Celt fighters represented at the Cinco De Mayo Boxing Show in El Monte held at the Teamsters Boxing Club this past weekend.
Celt fighter and this week's hometown hero Randy Reiner faced off with Justin from Jurupa Boxing Club. Both 17 year olds came in weighing 174 bs. The difference : Randy's opponent already had a fight under his belt, and this was Randy's first boxing match.
Randy took control of the match early using combinations and wore his opponent down on his way to victory. Randy now knows the importance of proper conditioning as it was key to his victory.
Despite all the drama that went on throughout the day including Chris Wagner scaring away 4 possible opponents who backed down once they saw his height, we were able to overcome adversity and come up with a great victory! Congratulations Randy!
Special thanks to coaches at the corner: Coach Gonzaga and Coach Powell. Our unofficial photographer: Chris Wagner and boxing teammate: Jon Booth. Thanks to: Chris Harper, Shawn "Pow Wow" Powell, and Coach Powell's daughter.
Bobby Kokenda and Ivan Leal (Both CELT WARRIORS) faced off today as the first bout on the under card today at Shatto Park in Los Angeles. The referee stopped the fight in the 2nd round due to Leal's bloody nose - it would not stop bleeding. Kokenda has an amazing reach being 6 feet, 4 inches tall, and was able to use that reach as an advantage to control the distance. But that's not how he won the match. Leal was firing back body shots and kept up with points. We couldn't get Leal's nose to stop bleeding so the fight was caled. Win or lose, it doesn't matter - these two are better from the experience. Their experience in the ring will help ready them for their opponents on June 13th.
Special thanks to Joe Zanders (President of USA Boxing) and Fidel Bresino (Vice President of USA Boxing) for helping in the corners. Thanks to the parents: Mr. Kokenda, Mr. Leal for your support and watching. Last but not least, thanks to Mr. Barber (Jimmy's Dad) and Jimmy "Slim Jim" Barber for the support.
Let's congratulate Jimmy Barber on a successful victory against Michael Reyes from Grace Boxing Club this past Saturday in Pacoima. Jimmy landed 78% of his punches, 98% of those punches were jabs! The jab was used correctly, and it help him outpoint his opponent. Special thanks to Coach Lou Gilliam (Coach of Panther Boxing Club) on helping us in the corner! Rematch has been confirmed for June 13th...CELT FIGHT NIGHT!
Special Thanks to: Coach Gilliam (Panther Boxing),
Coach Powell (Celt Boxing),
Mr. Barber (Jimmy's Dad), and teammates
Randy Reiner,
Steve Chalco,and
Bobby Kokenda for coming out and supporting Jimmy.
Let's take a moment to congratulate Emmanuel Carranza on being the only fighter to represent the Celt Boxing Club in the match in this past Saturday's "Valley vs. L.A." boxing match at Grant H.S.
Out of 10 matches that evening, it ended up being even - 5 victories apiece - between L.A. and the Valley. Those members who attended learned that an intense level of training and conditioning is what is required to be victorious in the ring. Having the right attitude in training is what is going to make you successful in the ring when it comes to fight night.
Coaches comments to Emmanuel Carranza:
Coach Gonzaga : "Manny, here is your chance to turn your training up to another level..use this as a learning experience to get better and train with higher intensity."
Coach C : "It takes a man to step into the ring. Manny is the only one who stepped up, and got into the ring to represent our club. He showed showed a lot of heart and courage going at it alone... Great job! as a result of Manny's experience, I expect the guys to put it the extra time training...and expect to see more guys on Fridays."
Coach Carranza : "Use the jab more to control your distance. Keep moving around and work on your foot work."
Coach Powell : "Do not get discouraged from losing. Use it as a lesson to get better and get back into the ring and fight the next guy. Beat your opponent at practice!"
