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Junior lightweight Jayson “La Maravilla” Vélez had two options on his hands.

The first was to challenge Chris Colbert for the interim-World Boxing Association (WBA) super featherweight championship. However, for this he would have to wait until the fall.

The other option was to face Oscar Valdez (27-0, 21 KO) on July 21 as the main event fight on a Top Rank show at the “The Bubble” inside the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Vélez opted for the second option for a variety of reasons.

“Valdez is a better known boxer, economically he is better and we have a date. It is a fight that I like more than Colbert, because Valdez fits my style better,” Velez told Carlos Gonzalez.

Preliminarily, Vélez (29-6-1, 21 KO) was in line to be Colbert’s opponent, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced cancellations of events in the United States and the fight was up in the air.

“I was training to fight Colbert, but there was no talk of a contract. They made me an offer for Valdez and I accepted it. Colbert does not have the recognition of Valdez, and besides that he was going to move because of his more elusive and difficult style. Valdez will come to me and people know that I like a war. I will not have to go look for him,” said the 32-year-old Puerto Rican.

“Even without Valdez having a world title, he was a [former] champion with many defenses. If one asks about Chris Colbert, very few know who he is. Most know who Valdez is. The decision did not have to be put on a scale. It is a fight that I’ve wanted since I was at 126 pounds.

“They had told me about the possibility of fighting Valdez six weeks ago, so I did have the time [to prepare] and I was training anyway. It’s a matter of changing the gauntlets and a little bit of the strategy, but basically everything else is the same. His style fits with mine.”

Posted on 07/08/2020

By: Sean Crose

“So we beat on,” F. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote, “boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Those fourteen words are as true today as they were when first published in The Great Gatsby ninety five years ago. Perhaps this is why old fighters have a tendency to come back to boxing, even though it’s probably in their own best interest to remain retired. The past, after all, must be a truly glistening thing for an aging great. We all get to a point in life when we look back and sigh fondly at what was. One can only imagine what the experience must be like for someone who was once wealthy, in the spotlight, and spectacularly successful.

While there are boxing legends, like Brockton’s fight duo Rocky Marciano and Marvelous Marvin Hagler, who famously left and then stayed out of the ring, the list of great fighters who tried and failed to make glorious returns is plentiful and perhaps growing. Jim Jeffries, Aaron Pryor, Alexis Arguello and Muhammad Ali all crashed and burned when they figuratively tried fighting their way back into the past. And, while names such as George Foreman and Sugar Ray Leonard famously succeeded in their comebacks, ring returns often present themselves as sad affairs.  

That’s why so many of us are wary when we learn that highly regarded fighters like Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Oscar de la Hoya and Sergio Martinez are interested in slipping on the gloves once more. Boxing is nothing if not a dangerous game. People literally die due to what goes down in the ring – and the human body ain’t what it was after forty or fifty. Even exhibition bouts present their own brand of danger. So while Tyson-Holyfield III might seem fun on the surface of things – it can also have serious consequences.

It’s good to keep in mind that boxing isn’t like other sports in that there’s no team or league to say no to a fighter who wants to return. Great as he was, John Elway would most certainly not be welcome to play once more in the NFL. The powers that be simply wouldn’t allow him to. Boxing doesn’t have that kind of power structure, and so it’s easy for an aging lion to once again get involved in the fight game. Plus, big names mean big money, which is something that’s hard for promoters to refuse, no matter how outrageous the scenario might be.

In the end, boxers are adults and are free to make their own decisions. Lets just hope that those who do try to attain past glory go the route of Foreman and Leonard and not the route of so many others who crashed and burned. 

10. Agustin Gauto (ARG)
Record: 15-0 (10) Age: 22
THE WBO mandatory contender started boxing at the age of 14 and turned professional in 2017 after fights became too hard to come by in the amateur ranks. The baby-faced starlet is inspired by the likes of Roy Jones Jnr and Sugar Ray Leonard, watching their fights regularly, but it was recent news that he is to become a father that now drives him the hardest. Slick and skilled and one of those boxers who looks like they were born to do it, Gauto is already one to watch.

STRENGTHS: His finest asset is his hand speed which allows his punches to be whipped in with serious power. His left hook, which can be screwed into the liver or slammed into the jaw, is perhaps his best.

WEAKNESSES: Hard to tell. Yet to be drawn into a real fight and is lacking any real experience against elite opposition.

