KENDO PROVES TREMENDOUS IN RENO!
April 23, 2024
Simon Ruvalcaba
(Ringside)
Great boxing history is cemented in Reno, Nevada. Reno, On the eve of hosting the WBO Featherweight title fight between Shakur Stevenson VS. Joet Gonzalez, hosted a Roy Jones, JR. in a association with Joey Gilbert Promotions event at the Silver Legacy Hotel/Casino. Boxing also has a rich tradition of developing great talent in San Antonio, Texas.
In the Main Event of the evening, San Antonio’s Kendo ‘Tremendo’ Castaneda proved that he is the next great prospect to pay attention to from San Antonio. Coming in with a Michael Meyers mask, Castaneda gave Belmont, CA’s Stan ‘The Man’ Martyniouk a nightmare as he continuously drove him to the ropes and punished him to the head and body. In spurts, the veteran Martyniouk would unload his signature speed and land shots. In the end, the pressure from Kendo proved too much and a flurry of shots with Martyniouk on the ropes floored him and referee Vic Drakulich had seen enough at that point and waived off the action at 2:22 of round 6. The talented Castaneda improves to 17-0 (8) and now looks for bigger things. The veteran Maryniouk, who has become known as a great sparring partner in recent years, will have to weigh his options as he falls to 20-3 (6).
From press row, come-backing Reno Bantamweight Oscar ‘Chapito’ Vasquez appeared to do enough in a workmanlike fashion over 8 rounds against Modesto, CA’s Gilberto Mendoza who fought gamely and did land his share of shots throughout the bouts exchanges. Punchline scored the bout 77-75 for Vasquez as did one of the official judges. However, the scorecard was over ruled as the other two judges scored the bout a draw (76-76). A disappointed Vasquez is now 15-2-1 (3), while Mendoza is now 15-7-1 (7).
In a four round Featherweight contest, Local favorite Ricardo Lucio-Galvan returned from an over 18-month layoff to earn a unanimous decision over Amarillo, Texas’s Mobley Villegas. Lucio-Galvan, a University of Nevada Business Student and fighter that has gotten a lot of local attention for his ‘Dreamer’ status boxed well, went to the body and scored a fight clinching knockdown in the fourth round in a bout which featured nice exchanges. In the end Ricardo’s solid combos and aggression made the difference as he improved to 3-0 (2), while the game Villegas falls to 2-1 (2).
In a 6 round Women’s bout, Miami’s Rosalinda ‘Venom’ Rodriguez improved to 11-0 (2) as she used her experienced boxing skills to discourage and defeat Tijuana, Mexico’s Myrka Aguayo who falls to 2-2. Rodriguez’s is combo punching was the difference in this one against a one punch at a time style of the 21 year old southpaw Aguayo.
UFC Fight Pass action kicked off with a 4 round Super Lightweight contest between Reno’s Peter Cortez bounced back nicely from his first pro loss dominating and handing Las Vegas’s Daquan Mays his first pro loss. Cortez landed a lead right hands at will against the southpaw Mays. Cortez seemed to be having him going and late in the 2nd round Mays was deducted a point for holding. Trainer ‘Bones’ Adams in Mays’s corner threw in the towel between rounds 2 and 3. Official time of stoppage was 3:00 of Round 2. Cortez now 2-1 (2), Mays falls to 3-1 (1).
In the opening bout of the evening Reno’s own Kenny Davis Jr. got his first pro victory via unanimous shutout decision (40-36 all cards) in a 4 round lightweight contest. Davis, an amateur stand out, had tough luck his first 3 bouts but seems to now have it together and this first victory may be now 1 of many with the confidence he gained in beating Stockton, CA’s Philip Schwartz. With the victory Davis is now 1-2-1 while Schwartz falls to 0-3.
About the Editor
Army Veteran and former Professional Boxer Simon Ruvalcaba started boxing at the age of ten and Had a 71 fight amateur career which featured a 139 lbs. 1998 8th U.S. Army Boxing Championship out of Camp Casey, Korea and a spot on the prestigious Army Boxing Team at Fort Hood, TX. After a journeyman pro career of 18 fights, which included sparring sessions with many champions and contenders including Julio Cesar Chavez and Pernell “Sweat Pea” Whitaker, Simon started writing and has contributed to many publications and websites including fighthype.com, pound4pound.com, Tahoe Daily Tribune (South Lake Tahoe, CA), Nevada Appeal (Carson City, NV). He has also been the Boxing Instructor for Ken Shamrock and The Lions Den and was MMA and Bareknuckle star Paige VanZant’s first boxing coach!
Born and Raised in South Lake Tahoe, California he now resides in Sun Valley, Nevada and spends as much time as possible with his Sons Gabriel and Oscar! Beyond boxing, Simon is an all around sports fanatic and is passionate about the teams that he roots for. Simon also works as a Sportsbook Supervisor for Caesars Sportsbook in Lake Tahoe.
