Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Columnist Jeff Haney: Military personnel treated to free boxing show

Jeff Haney covers boxing for the Las Vegas Sun. Reach him at (702) 259-4041 or [email protected].

Camp Pendleton, the sprawling U.S. Marine Corps base near San Diego, is home to thousands of Marines who have fought and who continue to fight the war in Iraq.

Tribal leaders with the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, based in the same area, wanted to honor the local troops in a unique way for their bravery and their sacrifices in serving the country.

As a result, Sycuan Ringside Promotions, the tribe's boxing arm, will host a six-bout fight card Tuesday at Camp Pendleton, distributing a projected 10,000 tickets for free to military personnel.

ESPN will televise the card -- dubbed "Salute to America's Heroes" -- nationally, but the live audience will be made up almost exclusively of Marines, sailors and their family and friends, according to tribal leaders.

Glenn Quiroga, president and CEO of Sycuan Ringside Promotions, called it an idea whose time has come.

"I'm surprised no one has done this before," Quiroga said. "Sycuan really wanted to do this, to put on a show for the military, and we have received a great response from the military. They really welcomed the idea with open arms.

"This is the first time something like this has been done, entirely for free."

If the event goes as well as expected, Quiroga said, he could see other boxing promoters taking a cue from Sycuan and planning similar shows to honor the military in other cities.

Boxing hotbed Las Vegas, home of Nellis Air Force Base, would seem to be a leading candidate if the idea takes off.

"Hopefully it goes well, and I could see others possibly picking up on it," Quiroga said.

Sycuan Ringside has its sights set on a possible encore performance overseas to follow Tuesday's card, Quiroga said.

"We're looking at taking a show over to Kuwait and putting one on for the military personnel serving over there," he said. "So that's a goal we have in mind."

Former IBF lightweight champion Julio Diaz (31-3, 23 knockouts) headlines Tuesday's card at Camp Pendleton, taking on Tomas Barrientes (27-8, 17 KOs). Currently ranked No. 3 by the IBF, Diaz, 25, lost his belt to Jose Luis Castillo in March at Mandalay Bay and is making a bid to earn another world title opportunity.

The undercard includes a four-round attraction featuring Eric Esch, better known as Butterbean; and a women's bout featuring popular female fighter Mia St. John.

Lacy-Reid

He is a 4-1 betting favorite, and a victory would set the stage for a showdown for supremacy at 168 pounds against WBO title-holder Joe Calzaghe, yet IBF super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy insists he is not looking past Saturday's fight against Robin Reid.

"I have to go through Robin Reid to attain my quest," Lacy said recently on a conference call. "I am treating this matter very, very seriously. ...

"I am not going to answer any more questions about the future. My fight and quest is ... Saturday and it is Robin Reid."

Lacy (19-0, 15 KOs), of St. Petersburg, Fla., will have the home-ring advantage -- the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa -- in defending his belt against Reid (38-4-1, 27 KOs), of England.

Showtime will televise the bout (9 p.m., tape-delayed in the West).

"It is an honor for me to fight in the (Tampa) bay area," said Lacy, a 2000 U.S. Olympian who won his title last October against Syd Vanderpool at Caesars Palace and has successfully defended it twice. "It's something I always dreamed of doing -- defending a world title in the bay area. Now it has come true and now it is time for me to go to work."

Though Lacy has spoken previously of his desire to gain a shot at Calzaghe (39-0, 31 KOs), a tough British left-hander, he and his camp said their focus is trained exclusively on Reid for now.

"Jeff is not looking past Robin Reid," Lacy's promoter Gary Shaw said. "Reid is the stiffest test Jeff Lacy will have faced in his 19-0 career."

Reid, 34, fought Calzaghe in 1999 in England and came out on the short end of a 12-round split decision.

Reid claims he was robbed by the judges in that fight and in a unanimous-decision loss to Sven Ottke in a world title bout in Germany in 2003.

He has fought only twice since the beginning of 2004, a period of inactivity caused in part by the bitterness of losing those two decisions, Reid's trainer Brian Hughes said.

"Obviously he was bitter at Calzaghe and the German officials when he thought he won," Hughes said. "The reason he has not fought is because it was a political thing. (Lacy) is quite right -- Robin Reid would not come over (to the U.S.) for the paycheck. He is coming over to win a world championship."

Reid refused to make his scheduled appearance on the conference call due to what his trainer characterized as an undisclosed, perceived slight by the fight's promotional team.

Orleans card

Jumbo-sized heavyweight Tye Fields (6-foot-9, 275 pounds) will meet veteran Saul Montana in the 10-round main event of a card presented by Guilty Boxing at the Orleans on Friday night.

Fields, 30, a native of Missoula, Mont., now fighting out of Las Vegas, brings a 10-inch height advantage and a 15-inch reach advantage into the bout, though Montana has fought better competition in his career.

Montana (43-12, 37 KOs), 34, originally from Acapulco, Mexico, has fought Virgil Hill and Vassily Jirov in world title bouts and has also met James Toney and Uriah Grant in the ring. The WBC ranks Montana No. 24 among heavyweights.

Fields has compiled a record of 33-1, 30 KOs, though against lesser opponents.

An eight-round super featherweight undercard fight matches Las Vegas boxers Arturo Quintero (14-2, 9 KOs) and Wes Ferguson (10-1-1, 3 KOs).

In a six-round heavyweight bout, Las Vegas fighters Preston Hartzog (15-0-1, 4 KOs) and Willie Chapman (18-21-3, 5 KOs) square off.

Also on the undercard: Farid Shaid (3-5, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas vs. Joaquin Zamora (7-2-1, 6 KOs), super welterweights, six rounds; Cristian Lopez (7-0, 4 KOs) vs. Kevin Carmody (4-4-1, 0 KOs), lightweights, six rounds; Juan Mercedes (6-1, 5 KOs) vs. an opponent to be determined, super flyweights, six rounds; Cedric Holmes (pro debut) of Las Vegas vs. Manuel Garcia (0-1-1), welterweights, four rounds.

The card begins at 7 p.m. in the Mardis Gras Ballroom. Tickets are $25 and $35.

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