PAL/Fisticuffs Fight Night

First of all I'd like to congratulate all of the Fisticuffs fighters who represented our gym well. Jorell Reynosa from Fisticuffs started off the night with the first fight of the night with a amateur bout.

Jorell came out strong against a tough opponent, Carlos Ariasa from Beaverton PAL. It turned out to be a great fight with Jorell getting the nod from the judges and setting the tone of the night for great fights.

Jorell landing his jab.

The next Fisticuffs fighter up was Sammy "The Man" Perez who faced Danny Ruiz of Riverside Ca, in the Co-main event.

As soon as the fight started I knew Sammy had his work cut out for him. Ruiz who stepped into the ring undefeated with a 2-0 record came to fight. He used his longer reach and keep Sammy on the outside most of the first round.

The second round Sammy adapted to Ruiz's style and worked the inside with a flurry of punches that seemed to hurt Ruiz at the end of the round. Round three and four was very exciting with both fighters giving their all, but Sammy out worked Ruiz with his speed and eight to ten punch combinations. In both rounds Sammy seemed to have Ruiz in trouble at times but was unable to finish him before the rounds ended.

The judges gave Sammy the four round majority decision and his first win as a pro.

Sammy getting the win in his first Pro Fight.

Next up was the main event where Virgil Green (Fisticuffs) meet Jessie Isais of Chula Vista Ca. for the Northwest Jr. Welterweight title.

Virgil making the walk out to the ring

The first round started off a little slow for Virgil who wanted to feel out his opponent. Virgil knew coming into the fight that Isais was a tough fighter who said "I didn't travel all this way to lose" was his toughest test to date.

Although Virgil was able to stick his jab and move well, Isais was able to land a powerful left hook and a few straight right hands. I gave the first round to Isais.

Round two started off with Virgil using his speed and jab to keep Isais at bay and on the outside. Virgil seemed to settle down and was starting to dictate the fight. I thought it was a very technical round for both fighters and thought the round could go either way.

Virgil working his jab

Rounds three, four, five and six, were almost all the same. Virgil was able to get into his groove where he jab was stopping Isais from coming in with his power punches. Whenever Virgil stop jabbing, Isais was able to throw his power punches.

Virgil Green and Jessie Isais during one of their vicious exchanges.

Although a few of them did hit Virgil, most of Isais' punches were being evaded by Virgil's slick bobbing and weaving. By round six Isais' right eye was swelling shut from Virgil's constant jabbing.

Wally Jorgenson, Virgil Green (Northwest Jr. Welterweight Champ), Leonard Gabriel and Julie Ballou.

In the end the judges gave Virgil the win with a unanimous decision and making Virgil the new Northwest Jr. Welterweight Champion!

PAL/Fisticuffs weigh ins

Weigh-ins were held at Main Event Sports Bar located at 800 Main St, in Vancouver Wa. I'd like to take the time to thank, Mike and the boys for providing Main Event for the ring card girl contests, weigh ins and the after party place.

Virgil Green (139lbs) from Fisticuffs Gym vs Jessie Isais (140) from Chula Vista, Ca. will be going toe to toe for the Northwest Jr. Welterweight.

Danny Ruiz (143lbs) from Riverside Ca. vs Sammy "The Man" Perez (134lbs) from Fisticuffs will meet each other Saturday night. This will be a test for Sammy who will be making his boxing pro debut against Ruiz who will enter the ring with a undefeated pro record of 2-0.

PAL/Fisticuffs Fight Night

Come check out Fisticuffs' first show at home in Vancouver Wa. Three of our fighters will display their skills in front of Sugar Ray Leonard. First will be Jorell Raynosa starting off the night, then will be Sammy "The Man" Perez who will be making his pro debut against Danny Ruiz of Cali who hold and 2-0 record with 2 knockouts. Virgil "Black Mamba" Green will top off the nights card with a shot at the Northwest Jr. Welterweight Title against Jessis Isais of San Diego.

UFC 132, Thursday day before weigh ins

June 30, 2011

This morning started of with George doing two telephone interviews. After the telephone interviews George head down to the UFC offices where he did another interview for the UFC photo shoot that will be air on the website.

Once George was done with all his interviews it was back to the training room where we did our last work out. George did a 30min boxing workout with me, then a wrestling workout with Alex Bubb and lastly his jiu jitsu workout with Eric Jetton.
Team Sotiropoulos, Alex Bubb, Eric Jetton, George Sotiropoulos and Leonard Gabriel Jr.

