Swanson advances in Golden Gloves by DQ

It wasn’t the way Jamie Swanson expected to advance to the Golden Gloves national championships. Then again, Swanson wasn’t expecting to get punched in the face by his opponent while he was lying on the canvas.

The Las Vegas middleweight was awarded a win at Sunday’s regionals at Barry’s Boxing after Oregon’s Terence Oddie was disqualified in the second round for hitting Swanson after the two had gotten tangled up in a clinch and fell to the canvas simultaneously.

“I’ve never had that happen before,” Swanson said. “But the ref did the right thing. You can’t hit somebody when you’re both on the mat like that.”

Swanson, a 165-pounder who will be making his third straight nationals appearance May 12 at the LVH, dominated the fight from the outset. He landed a big right hand that dropped Oddie late in the first round, and for a moment it appeared Oddie was not going to be able to continue.

But he came out for the second round and Swanson was all over him, tagging him with shot after shot. Oddie grabbed Swanson in an attempt to slow him down and the two got tangled up and fell to the canvas. That’s when Oddie sucker-punched Swanson, but the referee was watching and he stopped the fight by disqualifying Oddie.

Swanson said he will use the time between tournaments to sharpen his skills and be ready to make a run to the May 17 finals.

“I’m going to be in the gym, training hard and getting ready,” he said. “I know what to expect in that tournament, and the setting’s not too big for me. It’s also in my hometown, and I don’t want to lose in Vegas.”

Three other local boxers advanced with wins Sunday. At 123 pounds, Isaac Martinez won a unanimous decision over Oregon’s Eric Estrada, while Quontez McRath defeated Oregon’s Oscar Herrera by unanimous decision in the 152-pound final. At heavyweight, Hasim Rahman Jr. won a split decision over Arizona’s Albert Alvarez after Rahman scored a first-round knockdown but found himself unable to put away Alvarez.

“When I heard it was going to the judges, I thought they were going to rob me,” Martinez said. “I had two 8-counts on him and I clearly thought I won the fight. I worked really hard for this and I’m glad the judges saw it my way.”

In the other divisions, Arizona’s Adrian Servin beat Las Vegas’ Blake Fazio at 108 pounds, Washington’s Edward Rojas decisioned Arizona’s Francisco Chavez at 114 pounds, Oregon’s Lorenzo Caldera defeated Reno’s Humberto Guillen for the 132-pound title, Alfonso Alvera of Arizona defeated Oregon’s Efraim Estrada at 141 pounds, Oregon’s Jose Mena defeated Arizona’s William Northan at 178 pounds and Washington’s Elvis Garcia defeated Las Vegas’ Marcellus Williams to win the super heavyweight division.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at 702-387-2913 or scarp@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @stevecarprj.