A Brothers Inspiration: Julian Salinas Inspired by Brothers Success in Return to Boxing

Julian Salinas

The argument could be made that boxing is the hardest sport to step away from, and completely stay away.

Through the years many boxing legends have called it a career only to attempt to recapture the glory years later.

This Friday at the Youngstown Saxon Club, Youngstown native Julian Salinas, 21, will make his return to the ring to continue an amateur career he walked away from years ago.

The inspiration for Salinas returning to the boxing ring, however, is not that of glory but that of his own blood.

"I've been watching my brother fight a lot, he's been an inspiration to me and it motivated me to get back," Salinas said referring to his older brother, professional super featherweight prospect Alejandro "Popo" Salinas.

"Him and I talked and he said I should get back in the ring and that I'm good at the sport and I should make a comeback," Salinas said of his conversations with Popo which helped fuel his desire on a return.

Not having fought in a competitive match since he was 13-years-old, one has to wonder about the mindset of someone coming back from such a long layoff.

"I'm really confident, really focused, I feel great I've been working really hard with Vinny (O'Neill) and Jack (Loew)" said Salinas.  

Besides the watchful eyes of Loew and O'Neill, Salinas knows he has another set of eyes helping him in the gym.

"It's really motivational," Salinas said of having Popo around keeping tabs. "I know he's going to help me out and help me capitalize on any mistakes that I make and I'm very grateful having my brother around".

Salinas will not be eased into his boxing return as he slated to take on a tough opponent in Brian Sims of Downtown Boxing Club on Friday night at Southside Boxing Clubs Season Beating's amateur event.

Tickets for the event are $15 and will be available at the door, which opens at 6:00 PM.

First bell for the event that will feature the last fight of amateur Ryan Williams as the main event is slated for 7:30.

                                

Fight Week: Southside Boxing Club Brings Amateur Boxing Back to the Youngstown Saxon Club

Southside Boxing Club's Jack Loew has been a busy man in recent weeks, doubling as a trainer as Alejandro "Popo" Salinas has resumed workouts and a matchmaker attempting to put together the most competitive card he can for his annual Season's Beatings event.

With the final preparations being made, I can tell you that from what I've seen, Youngstown will be in for a treat this upcoming Friday night at the Youngstown Saxon Club.

Youngstown Boxing News will have you covered this week with the matchups as they become available and interviews.

Tickets for the scheduled 15 bout card will be available at the door for $15.00.

The doors at the Youngstown Saxon Club located at 710 South Meridian Road will open at 6:00 PM with the first bell slated for 7:30 PM.

Stay tuned for more information and check back on Friday night for a full recap and post-fight interviews.

RAW Boxing Promotions Announces New Date for "Raw Brawl" Amateur Card

One of the hardest aspects of the boxing world outside of the ring is putting on shows at the "club" level of the pro ranks, and an amateur club show. 

Anyone who has attended an amateur show knows that going to one of these shows is like going to an afternoon at the horse races in that their is a good chance a fighter will be a late from the card for reasons beyond the promoters control.

The past few months, Cliff Gregory of RAW Boxing and Fitness located in Farrell, Pennsylvania has had a string of bad luck which has forced him to push the date of his Raw Brawl on two occasions.

The newest date for the Raw Brawl has now been set for January, 6 and appears to be the first fights of 2018 that I will get a chance to cover for Youngstown Boxing News.

Admission for the fights which are being held at RAW Boxing and Fitness located at 300 Roemer Blvd in Farrell will be $10 with tickets being sold at the door.

First bell for what promises to be a great night of amateur boxing is at 7:00 PM with the doors opening at 6:00 PM.

Youngstown Boxing News would like to thank the following sponsors of this event, without sponsors a lot of amateur events would not happen:

The City of Farrell
The Remix 724 Plug, The Hilltop Tavern
The Italian Home,
Kirila Contractors, Penn-Ohio Electrical,
Four Star Pizza, Shenango Valley Meats,
Lombardi & McCamant Dental,
Brothers Auto, The Engraving Place,
Greater Mt. Zion C.O.G.I.C.
Pink Pantherz

Brian Sims Ready for YSU Graduation; Eyes the Future

Sometimes people end up somewhere they never thought in a million years they would be.  Such is probably the case for Cleveland native Brian Sims who now finds himself living in Youngstown attending Youngstown State University.

