By Jorge A. Martinez

Once again war drums sounded along the Delta, and Stockton tribes gathered to witness their warriors do battle. Amongst these tribes a new leader has emerged. A new promoter and a fast study, James Grunsky put on yet another knockout performance in his latest production. James has come a long way. Thanks to James, Stockton is once again on the fight map of the United States.

Once known at ‘Fat City’, for its boxing shows, Stockton can once again take its place amongst the proud and the few. You¹d think new Mayor, former police Chief Chavez, Pedoesto¹s creation would have made an appearance, but no such luck. It seems the mayor does not see it within his role to make an appearance. You¹d think he’d want to show support for a real self starter, a real dreamer who took a chance and made it happen, without someone greasing the skids for him. Too bad, he might have learned something from James Grunsky.  If James had waited for someone to godfather him in, Stockton would still be without boxing. Right On James.

All that being said, there is no joy in Mudville. The pride of Stockton, as Kenny Lopez likes to call himself, was knocked cold by a guy with less than half his experience. Then talk about a freak accident, Carlos Zepeda broke his arm. How in the hell does someone break his arm in a boxing match? You’d think they were in the World Wrestling Federation. Anyone who was there can tell you it happened when Zepdea started his usually method of winging his arms out  like a bird and connected with his opponent¹s elbow. It was as odd as watching Mike Tyson break his ankle. No one ever taught these guys how to properly punch, block, slip and any other fundamentals. If you want someone to blame, its their coaches fault. A coach is like a parent to a young figther, if the coach don¹t know how to box, neither will the fighter. It¹s strange too, if you talk to one of these know-nothing coaches after one of their fighters gets the hell knocked out of them, they usually reply with some ridiculous answer. Like yea, but he¹s got lots of balls. As if courage is all it takes to be a fighter.

Too bad. Carlos could be a hell of a boxer if he had someone teach him the game, He may lack fundamentals, but he does not lack courage, power, or the willingness to enter the fray and go for it. As far as Kenny is concerned, now 40 years old and father of four, he needs to stop pretending he¹s still the strapping, brawler, puncher who never gave a damn and simply beat his opponent down, no matter how many punches he took. I¹ve followed his career. Kenny’s never had proper technique, he¹s always been a brawler who would take five punches in order to land one. Only this time he took the wrong punch, which is guaranteed to happen when you lack proper defensive hand position. He has always dropped his right hand and therefore never had any protection from a left hook, which is what he caught and dropped him like a rag doll.

His opponent James Brock didn’t have anything that I could see, and I¹ve watched a lot of boxing. Brock lacked fundamentals, hopped around the ring like a half crazed Everlast bunny, and punched while standing on one foot. A better trained boxer, with sound fundamentals, stamina and a right hand could have finished him. I don’t know what Kenny was waiting for when he got caught with that left hook. He might have thought he was waiting for a taxi, and got hit by a train instead. I watched as James Brock simply came in behind his jab, and threw the left hook. It landed solidly on Kenny¹s right side and, badda bing, badda boom, game over. Kenny dropped like he’d been shot, embarrassingly in front of his own home crowd. The Pride of Stockton lay on the canvas out cold, as the doctor, his corner men and the referee attempted to revive him. All during this time Brock did cartwheels, flips, and leg splits around the ring. As he celebrated his victory. The Stockton crowd, many Kenny’s supporters, stood stunned, silenced and no longer carrying on. It was definitely a poignant moment, one not quickly forgotten by Stockton fight fans. I bet it makes best knock outs on Friday Night Fights.

The next most embarrassing moment came when René Lopez entered the ring without any amateur experience, lacking any concept of what it means to box, and got beaten down like piñata. The poor ignorant wretch didn¹t even know how to hold his hands, move his feet, step sideways or parry a punch. He didn’t know how to throw a right, or a left. He swung his arms out like a monkey catching on to a limb and had no power in either hand. Thank God he wore red, to match all the blood that poured out of his nose. The poor kid took so much punishment I suggested to his corner that they stop the fight. I even told the Jim Montoya, an alleged promoter and knowledgeable man of the sport, his coach ought to be fired. All Jim said was,  You¹ve got to give the kid credit, he’s got a lot of balls. No sooner had he said that, then his opponent, Gerardo Arcos landed a right hook squarely on the poor kid¹s groin. René who¹d already been beaten for three rounds fell to his knees in horrible anguish. His face contorted in anguish and horror.

Sitting ringside, on the blue corner, I watched as René who had lots of balls, according to his manager, tried to survive the terrible pain. No groin protector ever made could have protected him from such a solid shot. I once again suggest they stop the fight, there was no way he could have won. I was surprised that his corner, clearly folks who don’t care about him, told him, it was his fault for now punching and putting more balls into the fight. All this was said in Spanish, and sounds just like what it is, gutter talk.

Sitting ringside I have been privileged to hear what so corner men say to their fighters, so far I¹d say its 50-50. Some complete nonsense, some helpful. However telling this kid to put more balls into the fight was a little over the top. The poor misguided, unprepared, innocent gutsy kid stood up and walked back into the fray, where this time, his opponent landed a terrible combination and once again landed René on the canvas, this time for good. It was a lesson in the harshness of the reality of boxing. It is a tough game, one that should not be entered without considering the deadly possibilities. The reckless and foolhardy forget, you could die in here. Thank God, none of the above seemed to be permanently damaged, although I can¹t not say that about Kenny. I believe he¹s suffered all he can take, without risking his life. I would advise anyone who can influence him to strongly encourage him to hang up his gloves and find pleasure in just watching the sport.

The only hope left in Mudville was accidentally found in a kid making his debut, Nick Brooks, who convincingly proved that a strong left cross is as good as a right one any day of the week. Nick packs a power in his left cross and anyone who meets him in the ring should be advised to move away from his strong side.

The Best fight of the night was Franky Leal against Ricardo Valencia. Frankly clearly outclassed Valencia and gave us all a good, action packed fight.

Luisito Espinoza took a beating from Cristobal Cruz and should retire. He’s seen more fights than are healthy.

Hilario Lopez pummeled Jose Bermejo and must have made a lasting impression on the poor kid.

No matter what else can be said about any of these men who fought, they are all worthy of respect. Some may lack training and boxing skills, but none of them lack courage. If nothing else can be learned about boxing in general, one thing is certain, no one can endure public humiliation. Anyone who knows any of these fighters would be well advised not to poke fun or disrespect at their efforts. Boxing is a tough, unforgiving game.

James Grunsky once again did a great job and has much to be proud of. Right on James.

See You Ringside