Action Heats Up At Washington Golden Gloves!

The first night of semifinal action at the Washington Golden Gloves had some fantastic bouts as boxers competed in front of another big crowd at the Sugar Ray Leonard Community Center in Palmer Park, MD.

The Open Division had some outstanding bouts including the 141-pound semifinal between Tyrek Irby (Headbangers) and Gregory Outlaw (Sugar Ray Leonard).  Outlaw started out very strong in the contest.  By the second round, Irby seemed to gain control.  Both men landed great shots in the third round.  Irby lost a point in the third for tossing Outlaw to the canvas but managed to earn a hard-fought victory.

There was another marquee matchup in the 132-pound class as Tommy Avelar (Sugar Ray Leonard) defeated Cody Woodland (Woodland) in what was a very close contest.  Many fans in attendance did not agree with the decision there.

Here are the rest of the results in the Open Division:

114 Pounds: Malik Jackson (Limelite) over Dwayne Holmes, Jr. (Sugar Ray Leonard)

141 Pounds: Joshua Lee (UMAR) over Dionte Burts (Woodland)

152 Pounds: Maiwak Da'goot (Hillcrest) over Alonzo Thompson (Headbangers)

178 Pounds: Mark Duncan (Headbangers) over Troy Moody (Old School)

201+ Pounds: Cortez Dunston (UMAR) over Ralph Alexander (Sugar Ray Leonard)

201+ Pounds: Nathaniel Copeland (D-Block) over Jeraldo Cotto (Tony's Athletic Club)

123 Pounds: Christopher Glen (Hagerstown) wins his bout by walkover.

132 Pounds: Ulises Castaneda (Dog Pound) wins by walkover.

165 Pounds: Jordon Payne (Woodland) wins by walkover.

There was one championship in the Novice Division as Kierra Kerry of D-Block defeated her teammate Ladasha Lewis to win the Female 141-Pound Championship.

In other Novice Division Bouts:

123 Pounds: Joshua Woodard (Headbangers) over Sang Kim (Unattached)

123 Pounds: Marcus Johnson (Limelite) over Jaqueem Hutcherson (Keystone)

141 Pounds: Tariq Harris (1st Class) over Joseph Flores (Champions)

141 Pounds: Leroy Payne (Headbangers) over Charles Johnson (UMAR)

152 Pounds: Kalonni Daly (Sugar Ray Leonard) over Felix Manzueta (Dog Pound)

165 Pounds: Champ Moultrie (Laurel) over William Joppy, Jr. (Sugar Ray Leonard)

201 Pounds:  Alvin Amana (Switch Hitters) over Daniel Hawkins (Keystone) 

201 Pounds: Thomas Mottinger (Main Street) over Nelson Reyes (Champions)

Two boxers won by walkover:

141 Pounds: Donnell Poe (Old School)

178 Pounds: Francis Poulis, II (Sugar Ray Leonard)

There was one championship contest in the Junior Division -- Shakell Daly (Sugar Ray Leonard) won the 15-16, 125 Pounds title by defeating Donte Baytop (UMAR)

In a semifinal contest, Deon Giles (No Xcuse) won over Damare Dawkins (Unattached) in the 12, 100 Pound division.

Semifinal action continues on Saturday, March 19 at the Sugar Ray Leonard Center.  First bell is at 7:30 PM.