Saturday’s only significant boxing card in the U.S. was titled “SD Fight Night: Family Business.” San Diego-based cousins and homegrown boxing prospects Jonny Mansour and Julius Ballo took care of business both inside and outside the ring, acting as their own promoters and performing in the co-main events on the card at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California.
In front of 5.000 fans, the largest attendance at Frontwave Arena for a combat sports event, both Mansour and Ballo won shutout, unanimous decisions against their opponents, demonstrating improved skills in the ring while giving their fans victories.
But Mansour admitted after the fight he’s not eager to put his promoter’s hat on again while also competing in the ring anytime soon.
“I want to take off the promoter hat, just focus on my career and focus on my promise to somebody special of becoming a world champion someday,” said Mansour. That someone special is his late mother, who passed away from cancer last May. Mansour offered a video tribute to her during his ring walk.
Jonny Mansour Remains Undefeated
In his first eight-round fight, Mansour (7-0, 2 KOs) shut down any challenge from William King of Perris, California (6-4-2, 3 KOs), winning the decision by three scores of 80-72. King had never been knocked down or stopped. Mansour controlled the fight with his excellent hand speed, landing punches with increasing ferocity as the fight went on.
“What better way to do it, in my hometown of San Diego? Once again and for the rest of my life, I’m dedicating every victory to my mother. The most important thing in this world is showing love and appreciation,” said Mansour, dedicating the fight to his mother and all mothers.
“He was a tough opponent. I caught him with a lot of hard shots,” said Mansour. “This is my first eight round fight, and I felt great. I thought I could have went 12 (rounds).”
Julius Ballo Makes It Two for Two
Then it was up to Mansour’s younger cousin, Julius “JuJu” Ballo (3-0) to close the show. Ballo matched his cousin’s results, scoring another shutout decision victory over Roman Reyes (of Santa Ana, California (6-2, 5 KOs).
Facing an opponent who had won five of his six victories by knockout, Ballo showed exceptional ring maturity in his third pro fight, built on an outstanding amateur background. Ballo took early control of the fight, showing excellent defensive responsibility to take away Reyes’s offense, while using hand and foot speed to strike and avoid any counter punching. In the second half of the fight, Ballo let his hands go, and Reyes wasn’t able to respond.
Ballo said he had been studying video of Floyd Mayweather, which inspired his performance.
“Reyes had a lot of experience, but I studied so hard for this fight. Everything in the ring comes naturally to me. I was born for this. I know boxing is my purpose. It was a great feeling to see 5,000 fans in attendance.”
Ballo is eager to return soon under his promoter Top Rank’s banner on one of its first fight cards airing on the DAZN Boxing network. While he wouldn’t reveal the plan, chances are good Ballo will be traveling to either New York or Virginia next month.
Both Mansour and Ballo are of Chaldean heritage, and hope to become boxing’s first Chaldean world champions.
Undercard Results From Frontwave Arena
Neither Daniel Morales of San Diego or Alejandro Garcia Quintana of Tijuana wanted to leave the Frontwave Arena with his first loss in their bantamweight division fight. Quintana was appearing in his first pro fight in the U.S. while Morales, age 22, was coming off a two-year layoff.
It was an all-out action battle, with both being cheered on by their fans. Morales (9-0, 5 KOs) handed Quintana (6-1-1, 5 KOs) his first loss by decision, but the three scorecards of 60-54 don’t reflect the tough and competitive nature of the fight.
“It was a great performance after a two-year layoff,” said a relieved Morales. “I’m ready for the next big thing!”
Super welterweight Angel Munoz of Oceanside (9-2, 5 KOs) came out hot against Cruz Becerra of Madera, California (3-2, 1 KO), buzzing him and looking to close the show early. But Becerra fought his way back into the fight, and it was a back-and-forth battle until the final bell. Munoz managed to pull out the decision by scores of 57-56, 57-56, and 58-55.
