SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA — Immensely popular amateur Muay Thai kickboxing star Jenna Castillo showed her heart as she outwilled and out-skilled tough challenger Tiffany Van Soest in the main event of a fight card featuring mixed martial arts, boxing and amateur kickboxing at the San Mateo County Event Center on Saturday night.
The San Jose, California-based Castillo found herself facing a bit of adversity early in the fight. When she and San Diego, California’s Van Soest got tangled up and fell to the mat, it forced Castillo’s left shoulder to pop out of place. While still on the mat, Castillo, 122, signaled to referee Dan Stell that she was injured. Castillo was brought to the corner to see the ringside doctor and calmly proved she was fit to continue by rolling her shoulder and arm in several directions.
Seconds after the bell to end the first rang, Castillo landed a straight right then left combination. Van Soest, 121.5, simply grinned and it looked like a tough fight may lay ahead for Castillo. The second round featured two-way action and could have been scored either way. Castillo likely stole the round as she capitalized on a wild swing from Van Soest just before the bell. The third was unquestionably Van Soest’s best round, as a quick combination had Castillo holding on briefly.
Van Soest grasp of momentum was completely stripped away in the fourth. Castillo implemented an all out attack on Van Soest’s abdomen, with her knees serving as the main weapon of choice. After a relentless series of knees forced Van Soest across the ring, the referee decided to give her a standing eight count, making it a two-point round for Castillo. Van Soest was physically drained, but was still trying in the fight as the fifth and final round came to a close. In the end, all three judges had the fight for Castillo, with scores of 50-44 and 49-45 twice.
With the victory, Castillo successfully defended her IKF Muay Thai Bantamweight title and earned a spot on the September 11th card to be held at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, California.
MMA
A.J. Fonseca (5-3, 2 KOs, 2 Submissions) of Roseville, California completely dominated Joey De La Cruz (1-2) of Lemoore, California en route to a three-round unanimous decision victory. Fonseca, 141, took control in the second half of the first round and never relinquished his advantage in the fight. De La Cruz, 141, found himself on his back for much of the contest and suffered a badly busted up left eye late in the second round. De La Cruz’ injury was the result of a vicious Fonseca elbow.
The third round of the fight looked much like its predecessor, with Fonseca proving his dominance on that mat. In the end, all three official scorers came to the same conclusion in scoring the bout a 30-27 shutout for Fonseca. The win ends a two-fight skid for the Lemoore resident.
It only took three punches for Tristan Arenal (1-1, 1 KO) of Milpitas, California to end the night of Josue Tirado (1-1) of Fresno, California. Arenal, 155, threw two jabs and a straight right. The second jab stunned Tirado, 155, and the straight right laid him out. It took only 17 seconds, as referee Marcos Rosales did not need administer even the beginnings of a count.
Crowd favorite Phil Baldacci (2-2, 1 KO, 1 Submission) of San Francisco, California did not disappoint his vocal supporters as he ended a one-sided bout with Rene Gabaldon (1-2) of Riverside, California in under two rounds. Baldacci, 145, made just one mistake in the bout, as he got caught by a hook as he went for a takedown early in the first. Baldacci quickly attempted another takedown on Gabaldon, 145, and got it. From that moment, Baldacci controlled the fight.
The first ended with Baldacci reigning down with blows on a flat on his back Gabaldon. Quickly in the second, Baldacci gained the same position and came down with a series of well-placed forearms. Before two long, referee Dan Stell had no choice but to end the one-sided beating at the 1:09 mark of round two.
Moses Lira (2-2, 1 KO) of Oakdale, California spoiled the professional debut of Geoffrey Quares (0-1) of Vallejo, California via second-round submission. Quares, 166, managed to bloody the nose of Lira, 169, early in the fight. However, Lira quickly gained control and by the end of the opening stanza, it was Quares’ face that looked the worse for wear.
Quares landed a couple good hooks early in the second, but eventually found himself falling through the middle ropes onto the ring apron. Soon after the fight resumed, Lira gained control of Quares on the mat and landed several shots before cinching in a rear naked choke for the tapout. Official time of the stoppage was 1:20 of the second round.
Boxing
Making a statement in his professional debut, Juan Hernandez (1-0, 1 KO) of Redwood City, California needed just 22 seconds to halt Seth Keeling (1-1) of Escondido, California. Hernandez, 194, landed a merciless right uppercut that literally lifted Keeling, 192, off the ground. The punch had Keeling out before the left hook that came next expedited his descent to the mat. Somehow Keeling rose on unsteady legs, blood dripping from his mouth and he stumbled into a neutral corner.