After the workout we all headed to lunch. The walk was a little taxing for George since he is dropping weight and just got done working out but like always he took the time to stop sign autographs and pose for pictures for all the fans. It seemed that George stopped every 50 feet for the fans but always had a smile and a kind word for all of the fans.

We are now up in the room and will stay in the rest of the night since George will be cutting weight tomorrow, then off to the weigh ins. Be sure to check out the weigh ins on line as well as back here where I'll post backstage photos.

UFC 132, First day workouts

June 29, 2011

We arrived yesterday in Vegas everything went pretty normal. We got picked up at the airport by Chris one of the UFC driver's. At the airport we did meet another Washington fighter making his UFC debut, John Hougland and manager Jeff Bourgeois.

Once at the hotel, we headed down to the UFC offices where George did all his paper work then it was up to the room where we had an early night.

Today we were up at 7am. We headed down to Starbucks where I had a coffee and George had his oatmeal and a tea. After breakfast it was straight down to the training room. This morning George started off with his warm ups then we worked mitts. After our work out we headed to the arena where George did his sprints.



George sprinting and shadow boxing.

George has been working hard this camp and it really showed this morning. Even though he's starting to drop weight, his intensity, power and speed are at a high level. After working out for about 40min George went and did two interviews. One was for Yahoo!, Sports which can be seen on line and the other was for the UFC website.



George on how he feels.

From the interviews we headed to lunch and back up to the room where we spent most of the day. I ran down to the pool for a quick dip while George rested.

At about 6pm Alex Bubb, a friend and training parter of George, came into town and we headed back down to the training room where George drilled his wrestling. George's wrestling looks as crisp as his stand up. Seeing George look this good is getting me excited for this fight.


Although none of us want a loss for George, I think his last fight really made him a much better fighter. We were able to analyze certain holes in his game and hopefully plug them as well as sharpen up his already existing and dangerous arsenal.

UFC 132, MGM Grand Arena , July 2nd

Rafael Dos Anjos and George Sotiropoulos

George will meet the tough Rafael Dos Anjos July 2nd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The fight will be the first fight that will be air on Spike TV that night. Check back often to see daily videos and pictures from the day we arrive in Vegas until the morning we leave.

Time to Bleed, Fight Night

This morning started off with a early light workout at LA boxing-El Paso. Gabe and Molly both got a good sweat in with a quick 30min workout then it was back to the hotel where we had a good breakfast and I was able to go over the game plan with Gabe.

Gabe shadow boxing morning of the fight.

Molly working out fight morning.

The rest of the day was just spent resting until 430pm in our rooms. At 430pm the vans took us to the Marriott where the venue was. At first there was a little confusion as to what locker room we were going to be in. They first had Gabe in the blue corner and Molly in the red corner. Being that we were one camp it made no sense being on separate ends of the venue and different corners.

Once everything was straighten out we all ended up in the blue corner. Being in the blue corner was a treat and a curse at the same time. There was this fighter who we shared the locker with who will remain unnamed that was slightly off to say the least.

This guy did so many weird things it would take forever to list so here is just a few thing s I remember off the top of my head. First off he argued with the commissioner about when he should glove up, very bad move on his part. The he warmed up for 2hrs straight before his fight while continue to yell at the top of his lungs. He also made sure to tell everyone how they didn't know anything and how good he was. When he finally was called to the ring he decided to run around the ring at a full sprint twice like a complete psycho.

The commission then had to stop him and the crowd was laughing at him and not with him! Once the fight started, he continued to run around the ring bouncing off of the ropes like he was in WWE. Once the fight was over and he won......yes he WON!! He tried to jump on the ropes to raise his hands but actually bounced over the ropes and face planted on the floor. At this point I couldn't stop laughing and was actually getting a side pain then.... the guy gets back up and again started running around the ring again!

Okay enough about that guy lets get back to Gabe and Molly. Gabe was the second fight of the night and was called in to the ring. As we were introduced the crowd booed us being that Gabe was fighting a local fighter. The first round started off with Gabe throwing a double jab and right hand that dropped his opponent in the opening seconds of the round. His opponent Wesley Marquez who was a 4 time Regional Golden Glove Champion was a tough foe who got back up and finished the round.

