Golden Boy Fight Night
Thursday September 7, 2023 – Fantasy Springs Casino Indio, CA
In one of our favorite and home venues where GB hosts the majority of their events, Raul Curiel was the main event and Manny Flores was the co-main looking to rebound from a defeat in his last bout. Deuces were wild as three of the fights ended in Round 2, and it was an easy night for the judges as all but one fight went the distance.
1130 lbs – 8 Rounds – Leonardo Sanchez (6-0) KO 2 over vs. John Alimane (8-5): Referee Ray Armendariz waves this one off at the second round as Sanchez easily dominates Alimane.
126 lbs – 6 Rounds – Jorge Chavez (8-0) KO over Marvin Solano (24-11) : Chavez from San Diego impressive in his dismantling of Solano, a rugged veteran from Nicaragua.
135 lbs – 4 Rounds – Daniel Luna (3-0) KO over Alexander Gutierrez (0-3) Vicious body shot from Luna polishes off Gutierrez who drops to 0-3 as Luna improves to 3-0 and moves on to bigger and better things.
154 lbs – 6 Rounds – Grant Flores (3-0) UD over Jaleik Bogle (4-2-2): In the only fight of the night that went the distance, local fighter Grant Flores easily outpointed Bogle from Tampa, FL after dropping him in round 5. Bogle had a few moments but not enough to sustain any type of momentum as Flores improves to 3-0.
122 lbs – 10 Rounds – Manny Flores (16-1) KO over Jerson Ortiz: After being dominated in his last fight against Walter Santibanes in the same venue, Flores was able to dominate a much lower caliber opponent in round 2. Although impressive, Flore’s opponent in Ortiz offered zero resistance and the match-up here favored Flores which made sense to get him back on track. Flores was asking for a rematch after the fight that should absolutely happen.
147 lbs – 10 Rounds – Main Event – Raul Curiel (13-0) TKO over Courtney Pennington (17-6-3) The main event showcased another welterweight in the GB stable. Raul “Cougar” Curiel was patient in breaking down the rugged Pennington who had only been stopped twice entering this contest. Referee Gerard White had seen enough and stopped the fight with less than 10 seconds remaining in the final round. Pennington had simply taken too much punishment and White halted the fight against the wishes of his corner. The outcome was inevitable as Curiel showcased his talents in 10 rounds and is clearly ready for higher level competition.