Above (at right) is undefeated pro welterweight Justin Morales, who stopped opponent Anthony Ayala in round 1 in a May bout in Layton. Saturday night in Columbia, S.C., Morales, a Northridge High graduate who lives in Clinton, fights Kelton Davis. We chatted with Morales a few days before his bout.
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Before we get to the interview I want to mention that Friday in Boise, Idaho there's a Bellator card and three local fighters will be tussling in the preliminary card, which will be streamed at Bellator.com and various other sites. In a fight that's getting a lot of ink, heavyweight Ben Moa, 4-0, of One Hit MMA, will meet another undefeated prospect, Steve Mowry, 4-0. Also, Sean Powers, Fruit Heights, of Power MMA, 9-6,will be in the Bellator cage for the fourth time, and fights 3-0 Jared Trice, 190 pounds. And Bryce Edminister, Layton, who trains at KOA Kingdom, (1-1) meets debuting Leon Taylor, 145 pounds. And Andrew Cruz, who fights out of Idaho and has fought in Utah, is also on the card. Here is the entire Bellator 205 card; main bouts will be televised at 7 on Paramount Network.
Some quick notes: Mountain Force MMA has an MMA card Saturday, Sept. 30 in Logan; Undefeated pro boxer Ignacio Chairez plans to fight Oct. 6 in Wendover; Amateur fighter Kaecy Raddon, who usually fights as a kickboxer and mixed martial artist, has a boxing match in Colorado Saturday at a Sparta Combat League promotion; Both Raddon and Jarrett Kelton plan to compete in international amateur kickboxing competition in October; Ed Whitmore, an MMA professional, has a pro boxing match scheduled Saturday. He fights Joseph Carriker. It's in Joplin, Mo.; MMA pro Thomas Hughes will return to the cage on Dec. 1, I have heard, on a Sparta Combat League card; MMA pro Steven Siler's next bout in the televised PFL 145-pound tourney is Oct. 5. He meets Nazareno Malegerie.
NOW, ON TO THE INTERVIEW WITH JUSTIN MORALES:
Utah Fight Game: Justin, how did the September bout come about? How is training going, where, who is trainer, who are you sparring with?
Morales: My fight Sept 22nd came about because I wanted to stay active fighting and my coach has a good relationship with the promoter of the show so he lined me up. Training has been going great, I can feel myself improving both mentally and physically. I currently live in Las Vegas and train with Hall Of Fame Coach Jesse Reid. If we aren't at our home gym it's likely we are either at Johnny Tacos Boxing or Barry's Boxing sparring with various pros at those gym to get different looks!
Utah Fight Game: When do you think we'll see you in Utah again?
Morales: If all goes well I'd like to fight in Utah before the years end. No later than next summer for sure though.
Utah Fight Game: Where would you like to be a year from now in your pro career?
Morales: In a year from now hopefully my professional career is really starting to take off, I'd like to possibly fight for a Super Lightweight State Title or any opponent that would help boost my ranking!
Good luck this weekend Justin, and thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
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