The second round was a close back to back brawl that I gave Marquez that round. After that rounds three and four were clearly Gabe's rounds. Gabe had more combinations and cleaner shots. All in all it was a great action packed fight. At the end of the fight Gabe was covered in Marquez's blood from a possible broken nose that Marquez may have received in the opening seconds of the first round. The judges saw it the same way and gave Gabe a unanimous decision.

Aaron Navarro with Gabe after his win over Wesley Marquez.

Although we were booed coming in, once they interviewed Gabe and he said how well we were treated in El Paso and how he would love to fight here again the crowd cheered him as he exited the ring.

Next was Molly. Molly was up and looked very focused and ready to take home the belt. Molly had already faced her opponent Kita Watkins once before and stopped her in the third round but everyone knew this would be a different Kita Watkins and for a World Championship title.

This would end up being a very good 10 round fight. Both women came to fight. Molly clearly was the stronger of the two. Molly's right hand hurt Kita multiple times during the fight. Kita showed that she was a game opponent with flurries of combinations that she was able to score through out the bout, but it was Molly's power punching that was the theme of this title fight that proved to much in the end for Kita Watkins. The judges gave Molly the unanimous decision and the title of the new WIBF and GBU World Champion!!!!

The New WIBF and GBU World Champion Molly McConnell.

The Champion Molly McConnell and Ron Woodward.

I would also like to take this time to thank Aaron Navarro of Main Boxing Gym of Huston Texas who graciously worked as the third man (cut man) for both Molly and Gabe's fights. He did an awesome job and looking forward to working with Aaron again. Thanks Aaron!!Aaron Navarro, Leonard Gabriel, Molly McConnell WIBF and GBU Champion and Ron Woodward.Leonard Gabriel, Aaron Navarro, Gabriel Cruz and Ron Woodward.

Time to Bleed - Weigh ins, Texas ElPaso

This morning started off meeting Gabe and Molly at the Portland Airport as well as Ron and his wife Rex. We then were off to Sacramento where we jumped on our flight to El Paso. A hour and a half later we arrived to beautiful sunshine and a cool breeze. We couldn't ask for better weather.

We jumped into the van checked into our room and just had enough time to get to the weigh ins at LA Boxing. Wesley Marquez faces off with Gabriel Cruz.

Gabriel "La Fuerza" Cruz.

At the weigh ins, Gabriel Cruz (Fisticuffs Gym) weighed in against his opponent Wesley Marquez of El Paso.

Next was Molly McConnell (Portland Or) vs Kita Watkins for the WIBF and GBU World title Championship. For those of you who may not know Molly is a regular at Fisticuffs Gym with her trainer Ron Woolard. Altough Molly does not train at Fisticuffs full time she is definitely Fisticuffs family!

Molly "Fearless" McConnell strikes a pose.

Kita Watkins faces off with Molly "Fearless" McConnell.

Once the weigh ins were done we went to dinner and back to our room for a early night. Both Molly and Gabe look good and is ready for battle. Stay tune for more updates, pictures and results of tomorrows fights.

Time to Bleed Pro Boxing amd MMA, Texas El Paso

Bloodsport Championships presents Time to Bleed, a professional mixed martial arts and boxing event at the El Paso Marriott Grand Ballroom on Friday starting at 7 p.m.

The fight card will feature a total of six bouts, three boxing matches and three mixed martial arts contests.

The boxing main event will feature a couple of women. Molly McConnel of Portland, Or., will take on Kita Watkins of Albuquerque, N.M., in a WIBF and GBU Jr. Welterweight World Championship bout.

“We’ve never had a women’s professional boxing championship in El Paso before, so the fans are in for a treat,” said Marc Stelley, event president and promoter.

The other two boxing matches will have Ashley Alvarado taking on Tonia Cravens in another six-round female bout while Wesley Marquez will meet Gabriel Cruz (Fisticuffs Gym) in a four rounder.

The MMA main event will pit Jorge Ortiz of Cd. Juarez, Mexico, against Willie Parks of Albuquerque, N.M.

The other two MMA matches will feature James Gabriel against Conrad Padilla and Joe Gustina vs. Matt Leyva.

The official weigh-ins (which are open to the public) are scheduled for Thursday at L.A. Boxing (3136 Trawood), 2-5 p.m.

Lords of the Cage, Silver Reef Casino, March 19, 2011

Mohammad "Mo" Abed from Fisticuffs Gym met Gil Gourmet from Canada for Mo's MMA debut at the Silver Reef Casino in Ferndale Washington.

