MarvNation in Pico Rivera

MarvNation a Hit in Pico Rivera's Smith Park

By Sophia Reyes

PICO RIVERA, Ca.-Under some visible stars on a summer night Boxfest 7 took place for the first time, deep in the suburban town of Pico Rivera on Saturday. Few were disappointed.

The outdoor pro boxing event at Smith Park consisted of 5 dramatic bouts which featured the USA debut of the pride of Pico Rivera, 18-year-old Nathan Rodriquez (9-0) who was victorious by way of KO at 2:11 into round one against 35 year old Moises Flores (25-8-1) in the main event.

It was a big night for Pico Rivera, as hundreds of fans watched what was supposed to be an eight-round featherweight bout. “Chucky” Flores stepped into the ring holding a frightening toy doll, while Rodriquez was escorted into the ring by a flashing police car and the entire crowd standing in honor of his entrance.

The first and only round was brief, but telling that the age difference and the doll wasn’t the only mismatch in the big time brawl, the boxers were also mismatched in skill. Rodriquez aka "El Morenito" showed perfect textbook technique paired with powerful punches while Flores showed uncoordinated form and over-extended punches.

Flores was downed first by a right uppercut hook combo which pushed hard into his head causing him to tumble to the ground. Rodriquez used the same combo again except this time he shuffled into a power cross. Flores swayed for a moment then collapsed to the floor. The triumphant hometown hero celebrated the KO with his corner which included Gloria “Coach G” Alvarado, his trailblazing female trainer, and a medal presented to him in the ring by the Mayor of Pico Rivera, CA.

The co-main event was an engaging matchup between two Mexican super lightweight warriors as Alejandro "Pin-Pon" Reyes (9-0 5 KO’s) beat Raymundo "Ruso" Ríos (4-9-2 3 KOS) Reyes by unanimous decision.

“I am always trying to put on a good show, that’s what everyone wants to see,” Reyes said.

And that’s exactly what the Westside Boxing star did. Reyes dominated the middle of the ring while Rios seemed to be most comfortable with his back to the ropes. In rounds one and two, each boxer showed supreme focus through their perfectly executed punches, Rios displayed a low crouching style that he would use to execute level changing blows while Reyes delivered stinging double jabs, a notable hammering left body shot, and a double hook to the head. Both fighters showed skill in deflecting and redirecting punches.

At the end of round two, the boxers exchanged a taunting glove dance one after the other. In round three, the contenders exchanged power crosses and Reyes struck with a beautiful combo right before the third round bell. It was clear on the boxers' faces that their determination to win grew stronger as the fight progressed. Fighting through fatigue, rounds four and five consisted of heaping overhand rights by Rios and a powerful one two combo by Reyes which threw Rios against the ropes. Exciting whole hearted flurries were exchanged, but by round six Rios grew so tired that he began to hold his opponents waist. As the crowd screamed “more”, Reyes used heavy hard hitting punches to finish the fight strong. The judges voted 59 to 55 and 60 to 54 all in favor of Team Pin-Pon.

Other bouts

Hard hitting Keith “Danger” Carson (1-6-1) won by split decision against flashy Hongke Zeng (1-1) in the first super lightweight four round bout of the evening. Hailing from China, Zeng displayed a chin up coolness type fighting style. Many times throughout the fight Zeng performed a showy footwork and glove dance. At first this frustrated Carson, who received a scolding from the referee. But then in a dramatic turn Carson took advantage of Zeng’s flashy dancing style and landed a heavy cross right in the middle of Zeng’s dance routine. Carson also landed numerous jarring jabs, and had Zeng against the ropes most of the fight. It became clear that Zeng did not know how to escape, and Carson once again took advantage.

“What worked for me was being first and third in the punch exchange,” Carson said.

Crowd favorite Jacob Macalolooy (3-0 2 KO’s) defeated New Orlean’s Josue Zamora (1-1- 1KOs ) by unanimous decision in the four round page turning welterweight battle of the evening. Macalolooy used impressive head movement to dodge his opponents punches then throw an impressive counter. Even though Zamora was able to get some notable punches in, he let his opponents' constant smiling get the better of him and lost focus which made him walk straight into all of Zamora’s jabs.

In the final round, Zamora ripped a brutal shot to the body and had his opponent tumble over from a flurry against the ropes. The fight continued for a few seconds and then it was all over and the scorecards read 40-35, 39-36, 39-36 all in favor of Union City’s Jacob Macalolooy.

Scott "The One" Alexander (17-5-2-9KO’s) defeated Jaime Solorio (12-5-2 9KOS) in the only eight round heavyweight bout of the evening. Alexander's reach advantage over Solorio caused the Mexican fighter to lay his head on his opponent's chest and counter with body shots. Even though Solorio showed good effort and stamina, his punches lacked power.

In the second round Alexander threw a vicious body shot that left Solorio hurt. Round three featured decent inside game and a fast impressive flurry by Solorio.The end of round three non stop level changing blows from each fighter. After the third round bell, the referee made Solorio walk and decided he was unfit to continue the fight. Scott "The One'' Alexander went home with The W.