Rio Rancho boxers win three fights at Jab Fest 2024

PHOTOS: Jab Fest 2024

Nov 11, 2024

RIO RANCHO — JAB Fest 2024 brought 27 boxing bouts to Rio Rancho Nov. 9, and three local fighters were able to leave the ring with a win.

“I am always impressed and inspired by my fighters. I am so happy with them. We went 3-1 today: three wins and one lesson,” Able Strength Fitness owner Mark Morgenstern said.

Morgenstern was the “cornerman” to all the Able Strength boxers who competed at JAB Fest 2024, and his gym was the only boxing gym from Rio Rancho.

The three Rio Rancho boxers who secured wins were Lance Cerros, Ulyses Chavez and IB Maiga.

“Got the ‘W.’ It’s a blessing. I came out healthy. I always pray to God before the fight, ‘Please help me and my opponent enter the ring healthy and then exit the ring healthy.’ It’s always a blessing when I can walk out of the ring on my own,” Maiga said. “It was good. I felt like I was controlling the fight for the most part.”

Maiga faced off against Caleb Kian from Elusive Boxing. Kian was not afraid to throw overhands or powerful body shots. However, Maiga remained balanced and provided some smooth and tactical combinations. Kian was disqualified from the match, and it appeared as though the referee did so because of excessive warnings about language. Maiga now has a 6-3 record in the ring.

“He was tough, though. He had some heavy shots; a couple of body shots I definitely felt,” Maiga said. As Maiga was being interviewed, Kian came over to apologize to Maiga.

The youngest boxer from Able Strength, Josiah Coca, lost his match via judges’ decision. However, Morgenstern had nothing but praise for Coca’s performance in the ring.

“He did really good. Had some great improvement, and his was my favorite fight of the night by far,” Morgenstern said.

Boxing gyms represented at JAB Fest 2024 included House of Pain East (Pueblo, Colorado), Able Strength Fitness (Rio Rancho), Franco Boxing (Albuquerque), Ruiz Ruiz Boxing (Santa Fe), Elusive Boxing (El Paso, Texas), Perez Fighting (Belen), Iron Fist (Española), Jaramillo Boxing (Santa Fe), T-N-T Boxing (Los Lunas), Superior Boxing (Deming), Guerrero’s Boxing (Ruidoso), Las Cruces PAL (Las Cruces), Team Alancrancito (Albuquerque), Absolute Boxing (Albuquerque), Team Power Plant (Albuquerque), and Code of a Champion (Santa Fe).

One of the more memorable fights of the day was Bout 11: Luis Amaya Cordona (Perez Fighting) versus Andrew Flores (House of Pain East). The fight included moments of great defensive slips, mental toughness and some great combinations. Flores would win via judges’ decision and landed some nice jab-cross-hook-cross combinations.

“I think I need more conditioning ... I think it was a good fight but definitely can work on my conditioning,” Flores jokingly said. Flores left JAB Fest 2024 with a giant belt.

JAB Fest 2024 was sponsored by USA Boxing, JAB Clothing, Code of a Champion Boxing Club, Porter Property Inspections, Sweet N’ Spicy, DJ Don-B, Sam & Son’s Barber Shop, Webster Operator Services, and Two Bears Construction. The main orchestrators of JAB Fest 2024 was Steven Padilla, Julian Bonnell and Tanya Bonnell.

Able Strength will now turn the page to the New Mexico State Silver Gloves Tournament in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The Silver Gloves will feature boxers ages 8-17. The three-day tournament begins on Nov. 22.

Full results of Jab Fest 2024:

{ol}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Efrain Franco (W) vs. Jesus Amaya Cordona {/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Samson Heneghan (W) vs. Carlos Beltran {/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Josafat Medina vs. Ethan Franco (W){/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}William Alvidrez vs. Lance Cerros (W){/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Joziah Romero vs. Uziah Green (W){/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Ulyses Chavez (W) vs. Caiden Spencer{/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Essai Franco (W) vs. Rowdy Perez {/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Martell Mora vs. Ernesto Amezcua (W){/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Jorge Amador vs. Elvin Castillo (W){/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Alvaro Terrazas (W) vs. Josiah Coca {/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Luis Amaya Cordona vs. Andrew Flores (W){/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}IB Maiga (W) vs. Caleb Kian {/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Eliquim Paz vs. Kaelob Lopez (W){/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Alvaro Garcia (W) vs. Osmin Perla{/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Aubryana Denogean vs. Anabelle Zavala (W){/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Daziah Green (W) vs. Ryder Sutfin{/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Leon Perez vs. Michael Silva (W){/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Antonio Morales vs. Gilberto Monge (W){/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Layth Algburi (W) vs. Brandon Andazola{/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Anthony Padilla vs. Iziah Green (W){/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Anthony Mariscal vs. Alfonzo Reynaga (W){/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Osmel Caraballo Lazo (W) vs. Dante Martinez{/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Marcos Arizmendiz (W) vs. Estevan Montoya{/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Luke Collins vs. Eusebio Delgado (W){/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Estevan Baldonado vs. Fernando Segovia (W){/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}David Estrada vs. Jimmie Perez (W){/li}{li dir=”ltr”}{p dir=”ltr”}Leroy Clark (W) vs. Isaiah Trujillo{/li}{/ol}