George Rincon advanced to the semifinals of the 141-pound division of the Texas state Golden Gloves Tournament on Thursday with such seeming ease that it begged the question.
If Joey Alday, one of the top boxers in the state if not the nation at this weight, can’t touch the four-time defending champion and the defending national champion, who can?“It’s going to take more than skills to beat me,” said Rincon, a Dallas fighter, after dispatching Alday, from Odessa, in the quarterfinals at the John Justin Arena at the Will Rogers Memorial Center.“Right now, I feel really good. It’s going to take one hell of a fighter to beat me.”Antonio Castillo thinks he can be that man.The Fort Worth-region fighter worked over Julio Mares of the Rio Grande Valley with a steady dose of left jabs and stinging rights that scored more often than not in a unanimous decision to advance to the semifinals on the other side of the bracket.Castillo, a Waco resident and survivor of a highly competitive 141 division at regionals, will do battle with Steve Belmontes in the semifinals Friday night for a chance, in all likelihood, to knock off the king, Rincon, in the final Saturday.The winner of each division crown at state earns a trip to the national tournament in Salt Lake City in May.“He’s just another person in the ring that I’ve got to get out,” said Castillo, 23, of Belmontes. “Anybody’s capable of anything, I just have to take it fight to fight.”Castillo, who earns a living as a ranch hand, is one of four Fort Worth boxers vying to become the first fighter from the area to advance to nationals since Carlos Alcala in 2009.Joel Ambriz, a winner Thursday over Kevin Morin of Austin, will fight in the 123 semifinals tonight, as will John Duplessis (152) and Estevan Roman in 178.Two Fort Worth boxers lost Thursday.Chris Martinez, in the first fight on the card, dropped a decision in the 108-pound division to Luis Delgado of San Antonio. Brandin Chalker’s amateur career is over after a loss in the 132 division to Cresencio Ramos.Rincon will face off with Travell Mazion in the other semifinal in the 141.Mazion will need to be salty, but everybody here knew that anyway.Alday wanted to keep Rincon away and use his advantages in height and reach.It didn’t work. Rincon bulled his way inside and dictated the fight.“We knew from the beginning that was the plan,” Rincon said. “Their job is to do that, but we changed our game plan and it worked out.”Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
