Fighters Send Shockwaves Through the UCA

On Saturday October 1, 2016 Pacific Palms Resort and Hotel played host to the SoCal Battle of the Badges. As soon as this event was announced it got a lot of hype. Fans from all over California packed into the Pacific Palms Ballroom to be a part of the biggest event of the year. The fighters did their part to keep the fans excited with nonstop action, swings of momentum and huge upsets. Proceeds from the event benefitted the Firefighters Cancer Foundation, Project 999, which provides financial assistance to the families of officers killed in the line of duty. The Santa Ana Unidos Boxing Club, Perris Valley Thai Boxing and Cops4Kids & Communities.

The first fight of the night featured – Eddie “El Matador” Duran-Orange County SD vs. Jerrod “All Day” Jones-USMC (165lbs)

Getting this night’s event started, Jerrod “All Day” Jones, USMC ran out of the gate and bull rushed his opponent, Eddie “El Matador” Duran, Orange County Sheriff’s Dept. Wasting no time, Jones aggressively attacked Duran’s body. He would change stances and levels, and repeatedly caught Duran on the head. He kept stunning Duran, forcing the referee to call three standing 8-counts for Duran by mid-2nd round. “All Day” looked to make it a short day as he pressed on and pounded on the “Matador”, who was up against the ropes early on.

Just when everyone thought that this fight was over and would be called off in Jones’ favor, the ref let it go on as Duran courageously chose to continue. With his faculties back intact, Duran fought on. He came back, popped out his jab, and caught Jones with a nice right hand and left hook. Jones tried to tie Duran up, but ended up falling to a knee in the process. Jones would then get back up to beat the ref’s count. The crowd then erupted. A great fight had broken out! Duran was now coming after Jones. He was turning the tide with a sustained barrage of punches upstairs and downstairs. His conditioning was excellent and his heart was tremendous. When Jones would not answer back to Duran’s attack, he was given a standing 8-count of his own. In the closing seconds of the fight, both fighters stepped on the gas pedal; both giving and taking punches. But Duran seemed to have the heavier foot and the most in the tank. In what was both of their ring debuts, these fighters would start off this card with an early Fight of The Night candidate. What a great back-and-forth battle! In a close Decision Win, Duran would get the victory.

The first title fight of the night featured Brent Bugarin-Santa Clara SD vs. Dustin Rodriguez-Santa Monica FD, for Rodriguez UCA Jr Middleweight (154lbs) Title.

Moving up in weight from 140 to 154, Brent Bugarin was now set to face the current UCA Jr Middleweight champion, Dustin “Dusty” Rodriguez. Both fighters agreed on having Dusty fill in for this fight on short notice after Bugarin’s opponent fell out of their scheduled Eliminator fight at 140lbs. As all fighters know, moving up and/or down in weight is something not to be taken lightly. It can really affect a fighter’s strength, speed, & stamina. And it can also impact a fighter’s power and their ability to be able to take another fighter’s power. The biggest question going into this fight was, how would going up in weight affect Bugarin while fighting against a naturally bigger man in Rodriguez? Well, the public safety amateur boxing circuit got its answer on this night.

Coming in well beneath the limit of 154lbs, Bugarin was very nimble and light on his feet. He was able to quickly get in and get out of the range of the bigger, slower Rodriguez. Not only was he fleet of foot, but Bugarin also flashed some really great hand speed. He landed quick, crisp punch combinations that seemed to surprise and frustrate Rodriguez. But Rodriguez would also have his moments in the fight. At times he used his advantage in height, reach, & power to keep Bugarin at bay. He used a long, stiff jab to set up powerful left hooks and right hands. And at times, he was able to catch and counter the speedy Bugarin with right hands while flashing a Philly Shell defense. The skill displayed by both fighters was very apparent. But as the old axiom in sports suggests, Speed Kills. Bugarin was quicker to the punch and kept catching Rodriguez with rights to the body and overhand lefts. He also used quick lateral and circular movements to get out of danger while simultaneously placing himself in a better position to punch from. Bugarin, or Bug as he’s known by his team, also fought well while fighting short. He was able to use his height disadvantage to his advantage, and ducked and rolled out of the way of Dusty’s punches with ease while staying low.

