Haro headlines FFC card; Ruiz versus Owens an intriguing MMA co-main

 

Mixed martial arts fighter Joel Haro, of Herriman, is the headline name for Fierce Fighting Championship 49's Saturday night MMA card at the Maverik Center, in West Valley. Haro, 7-2, who is on a two-bout win streak, takes on Canada's Suileman Bouhata,15-10, in a professional featherweight bout scheduled for three rounds. The Canadian won a modified cage/boxing match last fall in Canada but has not competed in MMA since 2021, when he suffered a defeat.

The co-main three-round bout has intrigued combat sports gyms in Utah. Featherweights Julian Ruiz, 7-2, and Ha'va Nathan Owens, 4-5, are matched. Both are young veterans who have enjoyed recent success. More on these two later in this article.

In another pro MMA bout, lightweight Sergio Mamone Jr., makes his pro debut against Washington's pro debuting Andrew Martinez. Mamone fights in Utah often but lives in Hawaii. He had an impressive MMA amateur career. Mamone also made a successful pro boxing debut recently in Ogden. Martinez is 4-0 as an amateur but has not competed for three years.

The other pro bout matches featherweight Teague Vigil, 4-4 against Nevada's Desmond Manabat, 4-7.

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Utah Fight Game interviewed both Ruiz, of Salt Lake City, and Owens, of Ogden. Below are their responses. (The photos below, in order, are of Owens and Ruiz.

UTAH FIGHT GAME: What's your typical training day like?

RUIZ: Monday and Friday I train 2-3 times; Thursday I only train in afternoon. I always finish with Saturday morning workout, then take rest of weekend off.

OWENS: My typical training day will have at least two training sessions. The first session will either be a strength, or cardio workout. The second session will either be Jiu Jitsu, boxing or kickboxing; a minimum of four miles roadwork every day as well.

UTAH FIGHT GAME: Who is training you? Who are you sparring with. 

RUIZ: The Pit, (and) Agema Jiu Jitsu and MMA. (And) a few different boxing coaches. My head coach (at gym) is Ramsey Nijem and my other coach is Dayne Aristizabal.

OWENS: My coaches are Eduardo Mori and Ernest Chavez. My sparring partners are a handful of talented competitors, Alex Johnson, Ryder Campo, Van Woods, and many others.

UTAH FIGHT GAME: What do you know about your opponent? Do you have a style of fighting that differs with him?

RUIZ: He's experienced and he's down to scrap. He's well known around here. People talk highly of him, so I know he's a good guy. And (he) works hard. Our styles are similar. I'm just the 2.0 version. He's good with his hands but not on my level. I can't wait to show.

OWENS: What I know about my opponent is that he has power and is dangerous at any moment. My style of fight that I have set for him, however, is a perfect counter to his more power-heavy approach.

UTAH FIGHT GAME: Where do you hope to be a year from now in your career?

RUIZ: A year from now I'd love to be in Contender Series or in talks to fight across seas! (I'm) taking it all the way!

OWENS: I hope to see myself on a larger stage, against higher-caliber opponents, testing myself to my absolute limits to reach the best version of myself.

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There are several amateur, mostly three, three-minute round contests, a couple for FFC championships They are:

- James Prescott vs Jett Swain, for the FFC Amateur Middleweight belt. (Five rounds)

- Hunter Birdsley vs Parker Abegglen, heavyweights.

- London Van Camp vs Chris Vandermyle, lightweights

- David Moctezuma vs Eric Lazo, lightweights

- Nicole Fuga vs Ashley Green, 150 pounds

- Morgun Colledge vs Chris Ventura, 150 pounds

- Brady Gourson vs Joseph Marshall, 155 pounds

- and for the FFC Amateur Featherweight belt, Taylor Carvalho vs Rey Lee (Five rounds)

Tickets are available online from the promoter FFC and the Maverik Center website. The Maverik Center address is 3200 South Decker Lake Drive in West Valley. The gates open Saturday at 4 p.m. Bouts begin about 5 p.m. Fierce Fighting Championships has a Facebook page but make sure it's legitimate because spoofers try to clone it.

