Holm at the top once again
Year 2010 in Review

Review by Chris Cozzone
Photo by Jose Leon Castillo III

One year ago, it was suggested that 2009 would be the last year Holly Holm could possibly claim top honors as New Mexico’s No. 1 boxer. In fact, last year, Holm had to share the crown with El Paso’s Antonio Escalante, who’d positioned himself for a 2010 title shot. There was also Austin Trout, who’d crept into the WBA ratings high enough to guarantee himself a world title shot in the coming months.

But many things have changed.

And some, not at all.

Once again, for the sixth straight year, NewMexicoBoxing.com is naming Holly Holm “Fighter of the Year.” Her closest competitors, Escalante and Trout, having been knocked out of the running, one by a punch, the other by circumstance.

Neither Trout nor Escalante were able to get into the ring for a title shot during 2010. Actually, Trout hasn’t been able to get into the ring at all, let alone fight for a belt in a fight promised to him by the sanctioning body (WBA) “awarding” him a No. 1 ranking. Trout, still 21-0, 13 KOs – same as this time, last year – has been on the shelf for 14 months while the guy Trout beat for a top ten ranking, Nilsen Tapia, was able to secure an earlier shot than Trout by moving up to 160. Earlier in December, Tapia was KO’d by Gennady Golovkin in a WBA middleweight title bout.

And Escalante? Well, thanks to former champ Daniel Ponce de Leon (and a questionable chin), it looks like Escalante is going to have to climb up the ranks all over again if he wants to bring El Paso fans their first-ever world championship. Midway through the year, Escalante was looking good, after treating ESPN2 and El Paso to one of the best fights of the year in February (his ten-round scorcher with Juarez’s Miguel “Mickey” Roman), then TKOing journeyman Edel Ruiz in August.

Then, in an WBO featherweight title eliminator, he was thrown to the lions, against hard-hitting Ponce de Leon, who floored him for the count in the third round.

Escalante finishes the year at 24-3, 15 KOs.

HolmTown, N.M.

Holm, now 29-1-3, 9 KOs, barely broke a sweat in 2010, breezing through three top-rated opponents with effortless wins. In March, she won a lopsided decision over Chevelle Hallback in a rematch; in August, Jaime Clampitt yielded the TKO win to Holm in just 1:53 after a freak injury disabled her; and, in December, a rematch with Ann Marie Saccurato saw Holm unusually aggressive, scoring her ninth knockout win in the eighth over her outmatched foe.

What now?

There is talk of an MMA bout for Holm, though boxing is now without top challenges – all of them coming from overseas. Still seen as the top, pound-for-pound jr. welterweight in the world, Holm may be looking at fights with unbeaten Cecelia Braekhus in ’11, Ann Sophie Mathis or a rematch with Myriam Lamare.

Lightweight version of Tapia-Romero?

As 2010 draws to a close, two lightweights from Albuquerque, Fidel “The Atrisco Kid” Maldonado (7-0, 6 KOs) and Archie Ray Marquez (10-0, 7 KOs, 1 NC), stand at the brink of stardom.

Maldonado started the year with inactivity, under TKO Boxing. But as soon as he was able to swap contracts and ink with Golden Boy Promotions, Maldonado was on the fast track. Fighting six times in ’10 saw Maldonado blaze through handpicked opponents with just one hiccup – an off-balance brushing of the glove ruled a knockdown in his last outing.

Marquez, inked with Gary Shaw Productions, fought the co-headline on one of the year’s best cards, Jan. 29 at Tingley, decisioning Derrick Campos, then spent most of the year on the shelf due to legal problems stemming from alleged spousal abuse. In October, however, Marquez returned to ShoBox by scoring his most impressive victory to date: a TKO-3 over Denver’s Juan Santiago. A hand injury then limited Marquez, who is looking at a Feb. 4 return, again on ShoBox.

Marquez has also been recently rated as high as No. 13 by the WBA – which, given Trout’s luck with the sanctioning body, may mean nada.

Look for both Marquez and Maldonado to threaten Holm’s “Fighter of the Year” honors in 2011.

Not only are they close in weight, but their apparent dislike one of one another (thank you, Facebook) has fight fans wondering whether their paths will wind around, and eventually lead, to a Tapia-Romero showdown in the future.

Year of the Comeback

2010 was all about comebacks.

Five-time world champ Johnny Tapia came out of retirement, as did “Mad” Max Heyman, Shawn Gallegos, David Castillo, Adrian Lopez, Colbert Lozoya, Jose “Goose” Ramirez, Fernando Reyes, Willie Villanueva and Joseph Salazar. Other fighters – like Frankie Archuleta, Joaquin Zamora, Jodie Esquibel and Alan Sanchez - came off lengthy layoffs.

Though his fights weren’t exactly earth-shattering, Tapia (58-5, 30 KOs) gets “Comeback of the Year,” his KO over drug addiction and serving nine months in the slammer getting more credit than beating up his old sparring partner, Jose Reyes, or stopping shopworn Jose Alonso. Tapia also proved he could still attract a crowd in New Mexico.