Sensing he was down on the scorecards in the final stanza, Rodriguez was looking to land that one power shot that would more than even things up. He threw a range-finding jab in hopes of timing Bugarin on his way in. He waited and waited for the perfect opportunity to land that hook or uppercut that would be the equalizer, but he never did. And whatever shots Dusty did land, Bug took them well. Bugarin was able to slip in & out and kept peppering Rodriguez with 1-2, 2-3, & 3-2 combos to close out the fight. When the Decision was read, there was a New UCA Jr Middleweight champion, and first-time UCA 2-Division champion, Brent Bugarin.

The 2nd title fight of the night featured an all action shootout between David Bermudez-East Bay Regional Parks PD vs. UCA #3 Mike Delery-LAPD, for the UCA Welterweight Title (147lbs)

There was no feel-out period when the opening bell sounded for this fight. Making his return to the ring after a three year layoff, David Bermudez seemed anxious and eager to get the fight going. He went right after Mike Delery and caught him with an overhand right to the temple that backed him up to the corner. He quickly followed that up with a blistering combination that would drop Delery to his knees within the first five seconds of the fight. But Delery got back up right away. How Delery survived that was anyone’s guess. After an 8-count by the referee, and with his legs back up under him, Delery showed a lot of heart and now went after Bermudez. Delery would then connect with a powerful right hand that seemed to stop Bermudez’ momentum. After setting up another strong, straight right hand with the jab, Delery caught Bermudez flush to the head and made his legs buckle. He closed in on Bermudez, who had this back up against the ropes, forcing the ref to step in and give Bermudez a standing 8-count of his own. The fight was now even. Both fighters continued to give and take punches. They would go tit for tat for the rest of the match. During one exchange in the final round, an off-balance Bermudez fell going backwards. Bermudez got up quickly, and claimed to the ref that he had tripped on his own foot. But the referee ruled it a knockdown and gave Bermudez another count of 8. Bermudez just shook it off and went back to work. With a shorter reach, Bermudez would find more success by getting up close. Putting pressure on Delery, Bermudez landed hooks to the body and head on the inside. Delery would take some steps back, find his distance, and land strong 1-2’s from the outside. Delery would also spin out of danger and catch Bermudez on his way in. And at times, Delery would have to push Bermudez back off of him just to find room to breathe. What a war this fight was! Non-stop action from start to finish! Too close and very difficult to call. But when judges finally rendered a decision, there was a New UCA Welterweight champion, Mike Delery-LAPD. This match and both of its participants were also awarded with the Fight of The Night.

The fight we have all been waiting for was finally here. The reigning and defending UCA Champion, Brian Stevens-LASD vs. #1 Ranked, Guillermo Garcia-LAPD, UCA Cruiserweight Title (190lbs)

This fight had been in the making for the past couple of years now. Both fighters were familiar and were both well aware of each other’s skills. Their paths had finally lead them to this this same stage, on this same night, at this same time. When the 1st bell sounded, they would finally greet one another with a touch of the gloves. The champ, Brian Stevens would go right to work, landing hooks and uppercuts upstairs and downstairs on the challenger, Guillermo Garcia whenever he was in range. Garcia would find himself on the ropes early on but he managed to fight Stevens off. He fought back from a southpaw stance, using a right jab and power left hand. With a height and reach advantage, Stevens would find and use his distance to catch Garcia at the end of his punches. Stevens would step back just far enough in order to avoid Garcia’s attack of 1-2’s, and was able counter him with 1-2’s of his own. Garcia would have some success getting past Stevens’ reach, landing some jabs, straight lefts, and right hooks. He would keep stalking Stevens. But the champ would also use sneaky left hooks to the challenger’s head and rapid right uppercuts to his body to slow down his advances. Stevens would keep stepping back and countering, and would out-box the very game Guillermo Garcia on his way to a win. When the fight ended, both fighters respectfully embraced one another.  They both showed class in victory and as well in defeat. The decision was then read, and Still UCA Cruiserweight champion, Brain Stevens-LASD.

Next up were 2 fighters making their UCA debut Christian “Bam Bam” Pharo-San Diego FD vs. Travon “Da Wolfman” McMillan-AMR Redlands (154lbs)

There was a bit of a feel-out period at the start of this fight. Travon McMillan was clearly the taller, lankier man. He was a left handed fighter who would utilize a long right jab and left hand to keep the more compact Christian Pharo at a comfortable distance. But it wouldn’t take long for Pharo to figure out a way to close that distance. Pharo used circular movements to approach and advance in on McMillan. He also used good up and down head movement and ducked under the taller man’s punches. Pharo was now close enough to be able to deliver hard left hooks on the inside. McMillan then had to employ fast footwork to step back and spin out of trouble. Pharo would again go back to using his head movement and his jab in order find his range. And found it, he did! He caught up to McMillan and banged away at his his body and head. Once inside, Pharo threw haymakers from both sides with abandon. He lived up to his fight name of “Bam Bam”. One of those bombs would hit their mark, and would solicit an 8-count from the ref in the 3rd. But McMillan bravely fought on and continued. He took everything Pharo had unloaded on him until the final bell. The winner by Decision, Christian Pharo.

