Holland's Anthony Torres thrills crowd with knockout at Civic Center during Great Lakes Grudge
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HOLLAND - Anthony Torres had waited his entire life to fight in front of his friends and family in his hometown.
He finally got that chance and took full advantage of it, using a wicked left hook to bring the crowd to its feet as he knocked out Kalamazoo's John Taylor in just 51 seconds in the final bout on the card in the Great Lakes Grudge Pro-Am on Saturday, May 16, at the Holland Civic Center. The win upped Torres's record to 3-0, with all three of his victories coming via knockout.
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"He saw me coming to knock his head off, so I guess he decided to make a business decision, you know what I mean?," a smiling Torres said after the fight. "I came out (before the opening bell) and saw my family here to support me, so I had to show them what hard work does for you. There's a lot of pressure on you when everyone comes out to support you like this, but you can't let that get to you. You gotta stay calm and collected and remember your training."
Torres, a 27-year-old Holland High School graduate who has been boxing since the age of 13, capped off a night that featured 12 fights (nine amateur and three professional) with boxers coming into town from cities such as Kalamazoo, Lansing, Gary (Ind.), and of course, Holland.
"You gotta remember your jab and not let the combination (punches) open up after that," Torres said. "It's super special being able to do this in Holland. Doing this in front of my little brothers and my boys makes it just a different type of feeling. I've put in countless hours of training for one day and one moment. In that moment, you've gotta show up and make sure that you're on top of your game that night."
Anthony's older brother Allen was scheduled to fight as well, but his opponent was forced to pull out of the bout due to injury.
EJ Trevino, an eighth grader at West Ottawa's Harbor Lights Middle School, was victorious in one of the early amateur fights, as he won a split-decision over Clifford James in the 110-pound Intermediate weight class. Trevino has a mark of 6-2 since he started boxing last April.
"I was a little nervous, but also really excited before the fight because I knew I had to put on a show for the hometown with everybody that was here supporting me," Trevino said. "He had a lot more experience than me, so it was definitely one of my hardest fights. But I was able to win the first two rounds and it felt great to do this in front of my grandparents (and other family members). I really hope they have more (shows) like this in Holland in the future."
The final amateur fight featured ex-Holland High football standout Elroy Payne. The 29-year-old Payne, who only started boxing a little more than a year ago, was able to outlast Jaylen Pennyman to win by decision in the Elite 198-plus weight class. Payne has a 5-2 career record.
"I've got a couple of friends that box and I was talking to Anthony Torres about it when he said, 'Well, just come to Westside (Boxing Club)," Payne recalled. "I was nervous at first, but everybody was so welcoming and once I really got into it, it became an everyday thing.
"I've always been in a lot of street fights growing up, but this was a better way to do it with getting into the ring. It's helped channel my anger and I leave everything in the ring every fight. I was the captain and more of a leader when I played football, but here I'm kind of learning more things as I go. I knew that I had (Pennyman) in the first round, so I just tried to get some body shots in there so he could feel it. He told me after the fight that he could feel the power from me. I was getting a little gassed as the fight went on and I also had some heartburn, so I was trying to get through that as well. But once you get into the ring, you just let your hands go and all of your focus is on your opponent.
"I feel like I'm getting better with each and every fight. This was my first fight in Holland and it felt amazing to get a win in my hometown. I'd love to rack up a bunch more amateur fights in the next year or so and then eventually go professional."
Other boxers from Holland who won their bouts were Marco Guzman, who won by third-round TKO over Anjel Vasquez in the 110-pound Elite Division and Michael Medina, who won by decision over Sakib Khalique in the 176-pound Elite Division.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Holland boxer Anthony Torres wins Great Lakes Grudge at Civic Center