February 25, 2023
Gabriel Guerra defeats Juan Pablo Nuniez at Sofia reception hall in Lasalle
Lasalle’s Sofia reception hall played host to twelve quality amateur boxing bouts Saturday night, which included three exhibition match-up’s and was crowned by a dynamite main event contest between Gabriel Guerra and Juan Pablo Nuniez.
It was clear before Guerra had even entered the ring, that he was primed and energized, ready to take on Nuniez. Both fighters came out swinging and the early moments of the fight were an evenly contested affair. However, it didn’t take long for the fight to start to sway towards Guerra, who put on a clinical display of quality foot work, speed and agility. Guerro was constantly first in, landing one-two combinations, and getting out.
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Little by little, Guerro was running the show and getting the better of the exchanges. He stunned Nuniez, causing a standing eight count from the referee early in the second round, which would lead to Guerro again landing a solid blow, another standing eight count, followed by a third where the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. Excited by the outcome, Guerro played to the crowd, dropping to his knees with arms raised as the cheers of audience filled the hall.
In the co-main event, Mostafa Salehi took on Dave Lumola in what was ultimately a fairly one-sided bout. Early on, Salehi looked to be a man on a mission; a one-man demolition crew. He came out throwing big punches and although Lumola looked combatant in the opening moments, it soon became evident that Salehi was too much for him. Lumola had his moments, but Salehi landed a solid right that sent Lumola into the ropes and down to the canvas, where the referee stepped in to end the fight.
Earlier in the evening, Andrew Shakarov defeated Mouhamadou Mbaye, Emillion Rossi defeated Logan Wilton, Steve Bissinger defeated Mathieu Bellefeuille. Zacherie Dupuis defeated Euji Prada, Moussa Mourad defeated Kabir Pigneat, Nathan Kalantzis defeated Collin Padilla and Colton Karamanovkian defeated Mikael Morrissette.
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In all, it was a quality night of amateur boxing, that had several great moments and put a collection of the cities best up-and-coming youth boxers on display. If this is a sample of what is coming, then Montreal’s fine tradition of crafting boxing talent is well and truly in safe hands and likely to continue – and when you have events like these, that largely involve two of Canada’s greatest ever boxers, Otis and Howard Grant, it is little wonder why Montreal’s boxing scene is in such great shape.
There are two more BoxKO cards coming up, with events that will take place on April 15th and June 3rd respectively. For tickets and further information, be sure to consult the BoxKo website.
