For the last time this year, Thompson Boxing Promotions held their event called “New Blood” at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, and had a stellar cast of characters. All of the fighters in the blue corner were undefeated when they walked to the ring, except for one fighter who was making his professional debut, and that man won his bout. And even though the main event was the only split decision of the night, they all remained undefeated.

That strong main event saw a bantamweight NABF title fight scheduled for 10 rounds between Efrain Esquivias (15-0, 9 KOs) going up against Fernando Beltran, Jr. (35-7-1, 19 KOs). Beltran came out strong in the opener, and actually was the aggressor. Esquivias threw punches, but Fernando seemed the most effective.

Beltran still strong in the second, but Efrain was much stronger here than in the first. Both men made their punches count, in what seemed to be an even round. Esquivias came out a lot tougher in the third, but Fernando wouldn’t let Efrain walk all over him, and really held his own. A good fight going on here.

Round four and Beltran was really trying to get the win. Efrain was extremely effective with that powerful right hand of his when he could fight in close, but Fernando was really trying to keep his opponent at a distance. Same in the fifth. Some head butting going on, but so far no harm. Esquivias was still the stronger puncher but Beltran is the aggressor, by far.

Sixth round and the same action. This was a good battle, with neither man backing down. The power shots were probably going to Efrain, but everything else should go Fernando’s way. Nothing changed in the seventh, and these men were giving their all.

Early into the eighth round a sharp right by Esquivias dropped Beltran. Efrain tasted blood and went in for the kill. He was not able to finish him off however, and we went into round nine. Same action here, with Esquivias making his shots count. Fernando was still game and going for all the glory. I have to say again that this was a very good fight.

The tenth and final saw the same non-stop action. Nobody rested during this fight, as both men pushed the envelope in their quest to win. We went to the scorecards and got a split decision in this hard-fought contest; 97-92 for Esquivias, 95-94 for Beltran, and 96-93 for Esquivias, making Efrain the new NABF Bantamweight Champion.

Miguel Diaz (7-0, 3 KOs) was set to battle Felipe Castaneda (6-3-1, 3 KOs) in a super flyweight match scheduled for six rounds. A good first round here from two tough fighters. The action continued for round two. Just when Diaz looked to be controlling the fight, Castaneda would answer back with some shots to the head of Miguel.

Round three was all Diaz, as he spent his time teeing off on Felipe. A very strong round for Miguel. In the fourth Castaneda was able to get in a few more shots. The only problem was that Diaz continued to land his blows as well, and at a faster rate.

The work rate did not slow down much in the fifth round. Both fighters were throwing punches, but Diaz was still the more efficient. In the sixth and final, the punches slowed down a bit from both fighters, but they had kept up a strong pace and were no doubt getting a little tired. We had to go to the scorecards, and the judges saw it 59-55, 59-55, and 58-56, giving the unanimous decision to Diaz.

The women took to the ring in a junior flyweight fight scheduled for four two-minute rounds as Sindy Amador (6-0, 1 KO) went up against Blanca Raymundo (0-5). Yes, it looked really one-sided on paper, but both women came out strong. Raymundo suffered a cut in the aggressive first round due to an accidental head butt.

Round two continued to see action from both fighters. In the third however, Amador took control of the fight completely. She was getting in most of her punches, dishing out a boxing lesson to Blanco..

In the fourth Amador suffered a small cut, but continued her onslaught. Raymundo finished strongly at the end of round four, but it was not enough to stop Sindy. We went to the scorecards, and the judges saw it 40-36, 40-36 and 39-37 all for Amador.

Lightweights Sergio Nunez (4-0-1, 2 KOs) faced Robert Ortiz (7-4-1, 3 KOs). This was scheduled for four rounds. Round one was full of action, as both men came out fighting, and continued to throw punches throughout the round.

It was the same in the second, as the two fighters kept up the pace, exchanging blows almost the entire three minutes. Ortiz’ nickname is “Scrappy” and he was living up to that. In round three Nunez was getting in the better punches, but Ortiz was game and really tried to fight.

The fight did go the distance, and even though Sergio was the more accomplished fighter, Robert never gave up. He proved to be a tough little warrior. We went to the scorecards; 39-37, 39-37, and 40-36 all for Nunez. But make no mistake, Ortiz has nothing to be ashamed of, he fought a good fight.

Two welterweights were making their professional debut, as Joshua Conley went up against Eduardo Hernandez in a fight scheduled for four rounds. Conley looked to be the much more relaxed fighter in the first, and because of that he was able to find his target a lot more.

Round two saw Joshua keep connecting and Eduardo keep coming like a bull dog. Hernandez would not back up, even though he was taking some punishment. In the third a wicked right hook by Conley put Hernandez down and out at :40 of round three. Put that one in the win column for Conley.

The first fight of the night was scheduled for four rounds in the middleweight division, and was between Brandon Adams (4-0, 2 KO), matching wits with Raymundo Inda (0-3-1). Adams started off with some good left-handed body shots, and continued to connect with those throughout. His right hand would then find Inda’s head.

Round two was a bit better round for Inda. By that I mean he did connect with some punches. Make no mistake, Adams was still the more effective fighter. The third showed even more action from Raymundo. In what at first looked like and easy win, Inda was now making Brandon work for it.

Adams came back strong in the final round. After blazing through most of round four, a right hand by Brandon put Inda down on one knee, and the fight was waved off by referee David Denkin at 2:00 of that last round, giving Adams the victory.

So we closed the door on the 2011 season at the Doubletree for Thompson Boxing Promotions, and did so with a bang. The main event was super, with Esquivias having to really work for his win and Beltran giving a great account of himself. As Ken Thompson told me later, his stock just went up.

Keep and eye on Ortiz. While his record is not stellar, his nickname says it all. He is “Scrappy” and is exciting to watch. Conley was impressive in his pro debut and I expect a lot more from him.

Next Thompson Boxing Promotions fight in Ontario is in February. Do plan to attend.


Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb.