THE WBC GREEN BELT CHALLENGE- A GLITTERING SUCCESS

The WBC 3rd Annual Green Belt Challenge was a HUGE success in California this past weekend.
Every year the show grabs and entices the excitement plus enthusiasm  of more gyms and boxing fans to participate. This year just in pre match sign ups we had over 250 boxers. Unfortunately, we could not accommodate all of them,  but we hope soon we can have an even bigger show or tournament to make sure every boxer participates.
On our first day of the show, June 15, The boxers were at the STAR Center in Whittier, CA waiting for the doors to open for weigh ins, even before us! There were boxers from around Southern California, Central California, Northern California, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, UK, and Nevada all for one purpose. To win the Green Belt! All The boxers who were matched for a bout were given a free tank top courtesy of the WBC and a backpack full of goodies courtesy of Pueblo Boxing, Supreme Boxing, Everlast, PowerPro Plumbing, Sombra Apparel and Teiken.

This year we also had Grapevine Medical take over the medical side of things and make sure all boxers are healthy to box and  safe in the ring. To make the process safer we had 3 nurses assist the doctor to thoroughly check the boxers and had the ambulance there all day, all three days. Big thank you to Louis Rodriguez from our Green Belt Challenge committee for making this safe move this year.

This is also the first year we had more than one or two female bouts. We had over 20 girls participate! That itself was a huge success because this show is motivating the young girls to come and participate in these shows AND one is guaranteed a belt! We have to admit, one of the most exciting fights of the three day show, was a female bout, and that just shows you the enthusiasm the girls bring to the ring. We hope every year we have even more girls participate!

The 2nd day we had even more boxers come weigh in, so we had 32 bouts that successful night. The 3rd and final day was the big day, we had over 42 bouts throughout the day, we make time changes and had to start weigh ins earlier to make it possible for all the participants to box.
Throughout the three day show we had many Professional fighters come by to support the Amateur Boxers like, Brandon Rios, Chango Carmona, Joseph Landeros, Kenia Enriquez, Hugo Centeno, Pablo Rubio, Michael Dutchover, Brandon Trejo, Giovani Segura, Joet Gonzalez, Chimpa Gonzalez, John Leon, Maricela Cornejo, Cesar Diaz, Ryan Garcia, and David Mijares.

The final day was the toughest, because out of 200 boxers, USA Boxing had to choose the top 4. We knew it was going to be very difficult,  as many boxers wanted to fight all three days but due to the high participation, it was not likely for many.
Therefore, the WBC decided at the last minute to add 4 mini belts for the boxers who were in the running for the top prize. WBC decided  they needed to be acknowledged as well. The divisions were as follows, 8-12, 13-18, 19+, female and a gym. The team belt would be won by the gym with the most sportsmanship, teamwork, respect, participation and overall role models to our community.
This was a very difficult choice as well,  because we had so many gym who qualified for the belt. And at the end the gym who won this WBC Green Belt Challenge Belt was Jose Armando Santacruz’ Rise Above Boxing Academy. The reason was because throughout the show, they kept taking on boxers who showed up without a trainer. They took the losses without complaining, they constantly asked if the committee needed help and they were very respectful and showed great sportsmanship.

The winner of the 8-12 division was Dylan Capetillo fighting out of Feroz Fight Factory in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dylan won over the crowd on both nights he fought. When Dylan was in the ring, all eyes were on him, the crowd was pumped! The winner of the 13-18 division was Jesus “Jesse” Haro of Dethrone Boxing, Jesse was lucky enough to fight all 3 nights and is a very skilled boxer who we know will go very far in the sport!
The winner of 19+ division was Gerardo Esquivel, who spent every penny he had to get a flight to Los Angeles to be at this show! Gerardo also fought all three nights and was the last bout of the show in a great contest  against Oscar Godinez our of Fernando Vargas Feroz Fight Factory. The winner of the Female belt was Mayra Ruiz who also was lucky enough to fight all three days and gave one of the most exciting fights this past weekend. Mayra is a great dedicated boxer and great example to the community!

Our outstanding runners up were also amazing Boxers and we were very privileged to honor them as well. Rodrigo Mosquero Jr., a great boxer who also fought all three days. He comes from a well known Boxing Family and we know is on the road to become a Champion! Steven Navarro, also a great boxer and overall a great person outside of the ring. He was one who stood out from the crowd because he was genuinely so grateful just to be a part of the show.
Steven is very dedicated to the sport and sees himself going to the Olympics one day. Jose Alvarez fighting out of Santa Maria, CA made the trip out with his family. It took a five hour drive, they showed up and his team was not there. At weigh ins, he looked very sad because he was not going to be able to participate in the show, but Boxing is like family and NGBA Boxing took him under their wing and stood in his corner the first 2 night, because his team did not show up the second day either.
He fought his heart out and gave the fans a great show. Unfortunately, the 3rd days there was no bout for him, nonetheless he stayed to help around the show. Oscar Godinez from Las Vegas, Nevada gave an amazing fight against Gerardo Esquivel, a great fight to end the 3rd Annual Green Belt Challenge!

The WBC thanks the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, U.P.A.C. and Alhambra Youth Boxing Club for their tremendous support these past three years and is very grateful for the Boxers for letting us be a part of their extraordinary journey.