- Doug Gibson 

SLC's Nguyen sole local on April 4 pro boxing card at Fullmer Boxing Club with international appeal

 

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This Saturday, April 4th at Fullmer Boxing Club, 10960 S Park Rd, in South Jordan, Utah, Ardian Cuka is promoting a professional boxing card that features four undefeated European boxers, three from Albania. Matchmaker is Jason DeCarlo.

The sole Utah fighter on the card is undefeated Salt Lake City super lightweight Dillan Nguyen (seen above in photo, at left, fighting Ricky Mamone, in Ogden. The bout was a draw.) Nguyen, 2-0-1 fights Nick Steven Torres-Otero, 4-3-2, from Puerto Rico. It is a four-round bout.

There are two ten-round bouts. The main bout features undefeated Albanian pro boxer Arjon Kajoshi, 17-0, against Charles Shinima, 20-4, from Namibia. They are super middleweights.

The other 10-round bout matches undefeated Albanian cruiserweight Mikel Cullhaj, 12-0, versus Bruno Knjezevic, 13-5, from Croatia.

In an 8-round bout light heavyweight Aleksander Ramo, 16-0, the interim Italian light heavyweight champion, fights veteran Francisco Cordero, 47-25, from Columbia.

In a six-round bout, undefeated middleweight Alban Beqiri, 16-0, from Albania, fights Cristian Vaduva, 6-5, Romanian born who fights out of Germany.

The BoxRec fight card is here. 

To learn more about the card, titled Legacy of Nations, go to the Cuka Boxing website here.

Doors open at 5 p.m. Bouts start at 6 p.m. It is considered a VIP only event with a dress code of Black Tie (Creative). There is a pay per view link on the website.

More information on the card is at the Fight Chatter Substack Page. 

-- Utah Fight Game

Flores, Alexander, Rodriguez among winners at Rival Series 4 pro boxing card

 

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OGDEN, UT -- In a packed boxing card at Ogden, Utah's Golden Spike exhibit hall, pro boxers Samuel Flores, Isaiah Rodriguez and Demetrius Alexander were among winners in the nine bouts.

Super featherweight Rodriguez, of Ogden (seen above in photo at right), improved his record to 4-3 with a second-round stoppage over Cruz Guadalupe Carbajal (at left). Rodriguez outpunched Carbajal consistently and had him reeling when the bout was stopped midway through round 2. 

In a welterweight bout Ogden's Flores, one of the top amateur boxers in the nation, won his pro debut with a one-punch KO over journeyman Shane Bridges. Flores boxed carefully for nearly a minute and then threw a hard left hook that sent Bridges into the corner, semi-conscious. The bout was stopped at 58 seconds. 

(Both photos below, of a triumphant Flores on the ring rope, and with trainer Jason Tafoya, are courtesy of Tommy Presnell.)

Flores in the post-bout interview showed charisma, entertaining the crowd with his remarks and enthusiasm. According to Charles Presnell's The Fight Chatter, Flores sold $20,000 worth of tickets for the Rival Series IV event, from All Hearts Promotion. 

From this reporter's perspective, this seemed the highest attending All Heart Promotion to date. (It was announced afterwards that the fight had sold out the arena.)

In an intriguing match between Northern Utah cruiserweights, Demetrius Alexander won a four-round unanimous decision over boxer/trainer Shon Cross. The shorter Alexander, 4-3, was able to occasionally get inside the guard and jab of the taller Cross, 1-2, to have the edge in rounds one, three and four. Cross had a better second round, stifling Alexander and using his strength to score some body shots. 

(Photo below from bout with Alexander, at left, and Cross is courtesy of Tommy Presnell.)

In what may have been the fight of the night, super lightweights Dillan Nguyen, 2-0-1, and debuting Ricky Mamone, fought a four-round draw. Nguyen possessed strong ring generalship, but Mamone was relentless in his pressure. In round four an unintentional butt opened up a bad cut on Nguyen's forehead that bled heavily.