Disappointing was the on-off-again announcement of fighting a third fight with Frankie Archuleta (27-7-1, 14 KOs) , who came off a year layoff to also beat up on Jose Reyes on the second Tapia bill. That fight, it is said, will come off in 2011.

The most impressive comeback, in the ring, that is, came from Shawn “The Educator” Gallegos (18-4, 5 KOs) who showed he can still make weight and bang. After two years off, Gallegos got a can’t-lose tune-up in his return, then fought one of the best fights of the year, against Taos-born Marcos Herrera (6-3-1, 2 KOs) in November.

“Mad” Max Heyman (24-11-4, 14 KOs) also deserves a bit of credit. Returning after three years, he fought an awful fight against Roy Ashworth in January, then lost a split decision with “Mad” Mike Alderete (7-5-2, 3 KOs) in May, but bounced back to school and stop Alderete in the November rematch.

Other fighters weren’t so lucky in their comebacks: Villaneuva (9-3, 2 KOs) was 0-2 in ’10 and Zamora (18-3-1, 12 KOs), 0-1, when he was stopped by Eromosele Albert, after taking his customary lengthy layoff.

Go-and-stop in El Paso

Having to go another year without a world champion (they’ve already gone over 120 in their boxing history), El Paso had to settle for just three fight cards in 2010. Golden Boy staged two cards at the Don Haskins, and Z Entertainment, one, later in the year.

With Escalante regrouping, El Paso is now gearing up (or not) for the return of unbeaten heavyweight David “Nino” Rodriguez (33-0, 31 KOs) in February. Rodriguez had yet another disappointing year, fighting but once, against (yet another) hand-picked opponent.

Meanwhile, middleweight/jr. middle Abie Han (11-0, 9 KOs) looks to be the hottest prospect at the border. Though his three fights of ’10 were against less-than-optimal opposition, if someone can get behind this kid and get him the right fights, El Paso may soon have another contender.

Unbeaten youngsters Cesar Valenzuela (5-0) and Oscar Valenzuela (2-0, 1 KO) are also starting to gather crowds in Chuco.

New Mexico on the rise, sorta

With 13 shows, New Mexico saw its biggest year since 2007.

With 13 shows, New Mexico also saw some of the worst-matched cards and bouts. Ever.

The current trend, it seems, is matching up hometowners with easy opposition. The bouts are way too numerous to name, but, c’mon guys, Mia St. John (46-11-2) against Tammy Franks (2-13-1)? Tapia vs. his sparring partner, who’d lost 18 of last 20? Maldonado vs. a debuter no one ever heard of? Nancy Bonila, who’d lost six of her last seven, who’d last fought 20 pounds lighter, two-and-a-half years before, matched up against someone 5-0, 5 KOs? I could go on and on . . .

On the other hand, there are now more promoters than ever before, Golden Girl, Crespin’s Boxing, Team Tapia, School of Hard Knocks adding several shows to those promoted by longtime promoter Fresquez Productions. Danny Romero Productions, seemingly having replaced the other Romero (MIA for a couple years now) also put out two shows at Hard Rock.

Debuters of the Year

With the new promoters came new fighters – many of whom had never been heard of before. Deleting MMA fighters looking for stand-up practice and mismatched debuters looking for paychecks or beer money off the list, New Mexico still had a handful of worthy debuters during the year.

Our pick for “Debuter of the Year” was light-heavy Charles “The Beast” Alderete (1-1), who debuted in September, then took a short-notice fight against Arturo Crespin, giving him all he could handle, though losing the decision.

A close second was MMA fighter Manny Otero (2-1, 1 KO) who scored two of the year’s biggest upsets, over debuting Henry Anaya III and Jose “Goose” Ramirez.

Several other debuters ought to be watched for 2011, having earned their reps as amateur standouts: Albuquerque’s Jazzma Hogue (2-0-1), Espanola’s Antonio Martinez (1-0, 1 KO), Santa Fe’s Paul Castillo Jr. (1-0, 1 KO) and Hobbs’ Edgar Zubia (1-0). Also keep an eye on female Natalie Roy (2-0, 1 KO), John Herrera (1-1), of Roswell and Yorden Hernandez Perez (1-0).

The good, the bad, the ugly

Several local fighters had decent years, for one reason or another, while others suffered setbacks. These include:

• Mike Alderete, who weathered a knockdown by Max Heyman, to win a split decision . . . . but fell apart in the rematch.
• Henry Anaya III, who, despite his legacy, was KO’d in his debut by unheralded Manny Otero.
  
• Frankie Archuleta, who was promised Tapia all year but had to settle for a less-than-spectacular showing against a fighter who’d lost 18 of his last 20.
  
• Randy Arrellin, who is our “Most Improved Pro” and “Busiest Fighter,” fighting eight times. Then again, most of Arrellin’s opposition have been of the meat wagon variety.
  
• Arturo Crespin, who, continually climbs up in weight. We expect “Toro” to be fighting heavyweight, this time next year. Despite weight problems, Crespin was 3-0 in ’10, looking good in a rematch over previously-unbeaten Carlos Sanchez and giving a great fight and beating tough Charles Alderete.
• Josh Gomez, who kept a perfect record but showed us it's time for a test, next time around.
  
