Las Vegas boxers win titles at USA Nationals

Associated Press

Jesus Magdaleno, right, of Las Vegas, Nev., celebrates after winning the bantamweight title over Luis Rosa, left, of East Haven, Conn., at the finals of the U.S. Boxing Championships in Denver on Saturday, June 13, 2009.

Associated Press

Sunday, June 14, 2009 | midnight

Two nights after his stunning upset of Rau'shee Warren in the semifinals, Jesus Magdaleno made sure there was no drama in the championship bout.

Magdaleno followed up his signature victory with a dominant one. He showed no letup from his big win, beating Luis Rosa 17-4 to capture the bantamweight title at the USA Nationals on Saturday night.

"I did want to win this tournament," Magdaleno said. "I trained really hard for it and this is something I wanted to conquer."

Magdaleno rallied against the favored Warren in Thursday's semifinals. He trailed 19-14 entering the third and final round but scored the final five points to forge a tie. The judges gave the 17-year-old from Las Vegas the tiebreaker, sending Warren out of the ring in anger -- and possibly out of amateur boxing for good.

"I'm ready to be done with USA boxing," Warren told The Associated Press after Thursday's loss.

While Warren fumed at the decision, Magdaleno was euphoric in victory. He said after Thursday's win he went back to his dorm room and sat by himself and let the win sink in.

"Rethinking and replaying the fight really let me settle down," he said. "Having a day in between his big win and the championship bout helped."

It showed in his performance Saturday night. He swarmed Rosa, using his quickness to jump out to the early lead. In the second round, his relentless attack forced Rosa into a pair of standing eight counts.

Magdaleno eased up in the third round, content to win on points and not take a chance and leave himself open for a knockout punch.

"From watching him the other nights my strategy was to outbox him and rack up my points," Magdaleno said. "I felt quicker and also stronger than he was, but I didn't want to force any knockouts, make a big mistake and get knocked out myself."

That would have taken some of the joy out of his win over Warren on Thursday.

"It ranks really high," Magdaleno said of the semifinal win. "He's a two-time Olympian and a world champion, it's a big thing to win over him."

Louie Byrd also had a big win in his hometown. Byrd dominated his flyweight match against Adan Ortiz on Saturday, overwhelming him with hooks and jabs to win his second USA National crown. He used a couple of uppercuts to go for the knockout in the second round, but couldn't land a decisive blow.

"That's where I needed to gain all those points, and throwing those combinations were helping me get a lot of points, and I stretched the lead," Byrd said.

He continued the onslaught in the third, forcing Ortiz into two standing eight counts before the referee stopped the fight with Byrd ahead 39-8.

"My speed and my stamina were just too much for him," Byrd said.

Michael Hunter Jr. was the only other repeat champion. Hunter, who captured the 2007 super heavyweight crown, won the same title Saturday, beating Javier Torres 31-12 in the final bout of the night. It was a comeback of sorts for Hunter, who was disqualified from his quarterfinal bout.

Hunter beat Lenroy Thompson 8-7 in Wednesday's match but was disqualified for using too much gauze on his hands. He appealed the ruling, and the arbitrators ruled in his favor, restoring the super heavyweight into the semifinals of the championships.

Given another chance, he won easily in the semifinals and routed Torres in an energetic match that saw both boxers land solid punches.

"I'm glad I got my shot and nothing phony happened again," Hunter said.

In other fights:

• Miguel Cartagena of Philadelphia beat Garen Rabellizsa of Waianae, Hawaii, 7-5, to win the light flyweight title.

• Kevin Rivers of Landover, Md., beat Jerren Cochran in the title bout of the featherweight division, 21-11.

• In the lightweight title match, Duran Caferro Jr. of Helena, Mont., beat Adrian Martinez of Milwaukee, 12-9.

• In the light welterweight division, Frankie Gomez of Los Angeles edged Jose Benavidez 11-9 to win his first championship.

• Errol Spence of Desoto, Texas, won the welterweight title with a 7-2 decision over Jesse Hart of Cleveland.

• In the middleweight title bout, Terrell Gausha of Cleveland won by disqualification over Jesse Hart of Marquette, Mich.

• Robert Brant of Oakdale, Minn., edged Sijuola Shabazz of Las Cruces, N.M., 11-9 in the light heavyweight title match.

• Jordan Shimmell of Hudsonville, Mich., won the heavyweight crown with a 9-6 win over Nicholas Kisner of Glen Burnie, Md.