Show:700327

REPORT

SIJUOLA SHABAZZ AND CARLOS VILLA WIN CO-MAIN EVENTS IN SEVEN BOUT FIGHT CARD IN EL PASO, TEXAS ON SATURDAY NIGHT
By: Austin Killeen - Ringside – September 20, 2014 - all photos by Brandon Pina[1]
On Saturday night Escalante Promotions’ held a seven bout card at the Alpha Athletics & Event Center in El Paso.  
Once again matchmaker Ivon Mendoza put on a quality show with competitive matches.  I had never covered fights at 
ringside with an impacted wisdom tooth before and hope to never again.  For dental assistants reading this column,
tooth #32 was pressing against tooth #31; they were both removed after the fights.  That’s why I’m writing this 
column on Tuesday morning, sixty hours after the event.  I appear to be hiding a basketball on the right side of 
my head.  I apologize to the fighters, for they put on an excellent display of athleticism and deserve better.  
Additionally there was a band playing, supposedly for the entertainment of those in attendance.  I’m not saying 
the decimal level was high but pilots at El Paso International Air Port were having difficulty reading their 
instrument panels.  I would like to meet the person who thinks this is entertaining, as you have to get two 
inches from the person you’re speaking with and scream. Sadly this seems to be the trend at many fight cards today.

In the main event, Sijuola Ade Shabazz (5-1-0, 5 KO’s) of Phoenix, won by TKO over Keith Downs of Fort Hood, TX 
(3-1-0, 1 KO) of El Paso, TX.  I’ve seen most of Shabazz bouts and they usually end by the second round, with his 
rival overwhelmed by a hail of leather. For the first three rounds he followed this game plan, but not with the 
same success.  Mr. Downs was a live body who was firing back with his own game plan for victory.  Although Shabazz 
was winning he was eating some solid right hands to the head.  In the fourth he made an adjustment, fighting 
behind a solid left jab.  This seemed to break the Texan’s determination, as well as improve Shabazz’s defense.  
Although game to the end, Downs started taking some heavy punishment.  Solid overhand rights by Shabazz opened a 
bad cut over the left eye of Downs.  In the sixth the Arizona boxer was administrating a beat down, when the 
referee saved Downs from further punishment at 1:47 of the round.  Ric Ponce, Shabazz’s trainer is also his father
-in-law, and I met the lovely bride of two months before the fight; she could be easily described as a knockout!

In the semi-final, for the Texas State lightweight championship, Carlos Villa, El Paso (7-1-1, 4 KO’s) won by SD
over John Montes Laredo, TX (5-6-0, 4 KO’s).  Villa is built like Harold Johnson, former light heavyweight champion 
from the 50’s.  Like Johnson, Villa is a boxer/puncher with a solid defense.  Clearly Montes was not impressed by 
his rival’s appearance, pressuring the El Paso boxer all night.  In the opening round Villa landed a hard right 
uppercut to the chin of the Laredo boxer.  Montes stood right in front of the hometown boxer scoring with 
combinations.  This was a close round with the edge to Montes.  Behind solid defense and counter punching, Villa 
probably evened the score in the second.  In the third and fourth rounds Montes continued the pressure; breaking 
through his opponent’s defense with solid left hooks.
Both fighters were throwing with mean intentions, sometimes south of the border.  This isn’t to mean dirty fighting, 
just a tough fight.  Villa had his best round in the fifth behind an accurate left jab.  Suddenly he was on the 
canvas compliment of a low blow by Montes.  He was given a couple of minutes to recover by the referee.  During this 
time the ref suddenly deducted a point from Montes for the infraction.  This didn’t agree with the fans, who voiced 
their disapproval.  The sixth was another difficult round to score; do you like the aggression of Montes or counter 
punching by Villa. In the seventh round, the Laredo boxer’s left hooks seemed to be bothering the hometown fighter 
and he was getting the better of the exchanges.  Villa had a good eighth round but fought with no urgency, 
considering the apparent closeness of the fight.
This was a good scrap and the scoring of the judges confirmed it. With scores of 76-75 Montes and 77-73, 76-75 for
Villa the new Texas state lightweight champion.  If Montes hadn’t lost a point in the fifth round, the bout would 
have been a draw.  It’s unfortunate when an official affects the outcome of a match.  This was an excellent fight 
with a great deal of skill on display.  I would love to see a rematch.

