpaw Featherweight Joel "The Owl" Martinez of Fort Worth said before Saturday's fight at the Southern Junction in Irving that he has been inactive lately due to no one wanting to fight. Apparently, no one wants to fight the freakishly tall and long southpaw with incredible one-punch power. If Martinez found it hard to find a willing opponent before Saturday night, he did himself no favors in destroying unbeaten Xzavier Jackson. After a quick start in the opening round, a beautiful straight left from the long rangey southpaw put Jackson on the canvas to the surprise of most in attendance and to "The Owl" who said, " I am surprised he got up." Martinez got backed to work and swarmed a wounded Jackson, who was somehow able to survive the round. However, in the third round, Martinez unleashed violent shots from the opening bell and put the finishing touches on his opponent. This time a body shot put Jackson down and out early in the third. Securing Martinez his second professional win in two official bouts. "I kept my composure the whole time. I took my time, I fought my fight." Martinez said of his performance. It was also the third win for the guys from FHG gym in Fort Worth. Gary Hampton Jr ran his record to a perfect 3-0 with a one-sided unanimous decision victory over the previously unbeaten Rensley Washington of Cincinnati by scores of 40-36x2 and one score of 39-37. In the evening's opening bout, Desmon White put on a master-class performance and dominated Devon Jones of Tyler. Scoring a unanimous decision to move his record to 1-0-1.

Fort Worth-based amateur standout and Regional and State Champ Sammy "Cobra" Brown made his highly anticipated professional debut, a successful one in scoring a unanimous decision victory over a rugged and determined Austin Dulworth of Dallas. Brown got going with a big right hand that hurt Dulworth just a minute into the fight. A punch Brown would have success with throughout the fight. A punch that seemingly hurt Dulworth every time it landed. Brown found the mark with that shot again a minute into the second round and then would again double up with it later in the round. The Cobra also sported excellent movement and was able to avoid much of his opponent's artillery. Brown continued outboxing and outworking his opponent, building a lead on the cards. With the fourth and final round still in doubt, the Fort Worthian saved his best for last and put together his best rally of the night late in the final stanza. Brown scored with a body shot that slowed Dulworth down and then scored with a big right hand that snapped his head back and put a left hook behind it for good measure. The cobra would strike again with two more big right hands just before the bell sounded to end the fight. Putting an exclamation point on his pro debut and sealing the victory. All the judges scored it in favor of Brown 39-37. Brown fought this fight at 168 pounds, but plans on moving down to 154 in the future, He said he potentially could go as low as 147. Post-fight, a victorious Brown said, "It felt good... All the hard work finally paid off." Sporting the nickname Cobra carries a lot of weight in Fort Worth. It's the nickname of the legendary hall of Famer Donald Curry. While Brown has a long way to go to get to the level, he got his career off to a great start Saturday night in Irving.

In the main event, Dallas native Edgar Ramires improved his record to 6-1 (4) in pulling the upset over Rashad Coulter. Ramirez was able to overcome Coulter's reach advantage and was able to get on the inside and fire heavy artillery while in there. Outworking and outlanding Coulter. Ramirez was able to slide onto the inside and land the cleaner blows, and it was clearly breaking his opponent down. Ramirez carried the middle rounds for him. Fighting off the ropes in the sixth round, Ramirez put together one last brilliant rally that secured the upset for him as he rolled to the unanimous decision victory. A combination resulted in a cut above the eye of Vargas in the third as Foster was in complete control.

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

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).