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Sandy • How rough did things get for Utah's contingent at the Rocky Mountain Region Golden Gloves boxing tournament on Saturday afternoon at South Towne Exposition Center?
So bad that one Utahn scheduled to fight in a championship match didn't even show up.
All told, fighters from the Beehive State went 1-6 on Saturday, with only West High senior Bladimir Estrada winning his bout.
Estrada, 18, who fights out of the City Center Boxing Club and is trained by Rick Montoya, defeated Idaho's Frankie Gould in the 152-pound weight classification and advances to nationals for the second straight year.
Golden Gloves Boxing's National Tournament of Champions is in Salt Lake City this year, May 16-21 at the Salt Palace Convention Center.
Unfortunately for the local franchise, only Estrada and 114-pounder Diego Alverz of Ogden will represent the state. Alverz defeated Wyoming's Damian Maldonado in Friday's only championship bout.
Idaho, which won the team competition for the second time in three years, outpointing Utah 10-7, will send four fighters to nationals, while Montana will send two and Wyoming one.
Team Utah looked good heading into Saturday's final bouts, but once Jonathan Montelango fell in a close bout to Wyoming's Isaiah Tafoya at 123, the landslide was on. Idaho's Onero Gallegos and Reilly Thomas outpointed Utah's Gabriel Chairez and Milo Gutierrez in the 132- and 141-pound bouts, respectively, before Estrada could stop the bleeding for the locals.
"That was a very tough fight," Estrada said of his win. "I watched [Gould] last night and he got a TKO, so I knew what to expect, and I knew I had to step it up."
Backed by about 50 friends and family members, Estrada overcame an ailing left arm and took control of the bout midway through the second round.
"After the second round, my arm started to hurt," Estrada conceded. "I have had arm trouble for awhile. I had to overcome it, I guess. I couldn't make any excuses."
Among Utah's six losses was a forfeit; For reasons not totally known to Utah boxing officials, Skyler Torres of Foley's Mixed Martial Arts gym in Ogden did not show up for his 201-pound bout with Idaho's Richard Druliner, and Druliner was declared the winner after a futile search of the building for Torres, who defeated Wyoming's Shawn Moran on Friday night to advance to the finals.
The meet was held in conjunction with the FitCon show for the second straight year and bouts began at 1 p.m., rather than 7 p.m. as they were before the change in time and venue in 2015. Some speculated that Torres was unaware of the change.
Idaho's Gallegos and Utah's Chairez won the best bout of the show trophies, but the biggest upset was probably turned in by Montana's Billy Wagner, who surprised Utah's Danny Galloway at 165 after having lost to the Highland High graduate in two previous bouts.
"It is a huge accomplishment, but now I have to go home and train even harder," said Wagner, a member of the Blackfeet Indian Tribe who lives on the reservation in Browning, Mont., and runs four miles a day as part of his training.
"It is just unbelievable," Wagner continued. "That kid [Galloway] is really tough, and hard to beat. I finally got him. … I just threw a lot of punches, and my training paid off. I was in better shape than him, I think."
Estrada won the $1,500 scholarship presented by the Utah Golden Gloves Youth Development Fund; He said Wednesday he hopes to continue his education at Salt Lake Community College.
In exhibition bouts on Saturday, Idaho's Greg Guzman defeated Montana's Donevin Vallance at 70 lbs.; Montana's Anthony Espino def. Idaho's Rolando Hernandez at 75; KO Boxing's Collin Tuilevuka def. Idaho's Orlando Hernandez at 75; City Center's Yahier Estrada def. Idaho's Adolfo Hernandez at 85; Montana's Ikaika Kamaka def. Wyoming's Wrylee Padilla by TKO at 141; State Street's Bubba Siliga def. Jorge Orozo at 201-plus.
Twitter: @drewjay —
Highlights
R Idaho wins the team competition for second time in three years, outpointing Utah 10-7.
• Diego Alverz and Bladimir Estrada are the only two Utahns advancing to nationals.
• Idaho's Onero Gallegos and Utah's Gabriel Chairez win the bout-of-the-show trophies.