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Vasquez battles to a win in the ballroom
Ringside report and photos by Rocco Morales
Marking the 20th consecutive sellout of the popular “Battle in the Ballroom” series at the Marriott in Irvine, Calif., light heavyweight Paul Vasquez, of Martinez, fought his way to a decision win over Palmdale’s Alex Virgen, in front of 1,412 Orange County fight fans.
After the five action-packed fights on the undercard, the crowd was expecting more of the same in the main event. Unfortunately, they would not get it with Vasquez-Virgen.
 The opening round left much to be desired, with neither fighter doing much. Round two saw a bit more action when Virgen landed what appeared to be a deliberate headbutt, coming up from a crouch, to strike Vasquez in the jaw. Vasquez was badly hurt by the headbutt—hurt enough to cause some concern that the fight may be stopped. Instead, after taking a couple minutes to recover, the fight resumed, but not before Virgen was deducted a point for the foul.
Once action did resume, there were fireworks as Vasquez fought as if angered by the foul while Virgen was just as angry—by, both, the point deduction and the verbal abuse he took from his opponent's cornerman during the interruption.
Vasquez was the longer and lankier of the fighters but, unfortunately, mostly used his jab as a rangefinder for awkward uppercuts which he favored throughout the fight. On occasion, Vasquez did hurt Virgen but there was no serious damage done until the end of the final round.
In the end, it was Vasquez by unanimous decision victory over Virgen. Vasquez raises his record to 8-2, 2 KOs, while Virgen falls under the .500 mark, at 5-6, 2 KOs.
Undercard
In the co-feature bout, local favorite Luis Ramos (4-0, 2 KOs) of neighboring Santa Ana, took on Michaelangelo Lynks (6-6, 2 KOs) of Riverside, in a four-round lightweight bout.
Lynks was never in the fight. Ramos overwhelmed Lynks with, both, speed and power and, after four, the Riverside fighter was fortunate to finish on his feet.
Ramos was awarded a unanimous decision victory.
In a four-round female featherweight bout, undefeated Jennifer Barber (6-0, 3 KOs) of Los Angeles, took on visiting Elizabeth Villareal (5-6, 0 KOs) of San Antonio, Tex.
In a possible precursor to NBA playoff action, it was all Los Angeles over San Antonio, as Barber used her superior footwork, hand speed and ring generalship to outhustle the capable but overmatched Villareal.
Barber remains undefeated and raises her record to 6-0, 3 KOs, while Villareal drops to 5-6, 0 KOs.
In a heavyweight matchup of local 0-1 fighters, Takalesi “Doug” Fifta, of Huntington Beach, took on Jim Collins, of Mission Viejo.
Fifta, at no more than 5'9”, was towered over by his opponent, but it was the muscular Fifta who proved to be the better fighter and, after an even first round, he punished Collins so much that the taller foe was unable to continue, retiring on his stool before the third.
With the TKO victory, Fifta raises his record to 1-1, 1 KO, while Collins falls to 0-2.
In an entertaining six-round welterweight bout, Aaron Martinez (8-0, 3 KOs), out of Los Angeles, took on Cristian Valverde (4-2, 2 KOs), of Hollywood.
It was a very competitive fight but, ultimately, Martinez was too much for Valverde, earning the TKO in the fourth round after the referee intervened despite protests from Valverde.
In the opening bout of the evening, a very bloody bantamweight bout, debuting David Gaspar (0-0-1) from nearby Carson, took on Constancio Alvarado (2-1-1), of Los Angeles.
At the end of the fight, the judges were unable to agree and the fight was declared a draw.
As usual, it was a very entertaining evening of boxing in the wonderful atmosphere of the classy Irvine Marriott. Promoter for the event was Roy Englebrecht Promotions.
Battle In The Ballroom returns to the Irvine Marriott on June 19th and fight fans are encouraged to get their tickets early for what should prove to be the 21st consecutive sellout for this event. Tickets may be purchased online at www.battleintheballroom.com
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