Sims, 24, has gone from a young man trying to adjust to the college life to becoming a fixture on the Youngstown amateur boxing scene in a short period of time.

Those who have seen Sims box would think he's been doing so since he was a teenager. That's the furthest from the truth, however.

"I picked it up in Youngstown," said Sims of boxing. "I've been doing it for about three years now".

So how did Sims end up in Youngstown at Youngstown State University upon graduation from Euclid High School?

"Honestly it was the only school that accepted me," Sims said with laughter.  

Luckily for Simms, everything has worked out well with Youngstown State University, as the now senior is on pace to graduate with a degree in communications.  

"I want to go into broadcasting, but I got a year left giving me enough time to figure it out," said Simms of his post-college plans.

A career in broadcasting is not the only thing on the mind of Sims, however.

"I plan to turn pro a couple years after I graduate," Sims said of his boxing career.  "I'm still a young buck in the game and need some time to perfect my craft and in about two or three years I should be a pro" Sims continued. 

And after living the past four years in Youngstown, what does Sims think of the city?

"It's a city on the rise, I've seen a lot of stuff from when I first got here four years ago".

Simms, who trains at Downtown Boxing Club under trainer Tom Cordell, is slated to be in action on December 15th at Jack Loew's South Side Boxing Club Seasons

Beatings show at the Saxon Club in Youngstown.

Though nothing is finalized yet, Sims is slated to take on Julian Salinas who will be making his return to the ring for the first time in three years it what could be an interesting and fun match.

Tickets for the show are $15 and can be purchased at the door.

                                     

Fight Week: Amateur Boxing Returns to The Palermo Center

Chuck Nelson and Steel Valley promotions are bringing amateur boxing back to the Palermo Center located in Campbell, Ohio this Saturday, November 11 for the third installment of All-Star Boxing Show. 

Teaming up with Nelson in promoting the All-Star Boxing series, which will once again showcase 2017 Cleveland Golden Glove champion Ryizeemmion Ford of Alliance, is Chuck Haskell.  

Fighting in the main event will be Drew Smith of Burnside Boxing, a 2017 United High School graduate and current freshman at Youngstown State University. 

Brian Simms of Downtown Boxing Club will be in action as well for the first time since defeating C.C. Clark of Pittsburgh by decision on September 30th. 

Tickets for the event which begins at 7:00 PM with the doors opening at 6:00 PM begin at $25 for general admission.  Ringside seats are available for $40.  

The Palermo Center at St. Lucy's Church is located at 394 Tenney Ave.

Regional Roundup

- According to his Instagram account, Akron middleweight prospect Jose Rodriguez Jr. is currently searching for a new opponent for his November 11th match in Atlanta, Georiga.  Rodriguez, 23, is currently 4-0 with all his victories coming by way of knockout. 

- Cleveland lightweight Thomas Mattice is slated to be in action as well in Atlanta on November 11th at the Atrium Arena in Stone Mountain, Georgia.  Mattice, 27, is currently 9-0 with 7 knockouts.  His opponent for the bout has yet to be determined.

- Pittsburgh super middleweight Gerald "G5" Sherrell who will be headlining on November 4th, at the Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead now has an opponent.  Sherrell,24, whose record stands at 7-0 with 3 knockouts will be taking on Shakeem Hodge of Reading, Pennsylvania.  Hodge, 26, is currently 5-0 with 4 knockouts.  This should be a fun inter-state matchup in a card that is loaded with a bunch of regional talent. 

- Amateur boxing will take center stage in Akron this weekend as the Tadmor Shrine located at 3000 Krebs Dr will host the Big Dawg Show. 

Regional Roundup

- Cleveland will be well represented this upcoming Saturday, October 14th in some big fights as former Olympians Terrell Gausha (20-0) and Raynell Williams (12-0) will be in action on separate cards.

Gausha, 30, a 2005 graduate of Cleveland Glenville High School who represented Team USA in the 2012 Olympics will be taking on Erislandy Lara (24-2-2) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY in a match that will be televised by Showtime.

This will be the first title shot for Gausha as Lara will have his IBO and WBA World Super Welterweight titles on the line.