BEST PERFORMANCE: Julio Medonza was bombed in less than six minutes in Gauto’s most recent outing.

WORST PERFORMANCE: Gauto has floored all of his opponents bar his second one, David Nunez, in 2017.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: The Gauto right hand that went through Kenny Cano like a dodgy curry.

HOW HIGH CAN HE GO? Looks like the real deal on all available evidence so far.

9. Tibo Monabesa (IDN)
Record: 20-1-2 (8) Age: 30
MONABESA hopes to become his country’s first boxing star since the underrated Chris John departed the scene seven years ago. Monabesa is quite old for a light-flyweight at 30 but has the valid excuse of minimal amateur experience so has essentially been learning on the job in the professional ranks. Steady if unspectacular, the southpaw – who was raised in a small fishing village on the island of Timor – will need to make his move soon if he’s to accomplish anything like John managed to.

STRENGTHS: Monabesa, a decent all-rounder, is patient and counter-punches well. His straight shots through the middle are his weapons of choice.

WEAKNESSES: Lacks concentration in the early going and is not difficult to hit. Not ideal considering he’s prone to cuts.

BEST PERFORMANCE: The former bus driver ground out a close 12-round win over Omari Kinweri in July last year.

WORST PERFORMANCE: Losing to Hiroto Kyoguchi in four rounds back in 2018 was comprehensive.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: The 2016 battle with Joel Taduran showcases the tenacity Monabesa possesses.

HOW HIGH CAN HE GO? It appears he has too much work to do, and not enough time to do it, to rise to world championship level.

8. Tetsuya Hisada (JPN)
Record: 34-10-2 (20) Age: 35
THE veteran’s four-year unbeaten run was snapped last year when he lost a competitive 12-rounder to WBA champion, Hiroto Kyoguchi. The latest setback is unlikely to deter the 35-year-old too much. He considered retirement in earlier stages of his career, when he was losing as many as he was winning, but stated after the loss to Kyoguchi he wants another world title shot.

STRENGTHS: Exceptionally busy fighter with a great engine who does not take a backward step.

WEAKNESSES: That aggressive nature can make him a nightmarish proposition but it also exposes his faults; his defence and footwork let him down when he’s in against the best. With 10 losses on his ledger, he’s experienced defeat more frequently than any of his rivals.

BEST PERFORMANCE: His reign as Japanese 108lbs champion had plenty of highlights, notably the KO of Tahero Kamikubo in 2017.

WORST PERFORMANCE: Though he’s lost 10 times, he’s only been stopped once – to Hiroyuki Kudaka in four rounds back in 2012.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: Hauled himself off the canvas to defeat Koki Ono in a Japanese firefight.

HOW HIGH CAN HE GO? He deserves more than to peak here but time isn’t on his side. All that said, even at 35, the hunger remains.

7. Reiya Konishi (JPN)
Record: 17-2 (7) Age: 26
KONISHI turned professional in 2013 and remained unbeaten for the first four years of his career as he went to 15-0 as a strawweight where he picked up the Japanese title. In a bout typical of the WBA’s pointless secondary title, Konishi was nominated to fight for that vacant bauble against Carlos Canizales, despite never having fought in the division before. But Konishi did well against the Nicaraguan, particularly in the middle rounds, before he lost a debatable decision. A 2019 shot at IBF boss Felix Alvarado also went the full route but came without the controversy – Konishi was a comprehensive loser.

STRENGTHS: When he’s going at full-pelt, and that’s his custom, Konishi fires to the body with serious power. The right hook is perhaps his honey punch.

WEAKNESSES: His seemingly constant forward motion leaves him open to being picked off when he’s on the way in.

BEST PERFORMANCE: Stopping Orlie Silvestre in the 12th and final round highlighted a robust engine.

WORST PERFORMANCE: The 12-round lopsided loss to Alvarado will be hard to rebound from.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: The 2017 thriller with Shin Ono.

HOW HIGH CAN HE GO? With Alvarado lurking at No. 5, Konishi may find significant progress difficult.

6. Edward Heno (PHL)
Record: 14-1-5 (5) Age: 27
HENO claims to have had 50 amateur fights with only one defeat among them. The southpaw fights for Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions, after being brought to the attention of matchmaker Sean Gibbons by Filipino sports reporter, Joaquin Henson. Heno – a father of four and one of nine children – comes from fighting stock. His father, Leopard Ari, was a professional flyweight in the Eighties. He claims that the draws on his records were ‘wins’ but he was the away fighter so he didn’t get the decision. A familiar story? Maybe, but there’s no doubting Heno has always done things the hard way.