The weekend started off with Mo, Sean Mallory and I driving five hours out to the Silver Reef Casino. Although I slept most of the way I heard it was a long grueling drive! Ill take their word for it.

Once at the casino it was time for the weigh in. Mo was a little under the contracted weight of 185lbs. He actually came in at 183lbs with his jeans on. Once the weigh ins were over we checked into our rooms had dinner and headed to bed.

Gil Gourmet and Mohammad "Mo" Abed.

Saturday, fight day started off with us getting up early and getting a little something to eat. After a short rest we headed out to a local gym to get a quick workout for Mo. This workout is designed just to walk through his game plan and break a little sweet and get Mo's blood pumping.

Through a little misunderstanding we were not able to utilize the original gym that we were going to use. Just as we were leaving the area, Sean saw a sign for the West Coast Fight Club. The club was closed by we decided to try anyway.

Luckily we were able to meet Cody Houston the owner of the club who was in his office. Cody graciously allowed us some mat time although he was closed. We really appreciate Cody allowing us to workout there. Cody you're the best anytime you of one of your guys are in Vancouver you always have a gym to train at.

Cody Houston owner of West Coast Fight Club and his awesome pit "Bo".

After leaving Cody's WCFC gym we headed back to the hotel for Mo to rest. Once 5 o'clock came we headed down to the arena. Mo had the 7th fight out of eleven. As the 4th fight arrived Mo started warming up. A short time later Mo was up.

It was clear to me that Mo was ready. As soon as he got into the cage he started pacing back and forth like a cage animal. The first round started of with a bang. Mo got hit with a right hand that kinda stun him after that it was Mo all the way.

Mo dominated Gil with his take downs and ground and pound tactics. The rest of the fight went the same. Mo really impressed me with his take downs and submission attempts. Although it went the distance, Mo controlled the fight by getting Gil's back several times maintaining side control most of the second and actually hurt Gil with his right hand multiple times through out the fight.

Mo with coaches Leonard Gabriel and Sean Mallory

Although the scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 a unanimous decision for Mo it was a very tough first fight. Gil Gourmet was a very tough and game fighter. Patrick Ortiz the promoter said it was one of the best fights of the night beside the main event title fight that ended in a 2nd round knockout.

Mo getting his first win for his MMA debut

UFC 127, Fight Day

Ok everyone sorry for taking so long at catching up on the blog but between all the traveling, jet lag and fights that we had as soon as I got in I wasn't able to get in done. Here is a recap of what took place at the Acer arena.

Like expected Dennis Siver was a tough opponent and proved to have a good game plan that he was able to implement to win a unanimous decision over George. In the first round Siver was able to connect twice with left hooks that put George on the canvas. To George's credit he got up both times and was able to regain his senses and finsh the round.

In the second round George came out strong and I thought out struck Siver and actually hurt Siver mid round. Siver sticking to his game plan did not want to go to the ground with George and stayed off of the floor at all cost. I thought this was a close round and gave that round to George.

The third round continued to unfold as a striking fight with George and Siver exchanging blows as well as Siver getting off more kicks. Although this was a close round, I gave the edge to Siver.
the offical decision was Siver by unanimous decision.

As the judges scores were read out loud, I felt really bad for George because I know how hard he trains for his fights and the sacrifices he makes daily to compete and be seccussful. It was later reported by ESPN that George had the second longest winning streak in UFC history.

Although disappointing to the whole camp, by no means is George done making an impact in the lightweight division of UFC. This was just a little bump in the road to a very succesful campaign to being the UFC Lightwight Champion. I truely believe this!

UFC 127, Wed, Thurs and Fri

The past three days have been filled with us continuing our daily workouts and rest. George did the press conference Wednesday, he had his photo shoot and interviews for UFC yesterday and today is a rest day in terms of appointments for George.

The only thing that we need to do is 6pm today we have to get his banner and fight shorts approved by UFC then its to bed early and off to the weigh ins tomorrow at 1130am. The venue for the weigh ins is about 40min away at the Acer arena the same place the fight will take place at. I posted a picture and video from the past couple of days.


Press conference at Star City casino.

George sprinting the hallway and punching my camera.

UFC 127, Tuesday,Open Media Workout

Today started off with our usual 7am boxing session. Everything went as good as usual. George has been dropping weight and it still hasn't really effected his intensity. After another great boxing session, Eric, George and I headed to the hallway near our room where George ran his sprints.