In the evening’s fifth bout, Juan Carlos Guillen (2-0-0) of Las Cruces, NM won a UD over debuting Kevin Croom of 
Albuquerque, NM at featherweight.  When Croom entered the ring he looked like Richie Cunningham of the TV show 
Happy Days.  But looks are deceiving because he fought like a wolverine.  Guillen is one cool customer because 
Croom would have defeated a lot of boxers with his attacking style.  during the first two rounds Guillen was 
content to sit back and let his rival do all the work.  From the third round on the Las Cruces fighter took charge, 
opening a bad cut over the left eye of the Croom.
The scoring was 60-54 twice and 59-55 all in favor of Guillen.  But each round was contested, as the “Duke City” 
boxer keep coming forward.  Croom is a very successful cage fighter who was in tremendous shape.  His fitness coach 
is Mommy D, who trains many of the cage fighters at Jackson’s Gym in Albuquerque.  If Croom learns how to throw a 
left jab he could be a force in boxing.  As for Guillen, he appears to have some upside and I look forward to seeing 
him in action again.

In the evenings fourth bout Josue Garcia (2-2-0, 1 KO) of El Paso, stopped debuting Anthony Rocha of Lubbock, TX in 
a welterweight bout.  Rocha was game, taking the fight to Garcia, but the El Paso boxer was just too polished for 
his rival.  Garcia looks like the singer Enrique Iglesias.  I have no idea if Iglesias can box, but Garcia sure can!  
In the first he dropped his southpaw rival with a nice right cross to the chin.  In the second Garcia used a right 
to the chin followed by a right to the ribs to drop the game Rocha again.  The referee stopped the contest at 1:49 
of the second.  With his good looks and boxing style, Garcia might have some box office appeal.

In the evening’s third bout, Timothy Meek (2-1-1, 2 KO’s) of Canutillo, TX fought to a draw with debuting Frank
Lester of Albuquerque, NM in the super middleweight division.  Think of a metal door to a bank vault; now add two 
arms and legs and you’ve got Frank Lester.  If I have to walk down a dark alley, I want him next to me.  I’ve seen 
all of Tim Meek’s pro fights and I’m a fan. Lester a very successful cage fighter used an aggressive brawling attack 
all four rounds in fighting Meek.  For his part the Canutillo boxer used a nice jab and slick defense in retaliation.  
In the second round Meek found himself on the canvas the result of a takedown.  When I asked Frank about it after 
the fight he responded “Tim tripped.”  If Lester tells me the sky is orange, I’m not even looking up its orange!  
Like his buddy Kevin Croom if Lester develops a left jab he’ll be a beast.  I get frustrated watching Meek land a 
clean punch only to back away.  He fights like it’s a gym workout, wasting his obvious talents.  Scores of 40-36 
Lester, 39-37 Meek and 38-38 draw seemed to be well received by the audience.

In the evening’s second bout, Devonte Williams (2-0-0, 1 KO) of Houston, won by UD over Esteban Villalba (4-11-2, 
1 KO) of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico in the junior middleweight division.  The lanky Williams took charge in the first two 
rounds behind a solid left jab and left hooks to the body.  The defensive minded Esteban Villalba finally started 
throwing punches in the third and fourth rounds; but never followed up any advantages he created.  When Williams 
started facing return fire in the third, he stopped being aggressive; content to move around the ring like it was 
a sparring session.  Scores of 39-37 twice and 40-36 resulted in a unanimous decision for Williams.

In the evenings opening bout, debuting Luis Zavala, 210 lbs. of El Paso won by TKO over Thomas Drake (0-2-0) 250 lbs. 
of El Paso.  A southpaw, Zavala used a left hook to the head to drop his rival.  Rising on unsteady legs, Drake was 
dropped again by a left, right combination to the head.  Drake was unable to answer the bell for the second round.

Except for the music, it was an entertaining evening of boxing.  There is a lot of talent in the greater El Paso 
region, making it a great place to live if you like the sport.  Sijuola Ade Shabazz has serious potential but he is 
in his late twenties and the clock is ticking.  He has a deep background in the amateurs at the world level and has 
to make his move now.  Carlos Villa has already faced some good young prospects and appears to be moving his career 
in the right direction.  I loved the cage fighters Frank Lester and Kevin Croom; they both looked good on Saturday 
night.  I’m frustrated by Tim Meek as he obviously has talent, but needs to let his hands go.  Juan Carlos Guillen 
and Josue Garcia both look to have some talent, although it’s early in their careers.  If you’re the out of town 
fighter in El Paso you can win a decision.  There aren’t too many cities you can say that about.