STRENGTHS: His left hand is more potent than his stoppage record suggests. Heno is also fiercely determined after spending a lot of time as a child on the streets.

WEAKNESSES: Lacked the composure required to win his gruelling bout with free-swinging WBO champ, Elwin Soto.

BEST PERFORMANCE: The ninth round KO of Cris Ganoza in 2017.

WORST PERFORMANCE: The 12-round draw with Seita Ogido was later avenged.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: The loss to Soto was a thriller and worth your time if you need a taster of this weight class.

HOW HIGH CAN HE GO? Heno is far from perfect but there’s something about him that suggests he can win a major belt.

5. Felix Alvarado (NIC)
Record: 35-2 (30) Age: 31
THE twin brother of featherweight Rene Alvarado, Felix is the current IBF light-flyweight boss and a professional for 10 years. Avoided by the leaders after consecutive (but competitive) losses to Kazuto Ioka and Juan Carlos Reveco (up at flyweight) early in his career, Alvarado rebounded with 16 wins which culminated with claiming the vacant 108lbs IBF belt in 2018. Signed by Golden Boy in February this year, a postponed defence against Dee Jay Kriel looks like it will be his next outing before the year is over.

STRENGTHS: A heavy volume puncher, the aggressive Alvarado is known in his gym for being able to stand up to intense punishment.

WEAKNESSES: Makes defensive mistakes and his jagged features make him susceptible to cuts. He often strays low with his punches.

BEST PERFORMANCE: The rousing breakdown of Randy Petalcorin in the Philippines.

WORST PERFORMANCE: Struggled to a six-round majority decision win over the ordinary Arnoldo Solano in 2011.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: The bruising beating of Petalcorin or the stirring 12-rounder against Reveco.

HOW HIGH CAN HE GO? Perhaps too crude to rule but his suffocating style gives him a chance against all above him in these rankings.

4. Elwin Soto (MEX)
Record: 17-1 (12) Age: 23
STOCKY for a light-flyweight, the bleached-blonde slugger burst on to the scene last year when – as the WBO’s No. 15 contender – he scored a sizeable upset to dethrone Angel Acosta. Going into that bout the heavy-handed Soto had only two wins over opponents with winning records. The jump in class suited him, though, as he floored Acosta in the third round before clawing back a deficit on the cards with a contentious stoppage in the 12th and final session.

STRENGTHS: Like almost all fighters in this division, the entertaining Soto is not afraid to let his hands go. His lead left hook carries a debilitating wallop.

WEAKNESSES: Inexperience at the top level could yet be his downfall.

BEST PERFORMANCE: The last gasp win over Acosta is the obvious standout but merits praise for turning back the spirited challenge of Edward Heno.

WORST PERFORMANCE: A young Soto was outpointed over four rounds by Danny Andujo as recently as 2017.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: The finish against Acosta and judge for yourself if the stoppage was premature.

HOW HIGH CAN HE GO? Loaded with potential but will struggle to break the top three on the evidence we’ve seen so far. Nonetheless, it would be fun to find out for sure.

3. Carlos Canizales (VEN)
Record: 22-0-1 (17) Age: 25
IN a nod to Gennady Golovkin, Canizales’ nickname is “CCC”. Forced out of his homeland in his last three bouts, Canizales is resigned to fighting away from Venezuala due to the sparsity of opportunities there. The secondary WBA belt-holder, Canizales’ can boast solid victories over Reiya Kinoshi and Sho Kimura. Sandwiched between was a 12-round hammering of 2016 Olympian, Bin Lu, who was only engaging in his second professional bout when he audaciously challenged Canizales.

STRENGTHS: Not completely unlike Golovkin in style, Canizales is an educated puncher who cuts off the ring effectively. His straight right is arguably his best punch.

WEAKNESSES: A head-hunter who neglects going to the body indicates where the “GGG” similarities end.

BEST PERFORMANCE: The completely dominant victory over Sho Kimura underlined Canizales’ class.

WORST PERFORMANCE: Laboured to a points win over the winless Alexander Guarecuco in 2016.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: The 2016 draw with Ryoichi Taguchi.

HOW HIGH CAN HE GO? Would be a live underdog against either of the top two.

