Albuquerque’s Donald Sanchez sticking to his plan: He's retired
· Yahoo Sports
Win or lose, Albuquerque’s Donald Sanchez had said, Friday’s bare-knuckle fight in Hollywood, Florida was to be his last.
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A loss by split decision to Jeremy Smith on a BKFC card, an outcome that easily could have been reversed, has not changed his mind.
“I’ve got a brain to maintain and kids of the future to guide and help,” Sanchez wrote on social media. “I’ve got too many people that look up to me that I can now focus on fully.”
According to statistics available on bkfc.com, Sanchez landed more punches than Smith in each of the fight’s five rounds. Smith, however, was slightly more active and threw more blows.
Sanchez, who compiled a 30-20 record as an MMA fighter, is 5-3 in BKFC competition. He’d hoped to avenge his loss by unanimous decision to Smith (4-5) in Sanchez’s first bare-knuckle fight in August 2022.
PEREZ STOPPED: On Friday’s card, Belen’s Derek Perez lost by first-round TKO to Bryan Duran in just 19 seconds of the first round.
Perez drops to 4-5 in BKFC competition. Duran is 9-1-1.
GOLDEN GLOVES: Las Cruces’ Joscelyn Olayo-Muñoz, a 16-time national amateur champion and an international champion, is among 10 New Mexico boxers eligible to compete at Colorado-New Mexico Golden Gloves regionals April 18 in Loveland, Colorado.
The New Mexico Golden Gloves tournament was held over the weekend in Roswell.
Winners at regionals qualify for Golden Gloves nationals, scheduled for May 11-16 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
New Mexico’s prospective team for regionals, as reported by Roswell’s Ray Baca, includes:
Olayo-Munoz, 106 pounds; Isaiah Ortiz, Hobbs, 110; Azariah Perez, Albuquerque, 121; Alex Ortiz, Bloomfield, 132; Alexa Garrobo, Albuquerque, 132; Angel Enriquez, Albuquerque, 143; Ivan Barragan, Albuquerque, 154; Ib Maiga, Rio Rancho, 165; Alvaro Garcia, Las Cruces, 176; Andres Garcia Marquez, Rio Rancho, 198.
HIGH HONOR: Rio Rancho amateur boxer Ariana Chavez has been named a member of USA Boxing’s Women’s Youth High Performance team.
In December at USA Boxing national championships in Lubbock, Texas, Chavez defeated San Francisco’s Millian Sanchez by split (4-1) decision to claim a Youth Division 165-pound title.
SIO UPDATE: As reported by boxingscene.com, 19-year-old pro boxer Isis Sio is out of an induced coma and is awake and speaking after collapsing in the ring following her loss by first-round knockout Saturday in San Bernardino, California.
Sio, (1-3), of Dickinson, South Dakota, was KO’d by Jocelyn Camarillo (6-0) of Indio, California. Sio had been knocked out in the first round of her most recent bout in January against Perla Bazaldua, a 25-time national amateur champion and a recent Top Rank, Inc., signee. Sio’s team pointed out on Monday that the Bazaldua knockout was the result of a body punch, not a blow to the head.
Sio has a listed amateur record of 2-6.
MMA: As reported by cagedminds.com, Rio Rancho’s Jalin Fuller defeated Christian Turner by first-round knockout in the main event of Sunday’s APFC card at Isleta Resort & Casino.
Fuller improved to 10-4 while claiming the APFC welterweight title. Turner, of Atlanta, is 10-3. Fuller is riding a four-fight win streak.
In the co-main event, El Paso’s James Pleasant (8-1) retained the APFC lightweight title in defeating Houston’s Emmanuel Sanchez (24-12) by unanimous decision.