KAPA‘A — Even with an abbreviated lineup of fights, the Ken Oki Memorial Boxing Event still packed a solid punch, Saturday night at the Bernice Hundley Gym at Kapa‘a High School. Eight of the 19 fights on the card had
KAPA‘A — Even with an abbreviated lineup of fights, the Ken Oki Memorial Boxing Event still packed a solid punch, Saturday night at the Bernice Hundley Gym at Kapa‘a High School.
Eight of the 19 fights on the card had to be cancelled, due to travel difficulties from other islands following the morning’s tsunami warning.
Yet the event, put on by the Kaua‘i Police Activities League, still went off in front of a large crowd and featured fighters ranging from age
9 to 30, from 73 pounds to 180 in three-round matches of either one or two-minute rounds.
The first fight of the night saw K-PAL’s Kristopher Alcos, 12, take on Micah Lovell-Gonsalves, 11, of Up & Up Boxing Unattached in a 73-pound fight.
Both young boxers stood toe-to-toe and traded good shots. Alcos recovered from an early knockdown, which appeared to be at least a partial slip, to come away with the victory on points.
The second match pitted K-PAL’s Jessie Cardinas, 9, against Kalama Keeno, 10, of Windward O‘ahu Unattached in an 83-pound bout.
Both threw and landed a number of big shots in the first round, but Keeno gained the upper hand in the second and third by throwing an endless barrage of power punches. Never seeming to tire, Keeno grabbed the victory from the judges on points after a strong showing.
The third match was the only girls bout of the night, with Jordan Lee Higa, 19, of Pearlside O‘ahu facing Jossilyn Murphy, 21, of Yeshua Big Island at 110 pounds.
Higa controlled the fight’s early stages and used her jab to set the pace, though Murphy did manage to sneak in a few big shots in the first round. The third round belonged to Murphy as she reversed the momentum and had Higa in trouble, but the early deficit was too much to overcome and Higa notched the victory on points.
K-PAL’s Kaipo Contrades, 19, faced off with Johnny Mar Aglugub, 18, of Windward O‘ahu Unattached at 132 pounds.
Contrades was the aggressor and scorer in the early going, landing a bevy of big shots from the get-go and also showing a good jab. Mar Aglugub showed a good chin and seemed unfazed by the assault.
Mar Aglugub scored a knockdown on a right counterpunch as Contrades lost his balance. Contrades looked to have worn himself out early and appeared fatigued, but still scored with big shots at the end of the second and third rounds as the crowd cheered him on from the bleachers.
Contrades won the very close bout on points, even after suffering the knockdown.
Hinano Jaramillo, 30, of Kamole Unattached took on Kaanoi Puoahi of Windward O‘ahu Unattached at 180 pounds.
This one only lasted one round, but it was action-packed as both came out throwing huge shots. Puoahi’s reach advantage helped him keep Jaramillo at bay and a barrage from the O‘ahu fighter forced the ref to give Jaramillo a standing-eight count.
Shortly thereafter, a big left hand from Puoahi put Jaramillo on the mat and he staggered to the corner at the end of the round. Jaramillo had an injured left knee coming into the bout and seemed bothered by it while seated between rounds. He decided to stop the fight and avoid any further damage, giving Puoahi the impressive win.
K-PAL’s Dustin Barca, 28, with the loudest contingent of fans in the building, overwhelmed the unattached James Salvador, 25, who took two standing-eight counts and one knockdown before the referee stopped the bout in the first round.
The card resumed after an intermission, with Pearlside O‘ahu’s Anthony Parker, 19, besting K-PAL’s Micah Fernandez, 19, at the 140-pound level after the two fighters went the distance and Parker had his arm raised on points.
At 132 pounds, Michael Kurita, 21, of Palolo O‘ahu bested K-PAL fighter Anson Angrade, 18, with the fight again going to the judges after three two-minute rounds.
Pearlside O‘ahu’s Harlen Seale, 17, took down K-PAL’s Keith Saniatan, 18, at the 145-pound level, topping Saniatan in points after three rounds.
K-PAL’s Chucky Rapozo, 24, grabbed a victory at the 165-pound level by topping Adam Trueman, 21, of Windward O‘ahu on points.
21-year-old Thomas Grimmel of Yeshua Big Island got a decision victory over Clement Halemano, 20, of Pearlside O‘ahu at 175 pounds.
Patrick Torres, 24, of Yeshua Big Island was the victor in the night’s final bout, getting a points victory over K-PAL’s Kai Boy Reyes, 22, at the 155-pound mark.
The next amateur boxing event is scheduled to occur on the Big Island at the Yeshua Boxing Club on March 13.