I'm pretty sure the hotel staff had never seen anyone actually run sprints down the hallway as they gave us weird looks as they would pass through our make shift workout area while pushing their carts past us!!

After we were done with sprints Eric and I met Adam Thompson a Australian reporter who has become and good friend with Team Sotiropoulos ever since the last fight in Australia. Adam also shadowed us at the Lazon fight in Detroit. Adam drove me to the mall where I was able to buy clothes since my bag STILL has not arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just as I thought things were getting better and was glad I finally had some clothes, my credit card gets declined because of "suspicious activity". After dealing with my credit and debit cards for a little bit they finally went through and I was able to get my new clean clothes. You would be amazed how simple things we take for granted can really make your day.

Adam and I at open media workouts showing off my new clothes.

Anyway it was now back to the casino where we met George for the open media workout. It was held in the main casino where reporters and fans were able to meet the fighter as well as watch them display a little of their workout sessions.

Team Sotiropoulos (Eric Jetton, George Sotiropoulos, Eddie Bravo and Leonard Gabriel) at open media workout.

George shadow boxing for the media.

The workout went smooth and George was clearly one of the main fighters that most of the fans came to see. George was one of the last ones scheduled for the workout and the fans stayed after to make sure they were able to get photos and autographs with George.

George being interviewed by FOX Sports.

Tomorrow will be the press conference so stay tuned for updates.

UFC 127, Sun 20th and Mon 21st

STILL NO LUGGAGE!!! The day started off with me meeting Jason one of the UFC drivers in the lobby at 4:45am so I could catch a ride to the airport to see what happened to my luggage. I'm not sure yet if the trip was worth it. I was sent to four different departments and spoke to 6 different people and I still don't know where my bag is or which airlines have it.

Since I had to head to the airport so early our regular boxing workout at 7am was postponed. When I got back to the hotel George and Eddie was in the workout room going over his jiu jitsu. George was looking as good as usual. Once he was done with his jiu jitsu he went to eat and headed to his room for a rest. Eddie was happy with George's workout and I was glad I was able to make the last part of their workout.

If anyone is not familiar with Eddie Bravo and the 10th Planet jiu jitsu, you don't know what you are missing. Eddie is a true master of his craft and a awesome coach!! Not to mention one of the funniest most down to earth guy I know.

After a couple of hours we were back in the training room working on his boxing. I was amazed that George was so crisp and strong doing his workouts considering he is in the process of dropping weight. Dr. Parone also arrived and sat in on the workout.

George and I working on the mitts.

Dr. Parone, George and Eric.

As a cool down George worked his kick boxing as well as going to the body on the belly pad I was wearing. I can tell you that my left side of my rib cage is killing me from George ripping to my body. Hes definitely picked up more power in his punches since his last fight. This wrapped up our last hard day of boxing and will be cutting back on the workouts tomorrow.

George then headed for another meal and back up to the room and rested. After another couple hours of resting, George was back in the training room wrestling with Eric Jetton. Once again George looked on point. He was fast and explosive and given how happy Eric seemed to be with George's wrestling, I could tell he was doing just as well with his wrestling as with his boxing and jiu jitsu.

George and Eric wrestling.

This wrapped up a very busy day for George in the sense of working out. As I said earlier Team Sotiropoulos will cut George's workouts down tomorrow. Tomorrow is also open workouts for the media where I'm sure you will be able to see the videos on the UFC website.

I'm also crossing my fingers that my bag finally get here. I'm giving it until 10am before I head out to the mall and buying all new clothes!!!

UFC 127, Leaving for Australia

February 17, 2011

Today we leave for Australia. The day starts off with me meeting George for sprints at 7am. George is in good spirits and looking strong. These sprints have become a regular routine for us as the morning workout on the departure day for George's UFC fights. Once the sprints are done its off to do last minute errands and off to the airport.

We both get to the airport 2hrs prior to our departure thinking this will be enough time to make our flights right???.................. Well lets start off saying things didn't go quite as planned. First as we get to the ticket counter the computer is unable to scan our passports which ends up taking at least 20min with the assistance of a United agent. After we finally get everything done the agent tells us to go to gate C4. After another 15min-20min in the security we get through and see that we have enough time to stop at Starbucks and get a coffee.