2. Hiroto Kyoguchi (JPN)
Record: 14-0 (9) Age: 26
A FORMER IBF champion at strawweight, Kyoguchi moved up and dethroned WBA light-flyweight champion Hekkie Budler in 2018. A karate fan as a child, Hiroto took up boxing at the age of 12 after watching former bantamweight titlist Joichiro Tatsuyoshi on the television. Caught the eye as an amateur – where his record was 52-14 – in 2014 when he won a championship at the National Sports Festival. Ten months after turning over he knocked out Armando de la Cruz in the third of a scheduled 12 to win the OPBF 105-pound title.

STRENGTHS: Pugnacious pressure fighter with real power in both hands. Can box and bang.

WEAKNESSES: Though far cuter than he used to be, he still has tendency to whirlwind with his right and habitually falls in after throwing his left hook or uppercut.

BEST PERFORMANCE: Hekkie Budler was pulled out by his trainer Colin Nathan, who claimed the South African had been struggling with sinus problems before and during the bout. Nonetheless, Kyoguchi’s swarming punches likely played a bigger part.

WORST PERFORMANCE: Outpointing Jonathan Refugio.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: The Budler beatdown.

HOW HIGH CAN HE GO? Progressing nicely but appears to lack the finesse to beat Ken Shiro.

1. Ken Shiro (JPN)
Record: 17-0 (10) Age: 28
ONE of the sport’s best secrets, Kenshiro Teraji has held the WBC title since 2017 when, in just his 10th pro bout, he won a tough 12-round majority over Ganigan Lopez. Sharing the name of popular manga character, Kenshiro, the Japanese fighter also wanted to be known by one name only but authorities ruled he had to have two: So he split it in half and Ken Shiro was born. Steadily improving, Shiro is one of several exciting talents in the smaller weight divisions whose skills deserve to be showcased to wider audiences.

STRENGTHS: An excellent all-rounder, Shiro’s jab is nearly always on point. The powerful counter right is another favourite punch.

WEAKNESSES: Rarely goes to the body (though highlighted in the Lopez return he’s more than able) and doesn’t always look comfy when on the back foot.

BEST PERFORMANCE: Emphatically defeated Lopez in their rematch, scything through the ageing campaigner in round two.

WORST PERFORMANCE: Had a tough time with Mexico’s Pedro Guevara in October 2017, winning a majority verdict.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: The short and sneaky right that finished Jonathan Taconing.

HOW HIGH CAN HE GO? In an ideal world he will get the chance to fight his closest rivals to prove his supremacy before moving up in weight.

Tournament founder Tom Galecke pulled up to Brighton Acres at 9 a.m. Monday. In his truck was the first load of gear for this weekend’s 37th Waupaca Boatride tournament in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

In a normal year, the setup and takedown would be the most onerous task of this event.

But this isn’t a normal year.

“The work that we’ve put into it this year is tremendous,” Galecke said. “It’s a stressful thing, and then only to be able to do it halfway is both a blessing and a curse at the same time.

“It gives us happiness to be able to hold the event and to work with our health department and everybody over here, but one of our main goals is that we wanted to show that something can go on and you can do it safely, and 100% we fully intend to do that and to show that we can put it on safely.”

The tournament — loaded with talent but in competitive short form — begins Thursday in Osh Kosh, Wisconsin, and continues through Sunday.

“Our health department said, ‘Here’s an event that can do it.’ They’re going to be using our guidelines for other events in the area going forward,” Galecke said. “So we take that as a great responsibility and we’re looking forward to it. We don’t consider it a challenge.”

The tournament will have a different look this year, with half the number of courts, no camping, no stadium courts, a livestreamed finals, no indoor concessions, and the finals broadcast on the iconic Brighton Acres barn. We detailed the changes previously in our roundup of the largest amateur volleyball events of the year here.

Having to downsize is tough on many of the participants.

“That’s probably the most painful part of the whole thing,” Galecke said. “We get so many calls from people that are coming from so far away, and people that have played for so many consecutive years. Everyone’s been really understanding and helpful.”

The Boatride is the first large-scale amateur volleyball event of the year, especially since Seaside, Pottstown, Fuds, and Rosarito have fallen victim to the coronavirus pandemic.

The open sand doubles, an AVP Next Gold event, is loaded with AVP pros, including Bill Kolinske, Miles Evans, Steven Roschitz, Peter Connole, Tim and Brian Bomgren. The women’s draw is equally loaded, with a field that includes Katie Hogan, Molly Turner, Katie Spieler, Delaney Mewhirter, Brittany Tiegs, Lauren Deturk and Kerri Schuh-Klister.

