Boxing: Sanchez takes hard-fought split decision in bout he says was 'more of a draw' against McClain

Before two different rounds, ringside medical personnel checked Donald Sanchez to see if he was able to continue his bout in the co-main event Saturday at Isleta Resort & Casino.

Not only was Sanchez cleared both times, he was able to hang on to win his 10-round match against Bryant McClain.

Sanchez, of Albuquerque, made it a Duke City sweep of the card that featured three professional fights, one exhibition because an opponent pulled out late because of an injury and two bare-knuckle prospect bouts in what was billed as “Gloves on, Grudges off ,” by promoter Teresa Tapia.

Sanchez took a split decision against McClain, of Rio Rancho, but said the decision was a true tossup.

“I thought that was more of a draw,” he said. “He whipped my ass, too. That was closer than I thought. A lot closer than 98-92. Hats off, Bryant.”

The judges’ scores were 98-92, 97-93 and 97-93.

Both fighters in the light heavyweight bout were seeking knockout shots throughout the rounds and both finished with bloody and bruised faces.

Sanchez (6-3-0) suffered an early cut along his left eye and it became a frequent target and was the cause of one of the examinations.

But he said he wasn’t going to let that stop him.

“You can’t let anyone know you’re affected by anything,” he said. McClain “saw blood, but he didn’t smell it. I can’t let him smell that blood or else he’s coming harder and harder. I’m a dog.”

McClain (6-4-3) was back in the ring for the first time in four years and at times, it showed.

“I knew Donald was a warrior. I’ve been watching him fight since 2005, 2006, so I knew he was coming to fight,” McClain said. “I’ve been off for four years so I knew it was going to be a hard road back, but I pushed. Donald gave me the fight I was expecting. I just didn’t push hard enough. It happens sometimes.”

The brutal, back-and-forth bout had both boxers swinging from their heels and trading shots to the head.

“I probably should have prepared to get hit in the face a lot more than I did,” McClain said with a chuckle. “Donald comes to fight. I knew I would be able to hit him, but I knew I was going to get hit, too. I didn’t think I’d get hit that much.”

COVID and life got in the way of his time in the ring, but it was something McClain said he needed to do.

“I missed it. I love boxing,” he said. “I grew up around boxing. My dad, my uncle fighting. I fought in the amateurs. It’s just in my blood. It’s just something I needed to do and I wanted to get back to it before it got too late.”

In the other main event, Josh Torres (27-7-2) of Albuquerque swept all eight rounds in taking a unanimous decision over Daniel Calzada (20-21-3) of Denver.

“In my last fight, the guy quit after two rounds,” Torres said. “I knew Calzada wasn’t going to do that so I trained my butt off.”

Torres stalked Calzada throughout the welterweight bout, reveling in the chants of “Pitbull,” Torres’ nickname.

“I knew I had to work the uppercuts,” Torres said. “I knew I had to work the power shots because I knew he was going to keep coming. So I threw some body shots. Toward the later part, the second half of the fight, I think those punches were slowing him down just a little bit and I felt a little bit of the momentum going my way. But he was in the fight the whole way. He never gave up. And that’s why we train hard and that’s why we do what we do.”

In a six-round heavyweight fight, Cody East (5-1-0) of Los Lunas took a split decision over Terrell Jamal Woods of Forrest City, Arkansas, using it as more of a practice session for an MMA championship fight coming up in October.

“You don’t get this kind of experience sparring,” East pointed out. “Especially fighting a veteran like that. I appreciate him. But I’m very disappointed. I don’t feel like I won. I like to knock people out. It makes for a better fight, but I think the fans were entertained.”

Photos: Gloves On, Grudges Off boxing card at Isleta