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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2002)
10 DECEMBER 1, 2002 Smoke Signals Fight Night II Brings Five Fights To Portland's Rose Garden Spirit Mountain Casino teams up with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Productions for a night of knockouts and hometown heroes. V, ---Mr f") -r ism Tagged Sweat flies as Ricardo Medina takes a heavy shot from former NABF champion Marcos Licona during their 10 round prizefight in Portland. The Grand Ronde Tribe - through their showcase Spirit Mountain Casino - sponsored "Fight Night II at the Rose Garden" in association with World Champion Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Productions. Licona defeated Medina and won the fight on the judge's scorecards. By James Buxman Management Trainee, Tribal Mentorship Program The atmosphere Thursday night, November 14 was that of excitement, excitement for Fight Night at The Rose Garden. The event brought profes sional boxing back to the area by popular de mand. The night was sponsored by Spirit Moun tain Casino and Golden Boy Promotions, which was started by Oscar De La Hoya. With a five card night and 2,769 spectators in attendance, this night has everything to equal a great time. Fight night started with two bouts that were over in a matter of seconds. Jeff Simmons, of Portland, and Mike Sams, of Seattle, started the night with a win by Sams on a 32 second Tech nical Knockout. The second fight was just as quick, when in the third round Conal McPhee of Las Vegas beat Joshwea Cielos of Seattle, by a referee's call 30 seconds into the round. The third bout raised the crowd's intensity matching Joe Guzman of Portland, against Brad McPeake of Vancouver, B.C. The "Toughman Award" for the night should be given to McPeake for the beating he endured, but he stayed on his feet for the entire fight. The crowd favorite Guzman, won the match by a unanimous deci sion. The main under card event was the most ex citing of the evening. This was the only girl fight on the schedule and pinned former women's champions Bridget "Baby Doll" Riley and Para Draine against each other. The explosive na ture of both fighters made this contest enjoyable for the Rose Garden's guests. As the fight went back and forth it looked like the judges had a tough decision on their hands. The results of their scoring gave Para Draine the victory in the six round battle. "VIVA MEXICO," filled the air in the Rose Gar den as the main event is getting started. In the red corner, former NABF champion, Marcos Licona takes on out of the blue corner, Ricardo , . , f f X ,'".;., ,jt"' " - itJ A ?f uA. r MLJ t w' f , - ttl Ft: k ' I -.V -... u W ss1 Photos by Willie Mercier Medina. This was an all out dogfight from the first ding of the bell. Licona and Medina went punch for punch until the ninth round when you could see Licona gain control. The bout went all ten rounds and to the judges decision. It was a unanimous decision in favor of the red corner, Marcos Licona. In light of the recent Roy Jones Jr. fight that was held in the Rose Garden, the demand for professional boxing in this state is ap parent. I had a chance to speak with Roy Englebrecht, Chief Operating Officer for Golden Boy Promotions, and asked him, "How does it feel to help bring back profes sional boxing to Portland?" Englebrecht told me, "Golden Boy Promotions was thrilled to bring back pro boxing on a regular basis to Portland. It was a team effort, as it took Spirit Mountain Casino to step up as the title sponsor, and Jim McCue and the Rose Gar den to make a decision that boxing would play well at their venue. With the great crowd on opening night in July, the big Roy Jones crowd in September, we are building a foundation for success in 2003." People like Oscar De La Hoya, his promotion com pany Golden Boy, the Rose Garden, and Spirit Mountain Casino make it possible for this state to be a place where pro boxers want to fight and most importantly where fans can enjoy the sport. D Brutal Professional Heavyweight Joe Guzman, a Portland Native, won the crowd and then the fight as he systematically destroyed the very game Brad McPeake to win a unanimous decision. 0 V " J Girl Fight Former world champion Bridgett"Baby Doll" Riley (left in red) lost in her entertaining bout with the explo sive Para Draine.