The cards were 39-37 for both fighters and one tally of 38-38. This reporter scored the fight 40-38 for Nguyen. However, during the break this reporter encountered fans who strongly disagreed, feeling Mamone had deserved the win. Hopefully, there will be a rematch for both these fine fighters. 

Another Mamone scored a win. Super welterweight Sergio Mamone, 1-0, gradually took charge over Ogden's John Castro, 1-1, dominating the last two rounds to win a four-round decision.

Undefeated Northern Utah boxer Isaiah Velazco, 2-0, won all four rounds over a tough but outmatched Kaeo Meyer, 0-3. Both were super welterweights.

(Photo from fight below that shows Velazco pressuring Meyer is again courtesy of Tommy Presnell.)

Middleweight Bobby Tabile of Salt Lake City moved to 4-0 with a tough four-round win over awkward but troublesome southpaw Slava Mayzus. The San Francisco boxer landed his share of punches but Tabile was more consistent. Scores were 40-36 and 39-37 twice.

In an exciting bout, super lightweight Zaden Clark of Butte Mont., lost a unanimous four round decision to former noted amateur Utah boxer Emmanuel Aldair Gonzales Secion, 2-0. Gonzales was never in serious danger of losing, but Clark gained fans' respect with his aggressive style and resiliency. On a couple of occasions Clark survived barrages of punches that wobbled him. He also had success with left and right punches that opened up cuts on Gonzales Secion.

In a bout between debuting super featherweights, Eduardo Samarripa Godinez scored a split decision win over Emilio Lopez.

On the March 7, 2026 card, seven of the nine four-round bouts both went the distance and all were competitive in varying degrees. And both Flores and Rodrigues scored entertaining, impressive stoppages. Credit goes to matchmaker Jason DeCarlo and promoter Monica DeCarlo for providing an excellent, quality card for Utah boxing fans.

-- Doug Gibson, at ringside

Alexander v Cross among bouts March 7 at Ogden's Golden Spike Exhibit Hall

 

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(Update: link to stream card via PPV below) On Feb. 21, 2025, light heavyweight boxer Demetrius Alexander, (above) who fights out of Salt Lake City, fought on the inaugural pro boxing Rival Series card, which is part of Ogden-based All Heart Promotions. 

That night, Alexander scored a four-round decision against a tricky, unorthodox opponent, Slava Mayzus. It took Alexander a couple of rounds to figure out Mayzus, but he finished the second half of the bout strongly.

This Saturday night, at Rival Series IV, at Ogden's Golden Spike Exhibit Hall, 1000 N., 1200 West, Ogden, Utah, Alexander returns to the ring in an intriguing local bout. He faces Shon Cross, of Sandy, in a four-round tussle. Cross, a trainer and gym owner, launched his pro boxing career in 2025. He's fought twice on Rival Series cards, winning his pro debut and losing via decision in his last fight.

"Training has been going great," Alexander told Utah Fight Game. "With my opponent not wanting to cut weight I've been able to train and stay healthy the entire camp."

Alexander's head coach for training is Joe Bish at Die Standing gym. "Typically, I'm training six to seven times a week, sparring, strength and conditioning, swimming, as well as incorporating time for recovery," added Alexander.

Utah Fight Game notes that Cross has shown a good jab and resiliency in his two bouts. Alexander says he's prepared to challenge Cross. "My opponent is taller and wants to keep the distance so I'm looking to take away his jab and close the gap," he said.

It's been more than a year since Alexander fought. (More on the reason why below) He is eager to be more active. I always told myself I'd like to get to 10 fights and see where it goes from here. This is fight number 7 (Alexander is 3-3) and I'm feeling in a good place so we will see what the rest of 2026 has in store," Alexander said.

Another bout matches local Isaiah Velazco against Kaeo Meyer. Velazco, a super welterweight, scored an impressive pro debut KO win. Meyer is 0-2.

Also, experienced Ogden super featherweight Isaiah Rodriguez, 3-3, fights Cruz Guadalupe Carbajal. He is 0-6 but lost a majority decision in a Rival Series card last year.

