I don't do many editorial posts on this blog because I like to let the videos speak for themselves. However, ever once in a while, something special happens and that was the case this past week at the 2011 National Silver Gloves.There were many great boxers this past week in Missouri battling for the #1 spot in the United States in their age and weight divisions, but one bout is undoubtedly still being discussed around the United States-- from California all the way to Florida. The "fight" that I'm talking about was between reigning 14/15 year-old 112lbs. National Silver Gloves and 114lbs. National Junior Olympic Champion Gary Salazar from California and the reigning 12/13 year-old 106lbs. National Silver Gloves Champion Neslan Machado from Florida. This time both competed in the 14/15 year-old 119lbs. division. Just to give you a better understanding of Salazar's talent level, in the National Junior Olympic Finals he defeated Shawn Simpson 15-3. Simpson then turned around 4 months later and won the 1st Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the National PAL as an open class boxer which means he faced adults as old as 34 years-old. With that victory, Simpson secured a spot in the box-offs that will determine our 2012 Olympic Boxing Team.
Machado is no slouch either. I first saw him at our Region 3 Tournament in North Carolina last year and after his first bout, I said that he was the hardest hitting 13 year-old that I had ever seen. At the National Silver Gloves, he continued to impress but it wasn't his ability during he bout that impressed me the most, it was the level of sportsmanship he showed immediately after. The heated contest included: hits to the back of the head by both boxers, a body slam, three standing 8-counts, the need for the referee to step between the boxers after the bell and a round break during which Machado refused to take a seat in the corner, instead pacing back and forth like a bull ready to fly out the gate. Not to mention the crowd who surrounded the combatants adding a Spartacus-like soundtrack to the backdrop.
It wasn't until the contest was over that I was most impressed. After the referee stopped the contest, Machado immediately walked over to Salazar's corner and congratulated him and his coaches with an embrace of respect. To those who are fans of amateur boxing, it is a customary sight after a contest, but even though I've seen this literally thousands of times, this stood out more than all the others because the contest was so heated. After the bout, I just had to get a picture of both of the young champions (see above). I'm sure the subject of this matchup will be on PPV within the next decade for one (or most likely both) of these boxers during the pre-fight vignette before Michael Buffer does his thing. This is why I love amateur boxing. Take a look at the full fight below and let me know if my description did it justice:
