Larry Gomez fights in televised bout; Collard boxes again on Dec. 12

From the pen of the iconic Thornton Wilder, July 29, 1918.

Today's a quick Utah Fight Game with some important subjects. At the end we take a look at some of newspaper clippings of the great Jack Dempsey's fight with Fred Fulton, the No. 1 heavyweight contender in 1918. Dempsey, who once fought in Ogden, Utah, knocked out Fulton in less than a half minute. Nearly a year later he was heavyweight champ, stopping Jess Willard in 1919.

Look at the wonderful 1918 cartoon published two days after the bout. More clips at bottom of post.

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But, on to the most important news.

On Thursday night in Los Angeles, welterweight pro Larry Gomez, of West Jordan, fights on TV (NBCSN network, Channel 34, Xfinity). Gomez is 10-1 and last fought a year ago, scoring a decision win over highly regarded Brian Mendoza, 18-1. On Thursday, Gomez meets Brian Ceballo, 11-0. It's a great match up between two young contenders. The bout is scheduled for 10 rounds. The TV card starts at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Gomez v Ceballo will likely be the first bout.

Utah/Idaho professional boxer Clay Collard, usually a light middleweight to super middleweight, said on social media this week that he will be boxing on Dec. 12. I don't know the opponent but it's probably a Top Rank card at The Bubble in Las Vegas. On that day Shakur Stevenson will be defending his featherweight title and I assume Collard is on the undercard. Google Collard on this blog to read about his remarkable 2020 boxing year.

A boxing card is scheduled on Dec. 12 in Grantsville, Utah. I hope it survives any Covic-19-related postponement or cancellation. Salt Lake City pro heavyweight Helaman Olguin, who recently won on an ESPN-Plus Top Rank card, will be fighting Carlos Reyes. The scheduled card is on this page. 

Young professional boxer Jesus Haro, who has won several bouts this year, recently served as a sparring partner for WBO world mini-flyweight champ Wilfredo Mendez. You can see a picture of the pair here. They were in Las Vegas at The Mayweather gym.

MMA: As we noted in this post, Lehi, Utah, professional MMA welterweight Carson Hardman won his first bout in an XFCwelterweight tournament. Hardman will fight again in the next round of the XFC tourney in early 2021.

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HERE ARE OLD NEWSPAPER CLIPS OF JACK DEMPSEY's KO OVER FRED FULTON 102-plus years ago.

Siler meets King in FFC MMA title bout; Hardman fights on XFC card

 

Update: Due to the uptick in Covid-19 cases in Utah, it was announced on Nov. 12 that the FFC card has been postponed: Assuming Covid-19 doesn't stop things, this is a big week for MMA action locally. On Saturday, Nov. 14, at The Maverik Center, Steven Siler meets Bobby King in a featherweight FFC title tilt. King has been winning of late, but UFC and PFL veteran Siler will be a tough test. Look below at the matchups. Several of these fights would be excellent main events on any local card. The card can be streamed for I think $20. Info is here.

HARDMAN TO FIGHT ON XFX 43

Update: Hatdman, 9-2, scored a first round stoppage win via strikes. His opponent was Steven Newell. 9-2, who stepped in as a sub for Bradley Desir. Also, Utah County professional MMA fighter Carson Hardman fights in XFC 43 on Wednesday, as part of a tournament. He fights Bellator veteran Bradley Desir. Here is the card, a portion of which is televised on NBCSports TV network at 7 p.m. (Xfinity 34). The card is in Atlanta. I assume there will be streaming for earlier bouts. 

Finally, Mountain Force MMA had a card in October in Logan. Montell Williams scored a decision win over Ogden's Eric Munoz in the pro main event. Card results are here. 

BOXING

Two weekends ago in Tijuana, Mexico, professional prospect Jesus Haro scored a decision win over Uziel Pinto Jimenez. Haro boxed very well, winning every round. By the way, Haro has several pro wins, more than the two Boxrec.com claims. Haro's stablemate, Miklo Arnold, scored a TKO win over Alejandro Leon Martinez. Arnold also has wins not acknowledged by Boxrec.com.

On Oct. 24, previously undefeated Salt Lake City pro boxer Brandon Douglas suffered his first loss in Agua Prita, Mexico. Douglas (9-1), lost a 10-round decision to veteran Juan Jimenez, 28-19-3. 

West Jordan welterweight pro boxer Larry Gomez, 10-1, who upset then-undefeated Brian Mendoza late last year on a Top Rank card, will fight undefeated, 11-0 Brian Ceballo on Dec. 3 in Los Angeles. The bout will be televised by NBCSports network.