Undefeated local boxer Bobby Tabile, 3-0, faces a tough test when he fights the aforementioned Mayzus, 1-2-1, who as reported gave Alexander a tough bout last year. It will be a middleweight four rounder.

In a featherweight bout, Samuel Flores makes his pro debut against Shane Bridges, 1-6.

Jason DeCarlo of All Heart Promotions serves as matchmaker for the Rival Series cards. "I feel like these are the best matches we've had yet. I'm looking forward to the show."

DeCarlo points to a super lightweight bout between Dillan Nguyen, 2-0, and pro debuting Ricky Mamone as a potential "fight of the night." ... "Bobby and Slava will be a great fight too," DeCarlo added.

Other bouts on the card include super lightweights Emmanuel Aldair Gonzalez Secion, 1-0, versus Zaden Clark, making his pro debut. And super lightweight John Castro, 1-0, fights debuting Sergio Mamone. Both Castro and Gonzalez Secion scored wins last year on previous Rival Series cards.

AND BACK TO ALEXANDER

The reason Demetrius Alexander has not boxed since the premiere Rival Series card is because he has become a father. He and his wife Taylor have a son who just turned eight months old.

"Being a dad is amazing. I genuinely enjoy being a dad and when I get to look back with my son when he's older I'll get to tell him about my glory days a bit!" Alexander said.

Saturday night doors open at 6 p.m. The boxing matches start at 7 p.m. at the Golden Spike Exhibit Hall. Advance tickets are $85 for VIP, $95 at gate. Tables for eight are $1,000. Tickets can be obtained from boxers or from All Heart Gym,1968 N 2000 West, Farr West, UT, 84404. E-mail is allheartboxingshows@gmail.com.

To stream the boxing carrd on March 7th at 7 p.m. MST, use this link. The charge is $14.99.

-- Doug Gibson

Talking about the boxing movie Rocky

 

By Doug Gibson

Over the first weekend of 2026, I watched a Rocky marathon on AMC. It brought back pleasant memories of the franchise, which I've enjoyed nearly 50 years. This post will focus mostly on Rocky, the (deserved) Best Picture Oscar winner in 1977. But most of the rest of the films are good. Rocky 2 is a bit derivative, but fun. Rocky 3 is rollicking fun, a combination of the old Saturday morning thrillers and comic books. Rocky 4 is delightful Cold War kitsch; the final half is mostly a series of montage music videos, so very '80s. The less said about Rocky 5 the better, but the much later entry Rocky Balboa is surprisingly good. A scene where Rocky reproves -- with love -- his self-pitying son is among the best in the series. The Creed series is great too, and it's not over yet.

But let's get back to the original, Rocky. I'm amazed at how compelling, well acted and atmospheric it is; shot low-budget in the streets of Philadelphia, its biggest strength is the humility, empathy, and kindness of its protagonist, ham-n-egger boxer Rocky Balboa, (Sylvester Stallone) a lonely athlete who shelved his dreams of fistic fame to be a reluctant "thumb-breaker" for a loan shark. Rocky doesn't like who he is, but he treats other kindly; in fact, he goes out of his way to do so. He effects a tough-guy persona, but it's not him.

Here's some examples:

Early in the film, Rocky kindly attempts to mentor a young teen neighborhood girl drifting into street life. He cares about her future and in his unique street-syntac way tries to counsel her. She disses him in the end. It's poignant that as Rocky walks away he only has criticism for himself, not the girl.

Rocky makes daily visits to chat with a shy, wallflower-type woman named Adrian (Talia Shire), who works at a pet store. Her self worth is very low and she lacks the courage to mostly respond to him. Yet, Rocky, in his earnest, clumsy way, is attracted to her, and senses she likes him. As Rocky leaves, Adrian's enthusiastic final goodbye provides a hint of future romance.

Rocky's graciousness extends to his surprise invitation to meet boxing champ Apollo Creed's promoter. He's deferential and humble, asking the secretary for the invitation card back (scrapbook?). The sequence where he works to sell himself as a sparring partner for Creed to a bemused Miles Jergens is powerful. It underscores Rocky's yearning to be more than he is. His initial "no" upon learning the offer is to box Creed for the championship reveals his humble, practical side. At that point in time he knows he'd be slaughtered by the champ.

