Pugs, ponies and preps

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Boxing column, April 10, 2010

By Felix Chavez
El Paso Times
EL PASO — While undefeated junior middleweight Austin Trout waits for his chance to fight the elite at 154 pounds, he is gaining some valuable experience in Youngstown, Ohio, training with middleweight king Kelly Pavlik.
Pavlik meets Sergio Martinez on April 17 in Atlantic City, N.J., in what is expected to be a hotly contested battle.
Trout has waited and waited for Japan’s Nobuhiro Ishida to defend his World Boxing Association interim title against the No. 1 ranked Trout.
So instead of waiting for Ishida, Trout has gotten in some valuable work with Pavlik. Trout is a valuable resource for Pavlik because of his quickness, solid boxing skills and craftiness in the ring. If Pavlik is able to hold off Martinez, then part of the credit should go to Trout.
Spending time as a sparring partner with Pavlik is better for Trout in the long run. Instead of facing an opponent, who won’t offer much in terms of experience, Trout gets to go against a champion who has fought some of the world’s best middleweights.
Trout can use that experience in his first big fight whenever it might come.
On May 7 in El Paso, featherweight Antonio Escalante returns to the ring to put his 23-2 record on the against rugged Carlos Ricardo Rodriguez of Argentina and his 22-3 record.
Escalante is now in the top five of two of the governing bodies in the featherweight division and he hopes to land a title shot later this year.
You can’t say Escalante doesn’t fight the top guys. In his career at 122 and 126, he’s battled the likes of Cornelius Lock, Miguel Roman, Mike Oliver, David Martinez, Gary Stark Jr. and Mauricio Pastrana.
Escalante still has plenty to prove after his last fight with Roman, which turned out to be one of the top fights on ESPN2 this year and one of the better fights on any television for that matter.
Roman came with his best effort against Escalante back in February and gave Escalante all he wanted. Escalante responded with a solid effort, but he’s going to have to step it up a notch at featherweight.
Escalante deserves a title shot and hopefully gets one by the end of the year. With that being said, Escalante can build on his positives and improve on a few things.
The positives are his work ethic, punch output and solid overall offensive game. Escalante must continue to improve his defense and become less of target for the bigger and stronger featherweights. That means more head movement and taking better angles when he gets in the ring.
Escalante has come a long way in his young career and is certainly a fan favorite in the borderland and probably is a fan favorite of those watching his fights on TV. If Escalante can make some key improvements in the coming months, he’s got more than a fair chance of winning a world title.

Felix Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6374

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Baseball/Softball Rankings, April 7

5A Baseball
1. Eldorado
2. La Cueva
3. Rio Rancho
4. Carlsbad
5. Onate
6. Mayfield
7. Hobbs
8. Cibola
9. Las Cruces
10. Sandia

5A Softball
1. Cibola
2. Las Cruces
3. La Cueva
4. Rio Rancho
5. Valley
6. Carlsbad
7. Mayfield
8. Sandia
9. Onate
10. Albuquerque, Eldorado

4A Softball
1. Piedra Vista
2. Volcano Vista
3. Silver
4. Artesia
5. Farmington

3A Baseball
1. Sandia Prep
2. Bloomfield
3. Cobre
4. Hope Christian
5. Robertson

Escalante returns to ring May 7

El Paso 122/126 pounder Antonio Escalante returns to the ring on May 7 at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso.
Escalante, who is 22-2 with four knockouts will face Argentina's Carlos Ricardo Rodriguez of Argentina. Rodriguez is 22-3. The fight will be aired live on ESPN2. There will be seven fights on the card.

Felix

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Pat Valenzuela column

Valenzuela still has hopes for big future
By Felix Chavez
El Paso Times
SUNLAND PARK — At 47, jockey Pat Valenzuela still looks fit and ready to ride even after multiple knee surgeries and other injuries in his long and glorious career.
In 1978, Valenzuela rode his first winner at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino and the rest was history. He went on to win many graded stakes races, including Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup races.
Valenzuela has had his battles with substance abuse problems and is currently not allowed to ride in California, where he’d like to return once again to compete.
So instead of California, Valenzuela has taken refuge in Louisiana, and at least for a few days, here in New Mexico at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino. He had a decent meet at the recently completed Fairgrounds meet in New Orleans, winning 30 races on just 199 mounts, far less mounts than other riders. Valenzuela also rode 32 horses to second-place showings and 25 to third-place finishes.
Since his arrival here in Southern New Mexico last week, he’s ridden a handful of winners including a talented 2-year-old named Shamrock Girl and been on the board a few other times. Valenzuela, who I met with early Saturday morning after a workout on a local horse for trainer Ben Torres, appears content in life and ready to ride like the professional he is.
Valenzuela is a terrific rider and perhaps most importantly he’s fearless and competitive, which might be the most important traits a successful jockey needs.
Confidence is synonymous with Valenzuela’s riding exploits. He carries himself well on the track, he looks prepared every time he is in a race and his horse at least has a fighting chance to hit the board.
It’s often a delicate balance for jockeys to stay both healthy and successful. Valenzuela is still competitive out there on the track and he still harbors dreams of winning a Kentucky Derby and returning to California to race full-time.
Valenzuela comes from a distinguished background of riding. He learned the sport from the likes of his father A.C. and uncle Milo. There is no denying that Valenzuela is one of horse racing’s top athletes in the sport referred to as the Sport of Kings and if given another chance to ride big time horses, he may still have another Triple Crown win left in him.
Valenzuela, who is engaging and well spoken off the track, is certainly worth the trip to the track even to watch for one race because he goes all out and he’s an elite athlete. He’s comparable to going to an NBA, NFL or MLB contest and watching the top athletes in those sports compete.
For now, Valenzuela has to stay busy in Louisiana and New Mexico and he seems ready to do that and do it well. He will ride some at Sunland Park until the meet ends April 20 and there is a chance he could ride at some point in Farmington, N.M.
Valenzuela said if he can stay healthy, he’d like to ride 10 more years.
For all that he’s accomplished, don’t be surprised to see him do just that and still fare well at a high level.

Felix Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; (915) 546-6374

Saturday, April 3, 2010

West Texas Futurity qualifiers

Race finals to be run Sunday, April 18 at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino
Trials were held April 2
Hes Too Icy for Me 14.851
First Class Lacy B 14.868
Dash Back Queen 14.926
Finding Identity 14.966
Deacdencia 14.972
The Mentalist 14.976
Fast Moving Vic 14.980
No Dice Special 14.993
Jb Takeittothelimit 14.999
Rhinestonecowboy 15.000

Erik Morales

I finally got to watch the tape of former three-time world champion Erik Morales and his return bout last weekend in Mexico.
Morales, who is 33 and had been out of the ring for more than two years, won a hard-fought 12-round decision against Jose Alfaro of Nicaragua.

Morales was stepping up in weight and looked sharp at times. His defense was pretty good at times and he managed a fair offensive attack. He is not a natural welterweight and won't have much power at 147. And he's going to have to be in better shape if he stays at the weight.

But i was a bit surprised at how sharp Morales was considering the layoff, but again he is one of the best of our generation having beaten the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barrera and Junior Jones.

If any of you out there saw his fight I'd like to know what you thought.

- Felix