This isn't to bad being that we can see gate C4 and know that we aren't to far from it. So we order our coffee taking our time talking knowing we are close. After a bit we walk over to the gate and I notice that there is no plane at the gate or passengers sitting in the area. At the same time me and George look at each other and say "Oh s@#$".

I look at my ticket and realize that the agent who told us to go to gate C4 was looking at my seat number and not the gate which was actually E7! Of course gate E7 is on the complete opposite side of the airport from where we are.

We are now in a full sprint realizing that we actually might missing our flight. We finally get gate E7 in sight and see that they are closing the door to the ramp. Both George and i about 40 yards away and are yelling for the agents to hold the gate letting them know that we were there.

Needless to say we were to late and they would not let us through. This was upsetting knowing that passengers were still actually walking into the plane when we got there. After a little exchange of words with the gate agent it was clear we were not getting on that plane.

UFC then re-routed us through different air lines that put us in Australia 2hrs. later. Our new flight plans went from bad to worse getting into LA and not being able to find our bags from the flight we missed after running all over LAX. We were then left with a choice of waiting and possibly finding our bags or making our new flight to Australia. Sooo, we got on the plane.

14hrs later and and 20hrs since we first got to PDX we finally land in Australia with no bags other then what we are wearing and our workout gear bags!! as you can guess we went up to our rooms after dinner and passed out!!

Really hope tomorrow goes better!!

UFC 127, Sydney Australia, Acer Arena

George Sotiropoulos vs Dennis Siver. George looks to return to his home country and put on a great show against a very tough Dennis Siver. We will be posting updated blogs and photos as we count down to UFC 127!!

2011 Oregon Sr. Golden Gloves Tournament

February 18 & 19
Julie Ballou

Because Leonard had to go to Australia for George’s fight, I took Joe Reynosa, Oscar Hernandez, Jorell Reynosa, and Sammy Perez to Bend for the Golden Gloves Tournament. This is a qualifier for the regional tournament in Vegas.

I was mildly, okay, super nervous to take these guys because they are all very, very good boxers and I am fully aware of my abilities as a boxing coach and have never gone without Leonard. But they were good sports and at least sold the idea they were okay with me working their corner.

Bill Mertz, retired Olympian boxing coach and former coach for Oscar and Sammy, had agreed to be at the tournament to help me. Thank goodness, now I could relax and let Bill impose his wisdom while I could sit back and watch these guys go to work.

We made it in to town and to the weigh- ins without much incident. I had a full car going down, in addition to the 4 boxers, Amanda Mercado, Leonard’s niece and Virgil Green came along for moral support. On the drive down, however, I learned Sammy and Jorell ended up in the same weight class. A combination of miscommunications, and I had a slight wave a panic wash over me. Ordinarily, typically teammates don’t fight each other so this was going to be interesting. I thought maybe 3lbs would just melt off of Sammy on the drive down, getting him to the 132 class instead of having to compete at 141 where Jorell was.

Nope. To add to that, I was told Bill had gotten sick and wasn’t going to be able to make it. Just great. Luckily, Richard Miller, the coach from Bend graciously agreed to help me out.

At the coaches meeting I learned Joe had to fight once for the championship. Oscar would fight once for the championship. And as luck would have it, Sammy and Jorell ended up having to fight each other in the first round.

Thanks Leonard, for giving me an easy one for my first one. Luckily for me Jorell and Sammy are professionals and did a great job handling an uncomfortable situation. I ended up working Jorell’s corner with Richard and at the same time felt like a traitor seeing Sammy in the other corner with help from another coach. I hate when judges end up in a draw decision and I don’t know what that would have done for someone to advance, but maternal emotions took over and I didn’t want them to have to pick just one.

It was an exciting fight, and really what I had seen day after day in the gym from these two on sparing days. Sammy won the fight but it was a great loss for Jorell. I know that sounds silly but I was thrilled to see Jorell improve on things from his last fight a couple weeks prior in Tacoma.

Oscar’s fight wasn’t until the next night and Joe brought the night to a close as the last fight. He fought a tough guy from Vegas who he will likely see again. Joe beat him and did a great job keeping the pressure on the guy until the last bell even though they were both spent.