The Co Main Event featured the UCA Champion Travon “T-Bomb” Taylor-Orange County SD vs. Jose Paxel-ASG Security, UCA Light Heavyweight Title Fight

After circling one another for a few seconds, each fighter would use their jabs to introduce themselves to each other. Travon Taylor was clearly the faster, more athletic fighter. He used a quick jab to set up blistering punch combinations that would land on his approaching opponent. Travon’s feet were quick too. He was fast getting in Paxel’s range and fast getting out of it. But Paxel was then able to time Taylor. He would catch him with hard right hands and left hooks on his way in and out. He wasn’t as fleet of foot as Taylor was, but he was highly skilled and experienced. This kid knew how to fight! And he came to this venue tonight to do just that. Paxel surprised Taylor, and quite frankly he surprised most of the spectators in the ballroom. Paxel stalked Taylor and used good head movement to slip by his punches. Paxel would continue to connect. At one point Taylor got really annoyed. He decided to stop boxing and began to brawl with the oncoming Paxel. It didn’t work as well as Taylor expected it to. He kept getting caught. The champ then decided to switch it back up. He went back to the original game plan that brought him more success. He distanced himself from Paxel’s reach, went back to that quick jab of his, and countered Paxel with power rights to the body when he was in range. Taylor’s punches still had a lot of steam on them. He then caught Paxel up top, stunning him, and forcing the ref to step in to give Paxel a standing 8-count. Oh wow, what a great fight! Most of the people were now on their feet! Paxel’s nose was real bloody, but the kid shook it off and chose to keep fighting. The challenger continued to move forward but he was now slower than before. But the champ still had his quickness about him. Taylor would keep boxing intelligently from the outside, and would stay out of Paxel’s dangerous reach for the rest of the match. This was a real close contest. One that had both skill and will on display. The outcome of this fight would take longer to be announced than the others. But when it finally was, it had come down to a super close split-decision. And Still UCA Light Heavyweight Champion, Travon “T-Bomb” Taylor.

The last title fight of the night featured the UCA Champion Hector Mendoza-LAPD vs. UCA #3 Ranked Travis Clark-Stockton PD, UCA Middleweight Title Fight (160lbs)

As soon as the opening bell rang, Travis Clark went right after the champion, Hector Mendoza. Clark was clearly the taller man with the longer reach. He would use that reach to get to Mendoza early on with a long left jab and straight right hand. Clark also had very fast feet. He circled around Mendoza and hit him with shots from long range. Then Clark quickly made his way in to deliver shots from close range. It took a while for Mendoza to adjust to Clark’s height and speed. But when he did, he was able to time Clark with sneaky right hooks from a southpaw stance. Mendoza was patient and waited for the right time to fire his power shots at the moving target in front of him. And he would catch Clark with a few more right hooks when he was in his range. Clark was not easy to hit though. Clark would use his height well and continued to circle and dance around the ring, plotting on just how and when to strike his opponent. Then Clark struck. He hit the champion with fast up and down combinations from inside then outside. At times it seemed as if Mendoza could not find the right timing to pull on the trigger and shoot off his punches.

Going into the final round, you could sense the urgency in the corner of Team Mendoza. And the champion came out guns blazing. He switched up from southpaw to an orthodox stance, and seemed to have more success with it. Mendoza was now the one landing combinations upstairs and downstairs on his opponent. With a champion’s heart Mendoza fought back hard to keep his title. Clark would do his best to avoid the gunfire coming at him by using head movement and height, and he was able to roll away from a few punches. But most of the shots that Mendoza threw hit their mark. Then the challenger got back to his offense and went back towards the champion. Both fighters then went at full tilt until the last bell sounded. They wowed everyone with there warrior spirits. When the judges had rendered their decision, there was a New UCA Middleweight Champion, Travis Clark-Stockton PD.

To see full results visit the results page.

Article written by 2X Fight of the Night winner, former UCA #1 ranked Super Middleweight and UCA Super Middleweight title challenger Aurelio Vasquez, LAPD.