This year Brighton Acres will have 153 grass nets and 12 sand courts, with 1,100 teams over the four-day event.

The Waupaca Boatride is eagerly anticipated each year and is regarded by many as a volley-reunion. AVP pro Tim Bomgren, who lives and trains in Golden Valley, Minnesota, has attended every Boatride since 2007 except in 2017, when it conflicted with the AVP San Francisco event.

Bomgren is one of the tournament’s many fans. Bomgren and partner Troy Field were VolleyballMag.com‘s Breakthrough Team of 2019, beginning their year with thirds in AVP Huntington Beach and Austin before making the finals in New York.

“This tournament means a ton to me,” he said. “It’s the one where it’s the only big tournament that’s close to home, and it always has some roots for me in the sense that this is the tournament that all my college buddies play, and it still is that. The volleyball community is so big, and so supportive of each other.

“It’s fun to get together and all be playing at the same time, in different levels of competition, and something that fits everyone.”

The Boatride brings together all ages and all levels on both grass and sand on the Brighton Acres 40-acre property, providing a unique feel. Previously, with camping on site, all the players and spectators stayed to watch the finals and the bands.

Bomgren believes that although the event won’t be the same, everyone will still enjoy themselves.

“The energy at the event is really good. I think one of the things is that people are just so excited to be there, to see their friends, teammates, and opponents, and the extracurricular activities at night livens up the crowd a little bit. The fact that we can even have the tournament in the current circxumstances is really exciting.”

Kerri Schuh-Klister, married June 11 to Greg Klister, has played in the event since her junior year at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Like Bomgren, she missed only the 2017 event. Her wedding was nearly interrupted by the coronavirus when a friend tested positive for COVID only days before. Luckily, they proceeded cautiously with their plans and were reassured when the tests came back negative.

Schuh-Klister remembers her first Waupaca experience, never having played triples previously.

“It was my junior year of college, I was 21 or 22. It was still in Waupaca then and it was my first grass tournament,” she said. “We played against these old ladies and they just kept rolling and shooting and putting the ball where we weren’t. And I was so tired and looked like a fool because I didn’t know what everybody was doing. We lost, I think the year was 2010.”

Schuh-Klister, a 6-foot blocker, played in all seven AVP events in 2019, earning a fifth place finish in Austin.

The meaning of this tournament has changed for her recently, as she and Greg have opened Sandbox volleyball, a junior beach club in Kaukana, a 25-mile drive from Oshkosh.

“When I first started playing it was just the fact that I want to win in front of all these people and prove myself,” she said. “Now, I obviously still want to win and prove that I can do it from Wisconsin and do the whole sand thing. But I’ve coached so many kids and I’m such an idol to the kids that I want to show them how awesome it is to win.”

Schuh-Klister’s expectations are especially tempered in the grass triples event. She last played in 2015, finishing third with Jena Berg and Ashley Genslak.

“This is my first time playing grass in five years, so this time the grass is just going to be for fun. I’m not expecting to win the grass because I’m a little rusty on the grass side.”

Bomgren will partner with Field, his brother Brian, and Ben Shamrokh in triples, and with Brian in the sand doubles. The brothers competed together professionally from 2011-2017 before a knee injury sidelined Brian.

“Brian and I get along so well, and we have so much fun on and off the court, we’ve played for a lot of years together, and now we understand that we aren’t doing that any more, so opportunities like this are so much more special,” Tim said.

“Our families get along really well, and we both have young kids that play together really well, so there’s more than just the volleyball aspect.”

Bomgren notes that there is a significant difference in mindset in grass relative to beach volleyball.

“The biggest thing is just the pace of play. Doubles is a bit more controlled, a ball control sport, vision is more important. Triples is kind of a banger’s game. You’re serving tough, you’re basically swinging every time, it’s a different mentality. In grass, you try to do whatever it takes to get one dig or one block, and then I’m just going to swing hard at everything. That’s how the game works.”

Schuh-Klister notes that the Boatride is the event that establishes bragging rights for the next year.

“From a Midwest perspective this is the biggest event of its type of the year. I remember people talking about it as being like Christmas in the summer, they get so excited to play it, and just because everybody comes around. You see every volleyball player every now and then but to be able to see everybody in one spot at one time is pretty cool.”

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