In a battle of two experienced, quick 152-pounders, left-handed Alex Martin won the Chicago Golden Gloves Open championship in a decision over Nathan Ridings on Friday night at Gordon Tech.
The boxers showed each other a lot of respect in the first round as they moved gingerly around the ring, looking for an opening and trying to maneuver the other into position for a good punch.
Martin landed a couple of his power punches in the second, but couldn’t follow up. Both fighters landed some flurries, but didn’t cause any damage.
But Martin landed more punches in the third round, drawing blood from Ridings’ nose and that was enough for the decision.
Riding still has hopes of representing his mother’s native El Salvador in the 2012 Olympics in London.
In the Open heavyweight final, Shawndell Winters decisioned left-handed Anton Young.
The pair staged some good exchanges in the first round, but at the end of the second Young appeared to be hurt in a neutral corner and took a few uneven steps back to his corner at the bell
He landed a hard left in the third round in an effort to take control of the fight, but Winters fought back and hurt Young with a punch that caused the referee to give Young a standing eight count with about 30 seconds to go.
There wasn’t enough time for Young to swing momentum back to his side before the bell rang.
Trumaine Charles won the championship in the 147-pound Senior Novice division with a three-round decision over a game Benjamin Dydyna.
Dydyna started the first round as a lefty, but ended up in the orthodox stance as Charles forced him backward. They both landed plenty of hard shots, but Charles’ were more accurate and there were more of them.
It was more of the same in the final round, but Dydyna never took a voluntary step backward.
In the night’s first bout, Javier Rivera defeated Omar Brown over three rounds in the 112-pound Novice division.
After an even first round, Rivera started to dominate in the second, as Brown seemed uncertain. Rivera gained confidence and began unloading harder punches in the third, causing the referee to give Brown a standing eight count.
In a bout that featured plenty of punching but little defense, Ana Arteaga defeated Frankie Gallardo for the Women’s 132-pound Novice title.
They opened the fight punching madly, but Gallardo soon decided to take the easier route of jabbing, except Arteaga wouldn’t go along. She came in with some heavy punches to try to take control of the fight, but Gallardo responded with her own punches every time she took one. Arteaga came on stronger in the third, though, to win the decision.
Alberto Lopez defeated John Buluran in the second round to win the Senior Novice 132-pound championship.
Lopez had an edge in the first round but stepped on the gas in the second round. A long left hook sent Buluran staggering into the ropes and the referee jumped in to give him a standing eight count. Lopez swarmed over Buluran when action resumed, and again Buluran was given an eight count. Then, suddenly, the referee waved his arm and the fight was over.
