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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.
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.
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, stiflung Alexander and using his strength to score some body shots.
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.
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
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