West, Haro headline boxing card at Davis Conference Center
Jesse West (right) punishes Nick Rossborough against the ropes Saturday night at the Riverbend Sport Center in Salt Lake City. West won via third round TKO.
Jose Haro (left) outboxes Raymond Chacon Saturday night at the Riverbend Sports Center. Haro won a unanimous decision.
LAYTON — Boxing cruiserweight Jesse West goes for his eighth win Saturday night, July 16, when he takes on undefeated California boxer Anthony Johnson.
Also on the card, West Jordan featherweight Jose Haro battles for a regional title, the American Boxing Association featherweight championship. Haro, 12-1, is scheduled to meet 39-bout veteran Sergio Najera, according to Trifon Petrov, of Los Angeles-based Imperial Boxing, which is promoting the card at the Davis Conference Center.
Both West and Haro have signed contracts with Imperial Boxing — Haro for four years and West for two fights, with an option to go further. “Afterwards, we’ll sit down” and discuss career options, said West, a former Rocky Mountain Golden Gloves champion who lives in Layton.
• RELATED: Clearfield’s West stops Rossborough in three
“Jesse and Jose are probably two of the best professional fighters I have found in the state,” Petrov said.
A CAREER-DEFINING BOUT
For West, 7-1, Johnson, 8-0, is a career-defining bout. “I plan and expect to beat this guy,” West said, describing Johnson as a “great mediocre fighter.”
He’s testing himself, hoping this fight leads to bigger fights. “We expect to beat the good fighters in order to be ready to meet the great fighters,” West said.
RECOVERING FROM BEING SHOT
Haro has mostly recovered after being shot in the fall of 2015 in the parking lot of a Salt Lake City Wal-Mart. Cole Shields, a stranger to Haro, later pleaded guilty to aggravated assault.
In December, a plate and screws will be taken out of his left foot. For now, he grits through the pain, running daily, and bouncing on his toes as he trains for the ABO title fight.
Fighting for a title is important, according to Haro. “It gives you more of an opportunity to get a bigger title shot,” he said.
For now, he works out of his home gym, trained by his brother Eric, and sparring with several local pros and amateurs, including Jaziel Garcia, Alan Leyva, Emmanuel Gonzalez, Larry and Micheal Gomez, Jonathan Montelongo and Ogden’s Diego Alvarez, who recently won the national Golden Gloves title.
“I call my gym ‘Triple C’s Boxing Club,’ ” Haro said, which he said stands for “cool, calm, collective.”
” And I’ll go to Reyes boxing club when I need to spar or train. … (I) want to thank my brother Eric for training with me side by side and coaching,” Haro said.
MMA-TURNED BOXER
Some of those sparring partners are on the card. One, Larry Gomez, of West Jordan, is 4-0 with four knockouts. He fights Ogden’s LJ Schulz, a professional MMA fighter who is 0-1 as a boxer.
Schultz says he has learned lessons from his first boxing match. “I’ve been working much more on staying in the pocket and angling out after I throw a combo. My head is moving better and I’m not standing as tall which has been a huge benefit for my movement and power,” Schulz said.
Schultz trains at One Hit MMA in Layton under the tutelage of Aldo Oreggia.
THE RIGHT WEIGHT
For West, who frequently has to fight as a heavyweight to get fights, meeting a 180-pound cruiserweight in Johnson is great. He wants to stay in the 190-pound range and avoid bigger, heavier opponents.
To get ready for Johnson, West said he’s been sparring with professional boxer Christian Nava at Foley’s gym in Ogden and also sparring boxer Josh Morales. His goal is to get in the top 10 cruiserweight ratings within the next year.
“He (West) needs to go out and fight the cruiserweights,” Petrov said. Imperial Boxing feels his future is there, he added.
As for Haro, Petroc said that Imperial Boxing is hoping to get him a nationally televised fight in Las Vegas later this year.
Both Haro and West have spouses and young children. The responsibilities prevent West from aligning himself with one gym or even one trainer. “I have to fit my training in with my time,” and the family responsibilities, he said.
Haro says the pain and dedication to training is not just for him. “I tell my kids, this is why I do it, for my family,” Haro said.
The doors open at 5 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at the Davis Conference Center, 1651 N. 700 West, Layton. The fights start at 6 p.m. All ticket sales are at the doors Saturday.
dgibson@standard.net