That leads to the best scene in Rocky, where gym owner and trainer Mickey offers his services to prepare Rocky for the title fight. Until then, Mickey (Burgess Meredith) has been harsh to Rocky, taking away his locker at the gym, and generally being short-tempered with him. But one never senses Mickey hates Rocky; his anger is tinged with disappointment. When Rocky presses him, Mickey erupts. He yells at Rocky, telling him he threw away his potential to become a "legbreaker" for a cheap crook. Rocky's reply is classic in its simplicity: "It's a living." Mickey replies, "It's a waste of life."

Back to the scene. We learn that Mickey's life has been discouraging too. He sees in training Rocky a chance to have his shot. Mickey's humble request brings out repressed resentment from Rocky. In the superb scene, Rocky rebuffs Mickey. As Mickey continues, Rocky, back to Mickey, loses his temper. Rocky's pent-up rant spills out for a long time, continuing as a defeated Mickey leaves his studio apartment and walks the street. The climax of the scene again reveals Rocky's humanity. He follows Mickey down the block and catches him. Mickey flinches for a split second but Rocky puts his arm around him. The audience can't hear but you know he's accepting his help.

Some other scenes include Rocky gently letting Adrian know what a pretty woman she is on their Thanksgiving date. Another is Rocky in the gym, seeing Adrian's jealous but cowardly brother Paulie (Burt Young). Paulie had earlier caused drunken havoc at Adrian's home, threatening Rocky. Rocky had easily repelled him. But it was an ugly scene. At the gym Rocky's forgiving nature again reveals itself, allowing Mickey to earn $3,000 by arranging to have his work place an ad on his entrance robe for the big fight.

More scenes: In the opening club fight, Rocky, in the corner between rounds, takes time to assure a bet-happy bum he can KO his opponent in the next round. In another, Rocky, working for the loan shark, disobeys his boss and does not break the thumbs of a debt-ridden bet loser who hasn't paid. Finally, I like the quiet dignity of Rocky, alone in the arena the day before the fight, telling condescending promoter Jergens that his trunk's colors are wrong on the poster. Jergens feels it's no big deal, telling Rocky he'll "put on a good show."

By the way, my favorite two seconds in the big fight is a camera cut away to Jergens in Round 2. He is puffing on a cigar in Row 1, eyes fixed, with an understated shocked look on his face that the club-fighting underdog has Creed on the ropes and is tagging him right on the chin. 

One more thing: The ensuing bout between Rocky and Creed (Carl Weathers), while over the top, is quite realistic. You can imagine a real fight like that. As the franchise went on, Rocky's ensuing fights became absurd, unrealistic slugfests.

Also, Stallone's Rocky hides his embarrassment at "cheap shots" from insulting TV sports journalists by being blustery and witty at the end of a TV interview. The night before the bout, he confesses to Adrian going the distance is more important than winning. If he does that, he'll know he wasn't just another bum from the neighborhood.

Here's two paragraphs for boxing nerds like me: Rocky calls himself a club fighter to Jergens, and it's true that the opening fight in the film is a club card. Rocky nets less than $40 for the win. But was Rocky always a club fighter? I say no. His record is listed as 44 wins and 20 losses. That is the record of a good journeyman heavyweight. When they choose Rocky as an opponent, although unmentioned, Jergens and Creed are perusing a record book of decent to great heavyweights. Rocky's in there. I think Rocky was until very recently a working, main-bout heavyweight, winning more than not but losing the bouts against contenders and top prospects. To sum up, I think he's given up his career dreams to work for a loan shark but still loves the sport enough to fight in the clubs. That underscores Mickey's irritation at him early in film.

So why am I ruminating such poppycock? Because I think an excellent prequel series on Rocky Balboa could be a streamer series or movie. We could see Rocky as a young prospect, his early hopes and then the ensuing discouragement of losing to top heavies of the previous decade: Sonny Listen, Floyd Patterson, Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, Jimmy Ellis, even Joe Frazier? I heard a Rocky prequel might be in works, but I doubt they'd take this appoach.