We woke up the next morning to several inches of snow. And snow falling. A lot. By the time we checked out we had about 4 hours to kill. The obvious choice was the Bend Fun Center. We were all hungry and to a bunch of guys who had to cut weight, Izzy’s needed to happen before we got our game on. I should also mention, we didn’t leave the hotel parking lot without Oscar breaking open a huge package of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and passing them around. A buffet dinner of pizza and friend chicken could only make this better. Virgil was scoping out the salad dressing, not for a salad of course, but to dip his pizza in, and discovered a new flavor. He asked the guys, “What does Lo-Cal taste like?”

The Fun Center was a good time killer. I learned a few things about the guys when we were there. If boxing doesn’t work out for Virgil, he has a career as a guitarist because he was giving Slash a lesson on Guitar Hero. Jorell likely sneaks off to arcades to get his fix of Dance Dance Revolution, because we had a hard time pulling him off it. And really the only one of us who can play pool is Virgil. Jorell could hold his own. Joe, Amanda, Sammy and I, suck. Big time. Thanks to Sammy who hit a jack pot on a Monopoly game, the guys were able to get a few fun prizes with all the tickets they won. A stuffed snake, a squishy ball with tentacles, and a tiara.

Back to business. Sammy fought a tough kid from Tacoma and in the first round suffered a mean body shot followed by several low blows throughout the fight. Even though Sammy didn’t win he’s still able to advance to Regional’s with Joe. We pulled the gloves off Sammy and right on to Oscar. Oscar was very busy during his fight and put together some scoring combinations. More than the other guy, at least I thought. The judges thought differently. I don’t want to sound like a biased fan, but I really did think Oscar scored more points. That’s boxing I guess.

Once we were out of Bend the roads improved and we were able to make decent time since there was no one on the road at midnight. Apparently, other things aren’t around at midnight either along Hwy 26, like an open gas station. Everyone slept for most of the ride home and I kept to myself about the gas situation. (Aside from the battle between Virgil & Oscar to take candid photos of each other while they slept.) But as the needle inched closer to the dreaded red section, I became anxious. Sammy was quietly sitting in the back seat and in view of the gauges, nervous, but also not wanting to give rise to the rest of the group. I starting imagining the wait along side the road in below freezing temperatures for, I’m not sure who, to come and get us. Luckily fumes got us to Sandy where I’m not sure I’ve ever been as happy as I was to see a 24hr AM/PM.

Even though we didn’t get the wins we were hoping for, everyone seemed to have a good time and fought hard. Good job guys! Keep up the training. Updates on future tournaments and the Regional Golden Gloves Tournament to follow. Check out the photos on Facebook!

Semi Finals-63rd Annual Tacoma Golden Gloves

Today started off early at 6am when Oscar and Cory Hill cut weight by turning our bathroom into a sauna. 30minutes later both guys were on weight and rested until 8am when they weighed in and checked with the doctor. The rest of the day was just resting until we headed to the Tacoma Dome. Oscar was set to fight in the semi finals in the 2nd bout of the night.

Once at the arena we realized how packed this fight would be. It was held at the Tacoma Dome on the side venue and it was nearly a full house. After a great first fight, Oscar was up.

The first round was a very good round for Oscar he definitely dominated the round with a great jab led by fast and hard flurries. The second round was a little different, with his opponent feeling he was behind after the first round he came out hard and put a lot of pressure on Oscar. I gave the round with a slight edge to Oscar's opponent.

The third and final round was very close and exciting both fighters were leaving it all in the ring and had the crowd going crazy. As the judges cards were being tallied the crowd began to chant who they thought had won the fight by the color of the corners they were in.

It was hard to tell who they actually thought won the fight and it seemed the crowd was split. I personally did not know who won the fight and could see it going either way. As it was Oscar was slightly out pointed. As it would turn out Oscar's opponent who was from Thurston PAL ended up winning the Championship the next night.

Fisticuffs was very proud of Oscar's performance and is looking forward to a rematch at the Oregon Golden Gloves tournament on the 18-and 19 of February in Bend Oregon.

63rd ANNUAL TACOMA GOLDEN GLOVES

Oscar Hernandez did Fisticuffs proud today at the Tacoma Boys and Girls Club where he won the 152lbs division quarter finals. Oscar had a tough fight against German Sosa of Ring Sport Gym. The fight could have been held in a phone booth where both fighter stood there and banged it out with each other for most of the rounds.

When Oscar created space between his opponent he was able to hurt Sosa. Oscar hit Sosa in the body that stopped him in his tracks. Given the face that Sosa made, he clearly didn't like when Oscar went to his body. In the middle of the third round, Oscar put together a combination that sent Sosa slamming into the ropes. If the ropes weren't there, I don't believe Sosa would have been able to stay on his feet.

