Notes from the 2011 National Junior Olympics

[DCAmateurBoxing]

Here's just some notes off the top of my head about the JOs.

First off, I'm glad to see my area boxers come back with three titles: Tank Davis, Malik Jackson and Kareem Martin. All of these guys worked hard to get it done.

I recorded as many bouts as I could and they are going up now, but here are the boxers that made an impression on me. They are up here http://www.youtube.com/dcamateurboxingIn no particular order:

Nico Hernandez - wins his first JO title in his first attempt after 5 consecutive Silver Gloves. Nico is a nice young man and I always enjoy watching him box and talking to him and his dad/coach. He showed why he's a champ against a tough older boxers in Elliston from CO. Plain and simple he is a winner.

Erickson Lubin - I've been watching Hammer since he is from our SG region for about 7 years and he's continues to improve his skills. He along w/ Julian Rodriguez had the biggest margins of victories that I saw all week. I think in his three bouts he outscored his opponents 101-18!!! Again, I very nice young man and I believe that there is a direct correlation between being a successful athlete and being personable and coachable--so it might be repetitive but I will keep saying this if I believe it about a boxer because it's very important to me that people know this.

Julian Rodriguez - WOW. That's all I can say about Julian. After losing in the JO finals last year, he made no doubts about this year. When he is in the ring, he only knows one mode: attack. I was really looking forward to seeing him in action againsts Joey Alday because Alday caught my eye in the Silvers-- but Julian was just too much. He's a machine in the ring and simply overwhelms his opponents with beautiful and precise combinations of power shots on the inside and out--from various angles. Will make an IMMEDIATE impact in the open division, imo.

Ja'Rico O'Quinn - Ok, so I've never really payed attention to this kid, but he made me regret that because he put on a power clinic against multiple national Silver Gloves champion Hector Valdez. O'Quinn just imposes his will and he has an air of confidence (not cocky) when he is in the ring. He's definintely on my radar now. I apologize Mr. O'Quinn. Please forgive my ignorance.

Jesus Luna - Again, multiple Silver Gloves titles makes for a succesfull JO. Like Hernandez, he's just a winner who keeps on winning. A very aggressive boxer, who although small in stature attacks opponents with a calculated offensive attack. I've never met him for any period of time, but I know that I'll see him around for many more years.

Rahim Gonzalez - If you want to see a boxing clinic, watch Rahim Gonzalez. He is an artist at work in the ring. He put on a clinic staying on the outside and using his height (he's one of the two tallest 95lbs. boxers I've ever seen) - while almost literally not getting hit at all. I think his first bout that I watched was 20-1. His finals matchup was an ugly wrestling match but he showed poise in doing what he had to do to get the W. Again, a very very very personable and nice young man. Always look forward to talking to him at tournaments.

Malik Jackson - The quiet storm is what I call Malik because he is so quiet outside of the ring, but he is very aggressive inside. The fact that he has won Outstanding Boxer two years in a row at the JOs speaks for itself. He continues to improve his game and I look forward to seeing him in the open division soon.

Rashida Ellis - Ok, I know that I already said WOW, but I have to say it again. This young lady can box. Period. Let me rephrase that. This young person can box. She is a great boxer, no matter what gender. I enjoyed watching her and during her three bouts she left no doubt about who the winner was. I didn't get a chance to speak with her but I know that I will be seeing her at more nationals. That is guaranteed.

Ok, so I lied saying that this was in no particular order because I'm going to be transpartent with my bias and say that I left my favorite for last. . . Gary Salazar. I just may be his biggest fan. I've watched Gary step up against the best and handle each of them over and over again - impressively and in different fashion - through the silver gloves and now the JOs. He can box, he can bang, he can move, he can think. I've seen Gary go to war (vs. Neslan Machado) and I've seen him beat slick boxers (D'andres Hockerson and Shawn Simpson) and he continues to amaze me. He's on another level in the amateur boxing game and I can't wait until he turns open to see if he can follow or exceed what the two most recent JO-to-Open success stories have done - Shawn Simpson and O'Shanique Foster. Again, Gary is another class act. An extremely personable and nice young man who also happens to be the only 16-year-old smog technician in CA and is very proud of that fact!! He has told me (and I believe him) that the 114/119/132 boxers better get ready. . . he's coming.

I just wanted to share my thoughts with the group because we have been talking so much about the trials, I wanted to give our future Olympians some time too.

[boxmel]

Thanks for speaking out about two of my favorite California boxers. I've been a Gary Salazar fan since I first saw him in California State Silver Gloves. He's a great kid and listens (I told him not to slap and stay off the ropes and he actually listened!)

Rahim Gonzales is from my LBC and I've watched him grow up in boxing. Another great kid and I'm really glad he got the gold!

[DCAmateurBoxing]

Thanks for speaking out about two of my favorite California boxers. I've been a Gary Salazar fan since I first saw him in California State Silver Gloves. He's a great kid and listens (I told him not to slap and stay off the ropes and he actually listened!)

Rahim Gonzales is from my LBC and I've watched him grow up in boxing. Another great kid and I'm really glad he got the gold!