A lively night of amateur boxing at Foley's gym

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On October 25th in Ogden, Utah, Foley's gym hosted an amateur fight card. The gym was packed and fans enjoyed 23 bouts, two bouts were walkovers. There are many locations in Utah that host great amateur cards. However, Utah Fight Game was there so here is a list of winners: (Above are photos of the 170-pound bout between Austin Gussie (Foley's gym) and Luis Torres (Fight City. Below are photos of a bout between 180-pounders Luciano Salazar (Foley's gym) and Scott Roberts (Fullmer's). Gussie has a white shirt and Salazar has red trunks).

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So on with the results:

147 pounds: Ben Zimmerman (Die Standing) decisioned AJ Karali (Louis Boxing)

90 pounds: Joseph Gomez (Gomez KO Boxing) won via walkover

70 pounds: Marcelo Renteria (Razor's Edge) won via walkover

125 pounds: Johnny Gonzalez (Foley's gym) decisioned Korban Green (Southern Utah Boxing)

110 pounds: Eli Preciado (FADN Boxing) decisioned Gasper Gerrero (DEORUM)

135 pounds: Jourdan Gonzalez (Razor's Edge) decisioned David Gonzalez (Foley's gym)

130 pounds: Ryan Cervantes (Deorum) decisioned Christopher Nova (City Center)

162 pounds: Brendan Rochet (Foley's gym) defeated Aaron Lugo (Independent)

112 pounds: Giovani Lopez (Deorum) decisioned Miguel Baristain (Los Gallitos)

135 pounds: Parker Preator (Foley's gym) decisioned Alexi Jimenez (Roots Boxing)

100 pounds: Julian Garcia (Boxfit) defeated Jayden Mirada (Palafox)

180 pounds: Luciano Salazar (Foley's gym) decisioned Scott Roberts (Fullmer's')

180 pounds: Alan Revolorio (Razor's Edge) defeated Alfonso Chavez (Tafoya's)

170 pounds: Austin Gussie (Foley's gym) decisioned Luis Torres (Fight City)

135 pounds: Eli Tinney (Legends Cache Valley) defeated Dujon Sharrer (Foley's gym)

130 pounds: Salvador Rosales (City Center) defeated defeated Dylan Benites (Deorum)0

125 pounds: Alan Gallegos (Deorum) defeated Damien Murdock (Foley's gym). (NOTE: UTAH FIGHT GAME considered this bout "the fight of the night.")

145 pounds: (women's bout) Abby Ferrell (Legends) defeated Dawson Harvey (Legends Cache Valley)

155 pounds: Cesar Garcia (Palafox) defeated Ben Gill (Foley's gym)

155 pounds: Dylan Endo (Fight City) defeated Jordan Weiler (Foley's gym)

110 pounds: Emmanuel Soria (Palafox) defeated Edgar Praciado (FADN Boxing)

185 pounds: Abe Maldonado (Foley's gym) decisioned Cameron Jeppson (Legends Cache Valley)

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Utah Fight Game missed the final three bouts: 135 pounds: Daniel Star (Gomez KO Boxing) versus Luis Fernando Rios (Fight City); 147 pounds: Juan Maya (Los Gallitos) versus Andrew Christiansen (Gomez KO Boxing); and 170 pounds: Tristan Pinot (Fight City) versus Tristan Carreon (Legends). We will add those results when obtained. We have reached out to the promotion.

Dave Foley hosted and matched the card to a full house. USA Boxing Utah officiated. Pat Nielsen was the announcer. Names of boxers are as listed on card below.

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Avelos, Tabile, Gutierrez among winners at Ogden boxing card

 

It was a good night for pro boxing in Ogden, Utah, on Friday September 26 as five of six bouts at Rival Series 3 (All Heart Promotions) were competitive fights that went the distance. 

It wasn't the main event, but it can be argued that a bout the large crowd at The Golden Spike Event Center enjoyed the most was a four-round junior middleweight fight between Northern Utahns -- and former amateur rivals -- Bobby Tabile and Eligio Hernandez Jr. (In the photo above Tabile is seen landing a right hand). To use a cliche, the fight was a war, particularly in the second and fourth rounds.