Referee Ray Balewicz immediately stopped the fight, which delighted the strong gathering that came out to show their support for Hernandez. The Redwood City resident is a cruiserweight built in the mold of former 200-pound champion Kelvin Davis. Hernandez’ amateur career was highlighted by two California Golden Gloves Regional titles. Keeling, who managed to leave the ring under his own power, had scored a mild upset of Mike Lee (0-1) of Sacramento, California in his debut in March.
Unfortunately for boxing fans in attendance, originally scheduled bouts involving two locally-based prospects were cancelled when suitable opposition was not found in time for the event. Former amateur stars Richard Hargraves (2-0, 2 KOs) of San Francisco and Bruno Escalante Jr. (1-0-1) of San Carlos, California were slated to fill those two spots on the card.
Amateur Kickboxing
In the night’s semi-main event, Skylr Penna of San Francisco retained his IKF Muay Thai North American Super Welterweight title with a unanimous five-round decision over free-swinging Jon Pryor of Sacramento, California. Penna, 147 ½, controlled much of the action in the first, before Pryor, 150, landed a two-punch combination late. Beginning in the second round, Pryor focused on throwing and landing punches and found a fair amount of success with that plan. Penna was much more effective with his legs and knees throughout the bout.
After Pryor, the IKF Muay Thai West Coast Super Welterweight Champion, briefly had his rival in trouble in the third, Penna turned the tide with a vicious series of knees to his abdomen. A right kick from Penna was the most telling blow of the fifth and final round which helped lead to a unanimous 49-46 win for the San Francisco native.
Kristina Alvarez of San Diego claimed the IKF Muay Thai West Coast Super Lightweight title with a four-round unanimous decision over the powerfully built Katie Toliao of Dublin, California. Toliao, 137, used her apparent strength advantage early, as she and Alvarez, 134.5, engaged in a rough inside fight in the first. After a strong opening round for Toliao, Alvarez came out for the second with renewed vigor. After taking some hard knees to the body, Alvarez landed a strong series of hooks out of nowhere to force a standing eight count just before the end of the round.
As rounds three and four continued, Alvarez fought fatigue, but still landed clean hard punches and stunned Toliao at various times. Toliao was only effective at range, where she could touch Alvarez with her kicks. However, Alvarez had little trouble finding her way inside to land her telling blows in the final half of the fight. In the end, all three judges had the fight for the scrappy Alvarez by the scores of 39-35 and 38-37 twice.
In an injury abbreviated bout, Kevin Arceo of San Francisco scored a first-round technical knockout over Sean Ueda of San Diego. Arceo, 149, controlled the fight early, as his knees continually made the midsection of Ueda, 144, home. Very early in the first, both fighters got tangled up near the ropes which led to a left arm injury for Ueda. With Ueda obviously in pain, apparently from a torn left bicep, referee Dan Stell called the fight at 1:43 of round one.
Anthony Gonzalez of Dublin, California scored a three-round unanimous decision over Ryan Mazon of Upland, California. After a back-and-forth opening round, Gonzalez, 143, took control of the fight in the second. After feinting a right kick, Gonzalez dropped Mazon, 144, with a left hook. Mazon regained his composure, but would have a badly bloodied nose by round’s end. Gonzalez maintained control in the third, dropping Mazon with a four-punch combination that ended with a right hand. To his credit, Mazon never stopped trying and pressured Gonzalez late in the final round. In the end, all three judges scored the bout a shutout for Gonzalez, 30-26.
Gary Archuleta of San Diego took a three-round unanimous verdict over Arturas Barkauska of San Francisco. Archuleta, 137, stunned Barkauska, 134.5, with a left hook midway through the first. Barkauska seemed to regain his composure before a looping overhand right dropped him to the mat right at the bell. Barkauska did his best work as the fight came to a close, as he kept Archuleta on the end of this kicks and landed a hard right to end the fight. In the end, Archuleta won over all three judges by the scores of 29-27, 29-28 and 30-36.
In the opening fight of the night, Dereck Leung of San Francisco scored a three-round majority decision over Phil Devera of San Jose. Devera, 136.5, caught Leung, 136.5, with a hard two-punch combination against the ropes early in the fight. However, Leung quickly turned the tide, rocking Devera with a right and dropping him with a left late in the first. Leung rebounded nicely in the second, before the fight turned into a boxing match in the third, as each fighter landed their fair share of shots. One judge had the fight a draw, 28-28, but was overruled by the other two who both had the fight for Leung, 29-27.
Saturday’s event was part of the national “Fight Night to the Mansion” series. Events have taken place at several locations across the United States, all leading to the September 11th date at the Playboy Mansion. At each event, local females serving as ringcard girls compete in hopes of advancing to the Playboy Mansion event next month. The final winner will be featured in an issue of Playboy. Adding additional entertainment value were the Playmate Dancers, led by 2006 Playmate of the Year Kara Monaco. The next “Fight Night to the Mansion” event will be boxing-only and take place at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington on August 28th.
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at [email protected].
