By TXMMA Staff
Oscar Night in Kingsville proves to be showcase for rising boxing & MMA prospects
Oscar Night in Kingsville – Boxing Recap
The main event turned out to be a showcase for Oscar Cantu, the 23 year old local favorite fighting in his hometown for the very first time. He outboxed Felipe Castañeda through eight rounds of action, clearly looking like the faster more skilled boxer in the process as he scored points from the outside. For his part, Castañeda did try to rally in the middle rounds but it wasn’t enough as Cantu was never in trouble and picked up his first pro title as he improved his record to 7-0.
Another young prospect in 18 year old Julian Gilden of Aransas Pass picked up a win as well. He beat Round Rock’s Cesar Martinez by TKO in the second round of their fight to stay undefeated at 4-0 with 4 finishes. The toe battled tooth-and-nail in this one with neither fighter backing down from the opening bell. A well-timed power shot to Martinez’s liver proved to be the kill shot as the referee was forced to stop it halfway through the second round.
Three more bouts rounded off the boxing action for the evening. Lynell Johnson beat Kevin Conrad by split decision to avenge a loss at the amateur level. Meanwhile, Anthony Navarro defeated Daniel Sanchez by first round TKO in their planned four round bout while Killeen native Keith Downs successfully debuted as a pro by unanimous decision over Omar Rojas.
Oscar Night in Kingsville – MMA Recap
As for the MMA side at “Oscar Night in Kingsville,” the night’s slate provided some stiff tests for some up-and-coming prospects.
GB Woodlands’ Jared Chaffee traveled all the way from the Houston area to put his undefeated record on the line against US Army soldier Shane Lees. A tough wrestler, Lees would prove to be a stiff test for Chaffee, a BJJ brown belt. Jared showed his well-rounded arsenal early on in the fight by landing some stiff knees to the Ft. Hood solider. He also gained a timely takedown in the first to win the round. It would continue on in the second as the BJJ stylist countered the wrestler’s takedowns with an active guard. It was closer in the third with Shane taking Jared’s back but Chafee defended well en route to the split decision victory,
Lees’ Ft. Hood teammate Phillip Platt was next up as he made his pro debut against local fighter Emmanuel Yambir following a 2-1 stint in the amateurs. On the contrary, this was Yambir’s first MMA fight and it showed as Platt clearly looked like the more experienced fighter throughout the contest. The bout would end in the third as Platt moved to mount and pounded out his opponent to force the ref stoppage.
Last but not least was another Houston area fighter joining Chafee in victory as Ryan Hollis improved to 5-4 with his first round destruction of a clearly overmatched Omar Perales. “Riptide” would use his overall MMA skillset in going for takedowns on his opponent. Primarily a striker, Omar clearly didn’t show adequate takedown defense in this one, posting the wrong way and dislocating his shoulder in the process to give Hollis the TKO win. With this victory Hollis now moves back over .500 to 5-4 overall heading into what should be a very exciting fight with Beaumont’s Cody Williams at IXFA 10.
Check out the quick summary for Oscar Night below.
Oscar Night in Kingsville – Quick Results from March 22, 2014
- Oscar Cantu over Felipe Castañeda by unanimous decision (boxing)
- Julian Gilden over Cesar Martinez by TKO, RD2 (boxing)
- Lynell Johnson over Kevin Conrad by split decision (boxing)
- Jared Chaffee over Shane Lees by split decision (MMA)
- Phillip Platt over Emmanuel Yambir by TKO, RD3 (MMA)
- Ryan Hollis over Omar Perales by TKO (injury), RD1 (MMA)
- Anthony Navarro over Daniel Sanchez by TKO, RD1 (boxing)
- Keith Downs over Omar Rojas by unanimous decision (boxing)