It couldn’t have been a better night than to see that happen. To see Diego, everybody (crowding) around him, it makes me feel great. – Larry Fullmer
SALT LAKE CITY — Sporting a constant smile, Diego Avarez handed the Golden Gloves national championship belt that he worked so hard to win to anyone who asked to hold it.
The 17-year-old Ogden boxer won five bouts in five nights to earn Utah’s first Golden Gloves national championship in 25 years. But he almost instinctively recognized that the victory didn’t belong to him alone.
“It feels great, feels good to be here,” he said. “This is what I’ve been working for.”
He grinned when asked about the crowd chanting his name during his 4-1 victory over Nevada’s Fernando Martinez in the 114-pound division. The support of his family and friends — and newfound fans — gave him even more confidence. “I felt better,” he said when asked about nerves, “having my whole family here.”
When asked if he’d let his younger sisters or older brother wear the title belt, he said he would.
“They’re my family,” he said. “They can do whatever they want.” After he left the ring, he posed for pictures, signed autographs, accepted handshakes and high fives and just basked in the joy of winning something no Utahn has won in 25 years. The last fighter to win a Golden Gloves national championship was Sampson Pouha in 1991 (201-plus division).
Not only did Alvarez win a national title, he won the Golden Boy Award, which goes to the tournament’s most outstanding fighter.
The young man’s victory made a lot of people happy, but none more so than tournament director Larry Fullmer, oldest son of the late Don Fullmer, the youngest of the three “Fighting Fullmer Brothers.”
“I am so excited you can’t believe it,” said Fullmer, who was inducted into the National Golden Gloves Officials Hall of Fame Sunday. “It couldn’t have been a better night than to see that happen. To see Diego, everybody (crowding) around him, it makes me feel great.” Fullmer choked back emotion as he talked about what his dad and uncles — Gene Fullmer, middleweight world champion, and Jay Fullmer, who became the heart and soul of the Fullmer Brothers Boxing Gym — would have thought of Alvarez’s fight.
“(They) would have loved it,” Fullmer said. “Oh, yeah because he didn’t stop throwing punches for three rounds. That was a great bout. That’s what boxing is all about.”
Alvarez’s win also sends a message to other local boxers that they should dream big too.
“I hope they see that there is hope and that Utah is a great place to learn how to box,” Fullmer said. “I hope it gets more kids involved in the sport. It’s a great sport, and it teaches so much discipline. … It’s just a big boost for us to have this happen.”
Alvarez enjoyed congratulations from sponsors and public officials, including Speaker of the House Greg Hughes, who has been an advocate for amateur boxing for years, especially Golden Gloves.
“What a proud day for the state of Utah and for the sport of boxing in Utah,” Hughes said. “It absolutely puts Utah on the map. We have a great legacy and a great history with boxing. But I will tell you, it’s been so long since anyone from this region, not just Utah … this region has not seen a champion for so, so long. That fight, both of them came to fight. It was an incredible bout.”
In the other championship bouts: 108 pounds, Pablo Ramirez, Texas, def. Joseph Ortiz, Florida; 123 pounds, Duke Ragan, Cincinnati, def. Victor Morales, Nevada; 132 pounds, Maliek Montgomery, Knoxville, def. Michael Dutchover; 141 pounds, Frank Martin, Indiana, def. Vergil Ortiz, Texas; 152 pounds, Brian Ceballo, N.Y. Metro, def Rafael Medina, Texas; 165 pounds, Isiah Jones, Detroit, def. Troy Isley, Washington, D.C.; 178 pounds, Atif Oberlton, Pennsylvania, def. Shavere Staton, New Jersey; 201 pounds, Sardius Simmons, Michigan, def. Marquise Williams, N.Y. Metro; Marcus Carter, Detroit, def. Gregory Dismukes, Texas.
Email: adonaldson@deseretnews.com
Twitter: adonsports