Tabile, 2-0, took a unanimous decision over his rival, 1-2. However, both fighters landed a lot of leather and had their moments. After Tabile took the first round, Hernandez rebounded to win the second. As mentioned, both fighters scored well but the difference was Tabile's punches were straighter, often landing in between Hernandez's more wider shots. Tabile, who had cruised through his first two fights, passed a tough test tonight, beating a fighter whose gone the distance in all his fights. Hernandez looked much improved from an earlier decision win this year over Jacob Diaz. Scores were 40-36, and 39-37 twice. Utah Fight Game scored it 39-37 for the winner. A six-round rematch woud be interesting. (More photos of fight are below)

AVELOS DEFEATS ANTONIO CERVANTES

Speaking of six round fights, the two co-mains were slated for that distance. In the main bout, Carson City, Nev., lightweight Christian Avelos (see above at left) scored a narrow unanimous decision over Northern Utah boxer Dyllon Antonio Cervantes. It was a match between the boxer (Avelos) and the aggresive, moving forward, slugging Antonio Cervantes.

It was a close fight with Antonio Cervantes wearing down Avelos and stunning him with a left hook in the sixth round. However, there were too many instances of the boxer Avelos, who had an excellent left jab, counterpunching strongly, landing several punches in a row. The three judges scored the bout 58-56. Utah Fight Game scored it 58-57 for the winner, now 4-3-2. Antonio Cervantes falls to 4-7-1.

HEAVYWEIGHTS LE'I AND BLASKO FIGHT TO A DRAW

In the photo above, heavweights Bishop Le'i (ar right) and Jacob Blasko react to learning they've fought a six round draw. It was an entertaining scrap. One judge scored it 58-56 Blasko; another 59-55 Le'i, and the third with a 57-57 tally. Le'i (3-0-1) and Blasko (2-2-1) fought four years ago, with Le'i scoring a 4th round TKO.

Blasko scored often but Le'i used body shots to his advantage early and later scored shots upstairs too. We mean no disrespect to Mr. Blasko, who fought well, but Utah Fight Game scored the bout 60-55 for Le'i, who seemed to have a slight edge throughout. (More photos below).

MAURO GUTIERREZ SCORES SECOND STRAIGHT WIN

Logan junior lightweight Mauro Gutierrez is proving too tough for debut fighters. Gutierrez (seen above at left) scored a unanimous four-round decision over Rene Mendoza. Gutierrez, who scored a narrower win over debuting Jesus Saldano in June, dominated a game Mendoza the entire fight, scoring a knockdown in round three. Gutierrez, 2-1, was just too experienced, with strong ring generalship. The judges scored the bout 40-35, as did Utah Fight Game.

IN OTHER BOUTS ...

Light heavyweight -- and local trainer -- Shon Cross, 1-1, lost a unanimous decision to Daniel Castro, 3-1, who had not fought for eight years. Castro looked slightly out of shape, but he was aggressive early and constantly landed hard body shots to Cross, whose aggression was not often effective. Castro tired the last two rounds. Utah Fight Game had Castro winning a close bout 39-38. The judges scored it 40-36 twice, and 39-37 for the winner.

The opening bout ended quickly as debuting superwelterweight John Castro stopped Jacob Diaz, 0-5, in the first round. Castro got Diaz in the corner and repeatedly landed left uppercuts until the bout was stopped. Diaz has fought on the three Rival Series cards this year. He's a personable, fit athlete. However, this is his second straight early loss and he might benefit from taking a rest to recuperate and possibly come back to the ring next year.

Attending the fight card was undefeated pro bantamweight Aaron Maximus Garcia, 8-0. The Payson, Utah boxer, a former National Golden Gloves champion, was interviewed by ring announcer Destiny McCubbin. The card was streamed online. Charles Presnell, of The Fight Chatter podcast and Substack page, provided, along with others, commentary.

-- Doug Gibson, at ringside.