Third Day of 2008 National PAL Tournament

What an awesome night of competition last night (Wednesday, Oct. 1st). Francisco Solis-Noyola was to compete against Caleb Orozco from Sacramento, CA, however Caleb was medically disqualified and Francisco advanced to the semi-finals tonight (Thursday, Oct. 2nd). Francisco will be competing againist Victor Pasillas from East Los Angeles, CA.

Jamal James competed against Anthony Walker from Cincinnati, OH. All three rounds were packed with awesome action from both boxers. I had the opportunity to actually watch Jamal compete last night. All three rounds were very busy for both boxers. Jamal did an awesome job utilizing his jab and right. As long as he kept his jab busy he was able to keep Anthony at a distance and catch him with strong punches and gain points. His combinations were beautiful and strong throwing straight rights and left hooks after his jabs. It kept his opponent a little confused at times. The third round Jamal started slowing down a bit, which allowed his opponent to catch up with him on points. Jamal wasn’t utilizing his jab and reach to keep Anthony at a distance as much as he should have. Jamal won the bout on a split decision and advances to the semi-finals on Friday, Oct. 3rd. He has the night off this evening.

Javontae Starks had the night off last night but not tonight. He will be competing against Alex Martin from Joliet, IL. On Tuesday, Sept. 30th Javontae competed against Terrance Jarmon from Cincinnati, OH, which he won and advanced to tonights competition. That same night Jamal competed against Luis Borrego from Tucson, AZ and advanced to last night’s competition, which he won and advances to the semi-finals on Friday, Oct. 3rd.

The great news about this night competition is that both boxers, Francisco and Javontae are competing in the ring that I am officiating in so I will be able to watch both bouts. I will not be able to judge or referee either of their bouts because that of course would be a conflict of interest and could you imagine the drama it would cause with other coaches . So I will be sure to take excellent notes and give everyone an update on the blog website tomorrow afternoon.

Don’t forget to send positive energy, thoughts and/or prayers to our boxers, Francisco and Javontae this evening and stay tuned for the outcome