With this win Oscar advances to the semi finals at the Tacoma Dome tomorrow. Oscar will know who he will be facing tomorrow in the semi finals after he makes weight at 8am.

Sammy Perez, Oscar Hernandez, Tom Mustin and Leonard Gabriel taking time for a photo after Oscar wins the quarter finals to the 63rd Annual Tacoma Golden Gloves.

Battle of the Boat 80 Fight Night!!

The day started a little late since Virgil and I couldn't sleep and stayed up late watching Bully Beat down until 2am in the morning. At about 11am we finally got up and went down stairs to eat brunch. Virgil looked and felt good. After breakfast we headed back to our room to rest until it was time to leave for the venue and see the doctor for the pre fight examination.

Once the doctor was done I wrapped Virgil's hands and we started to warm up. Virgil was scheduled for the second fight of the night. We started warming up and I knew just how Virgil was warming up that he was on already. His punches were crisp, hard and fast. Virgil was ready!! Final adjustments to Virgil's gloves before his bout.

Now it was time for Virgil. Once the first round started it was clear that Nalo Leal was here to fight, being a veteran of 13 pro fights it showed. Nalo came right at Virgil not afraid to exchange with him. Virgil's speed and movement was a little to much for Nalo but he continued to come after Virgil.

Virgil using his distance and speed that set the tone of the fight.

Virgil working the body of Nalo Leal.

Nalo was able to frustrate Virgil a little at the beginning of the fight because he kept holding Virgil, then proceeded to hit Virgil during the break. It wasn't long for Virgil to get back on track and out box Nalo for four straight rounds, shutting Nalo out by winning all four rounds by all judges 40-36, 40-36 and 40-36.

Virgil getting the victory to improve his record to 2-0, over a tough and game Nalo Leal.

It was an impressive fight for Virgil considering Virgil had fractured his right hand during the 2nd round and continued to fight at the pace he did and still win the fight against a very game and tough opponent in Nalo Leal.

Weigh ins for Battle of the Boat 80

The day started with Virgil and I going down to Fisticuffs where he had to cut 4.6lbs before we headed to Tacoma for his weigh in. Virgil who had to lose 8lbs for his last fight in November made easy work of loosing the 4.6lbs to jump on the scale at 139!!! He was a pound under in 50minutes and we were off to Tacoma.

The ride down was uneventful, Virgil rested while I drove us there UNTIL, I missed the exit to the Casino. We tried going to the next exit and turn around but that didn't work so well with traffic and a blocking accident, we were running late. While we were trying to find the Casino, the match maker called and asked where we were. We were now 30min late for the weigh ins.

After finally making to the Casino Virgil completed his paper work and jumped on the scale. Right away it was immediately evident that Virgil had a major reach advantage. Virgil who is 6"2" towered over Nalo who is 5'6". After the weigh ins we dropped our bags in our room and headed to the buffet.

Nalo Leal, 139lbs. (left). Virgil Green, 140lbs. (right).

While we were eating I asked Virgil what he thought Nalo was thinking after standing next to him. Virgil said I don't know why don't you ask him he's right behind you. A few minutes later Nalo came to our table with two plates of deserts. He put a piece of cake on the table and told Virgil he brought a little something to fatten him up with.

When Nalo left the table I looked at the plate and told Virgil, "I guess he thinks your a piece of cake!" At that time I saw fire in Virgil's eyes (Hahaha, I like to fan the flames). Virgil just shook his head and said, "Damn!" Virgil didn't have to say anything more, I already knew that Nalo had just poked at the bee's nest by bringing that piece of cake to the table!!!!!

Virgil Green Fights at Battlle of the Boat 80, Emerald Queen Casino, Tacoma Wa. Jan.8th, 2011

Virgil Green 1-0, of Vancouver, Wa. (Fisticuffs) to fight Nalo Leal, 3-9-1 of Arlington, Wa. in 4 round bout. This is to be Virgil's 2nd professional bout. Virgil has been training hard and very prepared for this fight. Good luck Luck Virgil!!!

Virgil Green, Aka: The Black Mamba getting ready to strike Jan 8th, 2011 at the Emerald Queen Casino. Nalo Leal (right), in gold and black trunks will test his skills against Virgil Green of Fisticuffs.