“I didn’t intend it to go to the scorecards, but he’s a tough Mexican fighter,” said a relieved Munoz. “I’m glad I’m safe and had my hand raised. I’m tough, I belong on a big stage.”
Super bantamweight prospect Richard Fernandez Jr. was accompanied on his ringwalk by two dozen young athletes from the Bomber Squad Academy, his training home along with Mansour and Ballo, then introduced by “Killa Cam,” AKA Christopher LaVrar, who claims to be the world’s youngest ring announcer at age 10.
Fernandez Jr. (5-0, 3 KOs) found himself on the canvas in the second round against Sugary Montales of Cebu City, Philippines (6-3, 4 KOs), but Fernandez Jr. returned the favor with a knockdown of his own.
From that point, both fighters gave the appreciative fans an all-action fight, with Fernandez Jr. winning by decision with scores of 59-55 on all three cards.
“It was the first time I’ve been dropped, ever. But I came back and dropped him,” said Fernandez Jr., who added he’d like to return to the ring in the next 60 days.
Kyle Erwin of Oceanside (11-3, 6 KOs) pressed the action against opponent Jose Marruffo of Sonora, Mexico (15-20-2, 2 KOs) from the opening bell of their scheduled six-rounder. The two went toe to toe for four hard rounds.
In the fifth round, Erwin landed a series of headshots ending in a right hook that dropped Marruffo to the canvas. He beat the count by referee Thomas Taylor, but as the action was about to resume, Marruffo’s corner threw in the towel at 2:08.
“It was a dream to fight here,” said Erwin, who added he wasn’t going for a knockout, but when the opportunity presented itself, he took it. “He’s a warrior, and I’m a warrior. It takes a lot of heart to get in the ring.”
Bantamweight Isaac Anguiano of Pomona, California (11-1-1, 5 KOs) got an energetic challenge from Jose Negrete of Hanford, California (4-3, 4 KOs), fighting his way to a unanimous decision. Scores were 60-54 on all judges’ cards, but it didn’t reflect the action or level of competition.
Veteran Angel Estrada of San Diego (12-2-1, 9 KOs) was the oldest fighter on Saturday’s card at age 39 and has been boxing for 20 years. Opponent Pedro Angel Cruz of San Jose, California (6-6, 4 KOs) was 11 years his junior and had no respect for his elders, clocking Estrada with two successive hard left hooks and knocking him out cold 2:01 of the first round.
Angel Ramirez of San Diego won his pro boxing debut in his hometown by TKO over Antonio Sosa Reyna of Queretaro, Mexico (1-1). The fight was stopped by referee Thomas Taylor when a snapping right hook from Ramirez caused an injury to Sosa’s left ear. It began pouring blood, possibly due to an injured eardrum, and the fight was waved off.
Two local welterweights went home with victories.
John Ornelas of Chula Vista, California (6-2-1, 3 KOs) blasted through Brandon Mendoza of Burbank, California (6-12, 6 KOs), scoring a knockdown in round one. Mendoza beat the count, but Ornelas poured on the punches and referee Thomas Taylor stepped in at 2:58 to prevent more damage.
Franklin Garcia of Vista, California (2-0, 2 KOs) scored a first-round knockout over Rahmel McKinley of Bladenboro, North Carolina (1-3).
Future Boxing Showcases Ahead for San Diego
Based on the successful turnout and the opportunity for more than a dozen aspiring San Diego regional professional boxers to perform in front of their fans, Mansour and Ballo’s promotional team’s ambitions for an ongoing series of consistent, high-level boxing events in San Diego have a bright future.
Mansour, who is currently a free agent after his previous promoter went out of business, simply wanted to fight in his hometown and create an opportunity for himself and for other local fighters.
“I talked to so many different promoters, and nobody wanted to take the risk. I put the right team together, started my own promotion company, and I basically bet on myself,” explained Mansour.
“This fight might have lost a lot of money, but with all the fans that came together to support thankfully, it was an opportunity to make this happen not only for myself, but all the other San Diego fighters to show the talent that everybody has in the city of San Diego,” said Mansour.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.