Williams, 28, a Team USA member during the 2008 Olympics will be taking on his biggest challenge to date when he takes on Ivan Redkach (20-3-1) in an off-television lightweight clash at the Stub Hub Center in Los Angelas, CA.  

- Martez Williams, 32, of Akron, saw his record fall to 3-21-1 as former Notre Dame and NFL safety Tom Zbikowski scored a TKO victory over him in Chattanooga, TN this past Saturday. 

Zbikowski, 32, improved his record to 8-0 with the victory.

- Pro boxing will return to the Pittsburgh area on Saturday, November 4th at the Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead.  Youngstown native Danny Rosenberger will be in action on the card taking on Butler native Bobby Osterrieder.

The main event at the Integrity Fighter Managment promoted card will feature 7-0 Pittsburgh native Gerald "G5" Sherrell against an opponent to be named later. 

- Hearing that undefeated Akron prospect Jose Rodriguez Jr. is slated to fight on November, 11 in Stone Mountain, Georgia at the Atrium Event Center.

Rodgriguez, 23, who last fought in June in Youngstown is currently 4-0 with all his victories coming by way of knockout.

- The Ohio State Former Boxers and Associates will present "Fight Night" in the city of Brook Park this upcoming Saturday, October, 14 at the Brook Park Recreation Center located at 17400 Holland Rd.  

Tickets for this amateur boxing event are $20.00 at the door.  

First bell is slated for 6:00PM with the doors opening at 5:00PM.

Recapping Youngstown Versus Italy

It was billed as Youngstown Boxing Italy, but the lone two Youngstown combatants slated to fight last night at the Covelli Centre were scratched from the event a title such as Pittsburgh Boxing Italy would have been more fitting.

With Brian Simms and Bryan Colon off the card, the collection of regional amateurs that was representing Youngstown was made up of mostly made up from the Pittsburgh area.

Kaleb Waggoner from Toronto, Ohio, a town located roughly 60 miles south of Youngstown, got the evening started by scoring the nights lone knockout at the 1:01 mark of the opening round.

Waggoner caught Antimo Lombardi with a right hook that stunned the young Italian before dropping him with a straight left that forced the referee in charge to call a halt to the bout.

The Youngstown-Regional team rattled off wins against the Italian team billed as Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Oro (the Golden Flames) in the opening five bouts before Jessica Palmieri scored a decision over Colleen Davis of Pittsburgh in a female bout that may have been the fight of the night.

The Italian team whose coaches included three-time Olympic medalist Roberto Cammarelle won four matches on the evening including the last match of the evening as Riccardo Valentino stayed busy enough to defeat Kiante Irving of Pittsburgh.

Though the event which was produced by the Hibernian Celtic Athletic Fund in collaboration with the Ray "Boom Boom' Mancini Foundation may have lacked talent from the Covelli Centre's backyard, the evening was full of great fights as Mancini looked on in attendance.  

Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Oro will now embark on the short trip to Pittsburgh for an event at the Grand Hall at the Priory on Monday, October 9th.

Full Results

125 LBS - Kaleb Waggoner (Toronto, OH) TKO Round 1 over Antimo Lombardi (Italy)

132 LBS - Steven Cunningham Jr. (Pittsburgh, PA) Dec over Andrea Piccolo (Italy)

135 LBS - Sylvio Cerone (Pittsburgh, PA) Dec over Luca De Chiara (Italy)

152 LBS - Mary Casamassa (Pittsburgh, PA) Dec over Francesca Buonanno (Italy)

165 LBS - Paul Palombo (Pittsburgh, PA) Dec over Daniele Pucciarelli (Italy)

132 LBS - Jessica Palmieri (Italy) Dec over Collen Davis (Pittsburgh, PA)

141 LBS - Gianmarco Pinci (Italy) Dec over Charlie Clouston (Ellwood City, PA)

150 LBS - Morelle McCane (Cleveland, OH) Dec over Maura Scalervio (Italy)

154 LBS - C.C. Clark (Pittsburgh, PA) Dec over Vincenzo Arecchia (Italy)

152 LBS - Maria Antunez (Ellwood City, PA) Dec over Roberta Mustrada (Italy)

195 LBS - Ronnie Hines (Cleveland, OH) Dec over Michaelangelo Lusi (Italy)

175 LBS - Riccardo Valentino (Italy) Dec over Kiante Irving (Pittsburgh, PA)