• Joe Gomez, who, blew up to supermiddle and lost his only fight, out of town against an unbeaten prospect.
  
• Michael Coca-Gallegos, the “Hard Luck” kid who has the worst record in the state but is the hardest opponent to fight. Close wins, split verdicts, bad calls and just plain bad luck would’ve driven most to take up ping pong by now.
  
• Vincent Mirabal, who was able to remain undefeated despite two close calls with Coca-Gallegos. Mirabal showed his stuff, however, by beating Joel Vargas on short notice – Vargas who drew with Mirabal’s competition, Josh Torres.
  
• “Hollywood” Raymond Montes, who fought a thriller with Alan Sanchez, then was KO’d in one by the man who’d previously KO’d him in one.
  
• Hector Munoz, who fought the hardest opposition of anyone in the state, (along with Victoria Cisneros) losing both fights. “If I’m meat, I’m filet mignon,” claims Munoz, who continually gets title shots every time he loses. Despite our criticism of the "Hurricane," in regard to title shots and providing fighters out there someone with a good record to beat, Munoz continues to show improvement . . . regardless, would still like to see Mirabal in Munoz in N.M.
  
• David Proa, who proved everybody wrong in January, scoring the most impressive win of the year over Adam Ochoa- then choked against Jonathon Arias. He’s been MIA since.
  
• Carlos Sanchez, who had a rotten year, losing to Crespin and John Grimaldo. Only win was a gimme-win over a 0-4 body.
  Josh Torres, who had a so-so year, 2-0-1, against so-so opposition.
  
• Victoria Cisneros, who is not likely to ever get that second chance against Holly Holm. Cisneros scored a huge win over Terri Blair, and an easy win over an overmatched fighter, before losing three times, though to name fighters.
  
• Amanda Crespin, who had a busy year, first losing to Nohime Dennison but picking up four wins, most of which were over easy opposition.
  
• Nohime Dennison, who had the best year for a female whose initials is not "H.H." She went 3-0-1 in 2010, defeating Crespin, 7-2 Brittany Cruz and 3-0 Celina Salazar.
  

# # #

Staff Picks of the Year

Fighter of the Year
Holly Holm
Honorable mentions: Fidel Maldonado, Archie Ray Marquez

MMA Fighter(s) of the Year
Coty "Ox" Wheeler (G.M.)
Carlos Condit & Diego Sanchez (C.C.)

Best three fights of 2010
1. Antonio Escalante vs. Miguel Roman
2. David Proa vs. Adam Ochoa
3. Shawn Gallegos vs. Marcos Herrera

Worst three fights of 2010
1. Thaddine Swifteagle Johnson vs. Nancy Bonila
2. Max Heyman vs. Roy Ashworth
3. Holly Holm vs. Jaime Clampitt

Robbery/worst decision of 2010
1. Guadalupe Guzman SD-4 Michael Coca-Gallegos
2. Vincent Mirabal SD-4 Michael Coca-Gallegos I

Biggest upsets of 2010
1. David Proa TKO Adam Ochoa
2. Victoria Cisernos MD-8 Terri Blair
3. Manny Otero KO-1 Henry Anaya III
4. Manny Otero UD-4 Jose Ramirez

Pro debuter of the year
Charles "The Beast" Alderete
Honorable mention: Manny Otero

Most exciting fighters of 2010
Fidel Maldonado, Holly Holm (G.M.); Fidel Maldonado & Randy Arrellin (C.C.)

Underrated fighters of 2010
Michael Coca-Gallegos

Overrated fighter of 2010
David "Nino" Rodriguez

Venue for 2010
Though the Santa Ana Star Casino may have the best set-up, physically, the award goes to Hard Rock (formerly Isleta) for hosting the most shows and working with the most promoters.

Best fight cards of 2010
1. Boxeo en Las Vegas II
2. ShoBox card in January
3. Holm-Saccurrato II card (Deuces Wild)

Top amateurs of N.M.
Siju Shabazz
Honorable mentions: Pablo Lopez, Yoel Gonzalez, Isaiah Perez

Most improved amateur
Yovanni Ramirez & Isaiah Perez

Most improved professional
Randy "Savage" Arrellin

Biggest disappointment of 2010
1. Austin Trout not fighting
2. Lack of competitive fights / current trend of soft opposition for hometown fighters

Best trainer of 2010
Mike Winkeljohn & Louie Burke

Top promoter of 2010
Fresquez Productions
Honorable mention: Carlos Crespin

Fights to see in 2011
1. Austin Trout for a title
2. Fidel Maldonado vs. Archie Ray Marquez
3. Holly Holm vs. Cecelia Braekhus
4. Vincent Mirabal vs. Hector Munoz or Josh Gomez
5. Johnny Tapia vs. Frankie Archuleta III - with both fighters retiring afterward.

Officials/refs of 2010
Rocky Burke (referee/judge) & Levi Martinez (judge)