The Chicago Golden Gloves tournament wraps up this week with DBB fighters Jo Lee and Luis Martinez both competing in the finals on April 6th and 7th. Martinez advanced from the semi-finals when his opponent failed to appear for the match scheduled on March 25th, while Lee claimed his spot with a second round TKO against Enrique Ayala in the 152 lb. novice division.
Lee’s victory came when the referee called the fight mid-way through the second round, after Ayala received two standing eight counts. Still, “the fight was competitive from round one,” says Lee of his performance. “Round one could have gone his way or mine. A lot of these fights are toe-to-toe in amateur boxing because dudes are still learning.”
“Round one I didn’t follow the game plan,” Lee goes on to explain. “I was sloppy, but I just felt like if I landed that one punch I could get him.” Lee says that after the first round he remembered what his coach, Justin Foster, told him going into the match: “he said I needed combinations—‘punches in bunches’—and don’t leave it up to the refs.” Lee took the advice; by the second round, his coach explains, Lee had calmed down and began putting his punches together effectively.
After two standing eight counts, “he [Ayala] was getting hit with hard shots repeatedly,” Lee says. “I hit him with the combination: a jab to the head, a right hand to the stomach, a left hook to the head, then a right hand to the head again. The left hook landed clean and the right landed clean and that was just it. That just ended the fight and he [the ref] waved it off.”
Will Lee’s ferocity be enough to emerge victorious in the finals this week? “He fights hard,” says Foster, “he’s just got to work on cleaning up his punches. The judges are going to be a lot pickier in the finals. He’s getting there.” With the mix of dedication, athleticism, and intelligence Martinez and Lee bring to the ring, there’s no doubt that watching them ‘get there’ will be an exciting experience to behold.
Check out our events page for info on attending the finals this weekend, and keep an eye on this page for post-Golden Gloves interviews with all our fighters and trainers!
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