This past Saturday, I attended the Fort Worth “Regional” Golden Gloves for the very first time. John "Lawman" Lawson, a good friend of mine and head coach of the Lewisville Boxing Team, had a fighter in the finals, my boxing thirst needed to be quenched, so I figured why not?  "Lawman's" guy was Michael Lane, who would be vying for the Novice 152 pound title.  Lane, affectionately known as "Killer", is a fighter that I've known for awhile now and openly root for (Officially, Lane fought under the Jimenez Boxing Club banner).

The Fort Worth Regional Golden Gloves took place at John Justin Arena, a spot I'm no stranger to, having attended several Texas State Golden Gloves over the years.  John Justin is my absolute favorite North Texas venue for watching fights, but having never experienced the Fort Worth 'Gloves, I entered with lowered expectations.  I must say, I was pleasantly surprised there was not a drop-off whatsoever in the presentation level of the two tournaments.  I was surrounded by a stadium full of appreciative boxing fans, the vendors and the action was aplenty and it all made for a thoroughly enjoyable evening. 

Fair or not, I couldn't help but to compare the ambience and "professionalism" of this non-professional "Funkytown" event to the offering coming from "Big D".  At the Dallas Gloves, a claustrophobic would end his own life after sitting in the cramped quarters of the Hella Shrine Temple.  God bless 'em, but that place just isn't equipped to house an occasion as grand as the Dallas Golden Gloves.  By comparison, the confines of John Justin were spacious, even with a nice sized crowd.  No matter which direction you ventured, you'd run into a concession stand and the lighting in the arena added a pro look to the fights themselves.  The city of Dallas more than holds its' own with the quality of fights and fighters, but the arrangement of it’s own Golden Gloves can afford to be spiced up a bit.

As always, my biggest thrill was getting the opportunity to interact with the fighters and their coaches.  One minute I was chatting with retired legend, former world bantamweight and junior featherweight champion, Pauly Ayala, about his upcoming show in April.  The next minute, Vincent Reyes (whose father, Paul, has worked the corners of Ayala, Donald Curry, Kirk Johnson and many others) was introducing me to Vanessa Washington and raving about Edward Vasquez. Washington went on to win the female Senior Novice 114 pound title, via 1st round stoppage.  I missed Vasquez's championship effort in the 132 pound Intermediate Open final, but heard nothing but glowing reviews about it, across the arena. 

I ran into James "Boogie" Freeman, nursing the hand he fractured in his recent fight with Larry "Slomoshun" Smith.  At various times I saw cruiserweight stud, Kendrick "The Apostle" Releford and his father, Ken.  Rafael Casias seemed to be everywhere, as was Paul Juarez, father/trainer of daughter, Vanessa.

Believe it or not, I actually took time away from chatting and watched a handful of fights.  Representing Jimenez Boxing Club, Tobius Sims was a dead ringer for Mike Tyson.  Physically and in terms of his fighting style, Smith was knocking people out all tournament long, en route to the 201 pound novice title.  Comic relief was provided in the 201 pound master division affair as one of the combatants was literally sprinting away from his competitor.  Referee, Robert Chapa, did an admirable job of keeping a straight face and forcing the fighters and the "fight" together while it lasted.  The most fan-friendly contest I witnessed was between Ladez Jones and Noe Espinoza, in the 123 pound open final.  These young men stood in the pocket and dropped hand grenades on each other in every round.  Of course, Michael Lane won his finale as well, which was icing on the cake.