What's more impressive is that they are really great kids. With all the success and accolades, it could be easy for a teen to let it go to their heads. Not these two. I just call it like I see it. I am excited about our boxing future with boxers like these coming up. I can't wait to see how far they go.

[mike222]

Excellent report-thank you

[KLUVATL]

<Like> . . . If only there were a Like button for this posting!

Hereos were met and made across all ages during the week. The young ones will be looking forward to seeing both Olympians and non-Olympians excel and the elite athletes will hopefully be mentoring their new buddies. A lot of the JO's performed so well that even their elders view them as heroes! Seems that at that stage, most of the athletes are focused on boxing for the love and sport of it, instead of the battle against the officials or the ever-changing scoring system. Fun stuff!

Although I was hoping for coverage of all winners (lol), I agree with Mike -- excellent synopsis of highlights!! Thanks for posting.

[scallum]

P

Here's just some notes off the top of my head about the JOs.

First off, I'm glad to see my area boxers come back with three titles: Tank Davis, Malik Jackson and Kareem Martin. All of these guys worked hard to get it done.

I recorded as many bouts as I could and they are going up now, but here are the boxers that made an impression on me. They are up here http://www.youtube.com/dcamateurboxingIn no particular order:

Nico Hernandez - wins his first JO title in his first attempt after 5 consecutive Silver Gloves. Nico is a nice young man and I always enjoy watching him box and talking to him and his dad/coach. He showed why he's a champ against a tough older boxers in Elliston from CO. Plain and simple he is a winner.

Erickson Lubin - I've been watching Hammer since he is from our SG region for about 7 years and he's continues to improve his skills. He along w/ Julian Rodriguez had the biggest margins of victories that I saw all week. I think in his three bouts he outscored his opponents 101-18!!! Again, I very nice young man and I believe that there is a direct correlation between being a successful athlete and being personable and coachable--so it might be repetitive but I will keep saying this if I believe it about a boxer because it's very important to me that people know this.

Julian Rodriguez - WOW. That's all I can say about Julian. After losing in the JO finals last year, he made no doubts about this year. When he is in the ring, he only knows one mode: attack. I was really looking forward to seeing him in action againsts Joey Alday because Alday caught my eye in the Silvers-- but Julian was just too much. He's a machine in the ring and simply overwhelms his opponents with beautiful and precise combinations of power shots on the inside and out--from various angles. Will make an IMMEDIATE impact in the open division, imo.

Ja'Rico O'Quinn - Ok, so I've never really payed attention to this kid, but he made me regret that because he put on a power clinic against multiple national Silver Gloves champion Hector Valdez. O'Quinn just imposes his will and he has an air of confidence (not cocky) when he is in the ring. He's definintely on my radar now. I apologize Mr. O'Quinn. Please forgive my ignorance.

Jesus Luna - Again, multiple Silver Gloves titles makes for a succesfull JO. Like Hernandez, he's just a winner who keeps on winning. A very aggressive boxer, who although small in stature attacks opponents with a calculated offensive attack. I've never met him for any period of time, but I know that I'll see him around for many more years.

Rahim Gonzalez - If you want to see a boxing clinic, watch Rahim Gonzalez. He is an artist at work in the ring. He put on a clinic staying on the outside and using his height (he's one of the two tallest 95lbs. boxers I've ever seen) - while almost literally not getting hit at all. I think his first bout that I watched was 20-1. His finals matchup was an ugly wrestling match but he showed poise in doing what he had to do to get the W. Again, a very very very personable and nice young man. Always look forward to talking to him at tournaments.

Malik Jackson - The quiet storm is what I call Malik because he is so quiet outside of the ring, but he is very aggressive inside. The fact that he has won Outstanding Boxer two years in a row at the JOs speaks for itself. He continues to improve his game and I look forward to seeing him in the open division soon.

Rashida Ellis - Ok, I know that I already said WOW, but I have to say it again. This young lady can box. Period. Let me rephrase that. This young person can box. She is a great boxer, no matter what gender. I enjoyed watching her and during her three bouts she left no doubt about who the winner was. I didn't get a chance to speak with her but I know that I will be seeing her at more nationals. That is guaranteed.

Ok, so I lied saying that this was in no particular order because I'm going to be transpartent with my bias and say that I left my favorite for last. . . Gary Salazar. I just may be his biggest fan. I've watched Gary step up against the best and handle each of them over and over again - impressively and in different fashion - through the silver gloves and now the JOs. He can box, he can bang, he can move, he can think. I've seen Gary go to war (vs. Neslan Machado) and I've seen him beat slick boxers (D'andres Hockerson and Shawn Simpson) and he continues to amaze me. He's on another level in the amateur boxing game and I can't wait until he turns open to see if he can follow or exceed what the two most recent JO-to-Open success stories have done - Shawn Simpson and O'Shanique Foster. Again, Gary is another class act. An extremely personable and nice young man who also happens to be the only 16-year-old smog technician in CA and is very proud of that fact!! He has told me (and I believe him) that the 114/119/132 boxers better get ready. . . he's coming.

I just wanted to share my thoughts with the group because we have been talking so much about the trials, I wanted to give our future Olympians some time too.

I'm also very interested in seeing how far this Kid Gary Salazar cn go. I saw him at the Jr GG tourney n he looked great. Thanks for the report