Rough night for Utah boxers at U.S. trials

It has been a disappointing week for Utahns at the 2007 Western Boxing Trials.

After some fairly high expectations, Utah boxers combined to win exactly one fight. Utah will not be represented when the finals start tonight.

In the preliminary rounds, Ernie Flores, Salt Lake City, was defeated by Stepan Zeytunyan, Aurora, Colo., in the 165-pound division. The referee stopped the fight with 1:25 left in the third round.

Zeytunyan wasn't done with Utah boxers though. He beat Salt Lake City's Rudy Cutnose in the quarterfinals when the referee stopped the fight at 1:39 in the second round.

Tony Gonzalez, Ogden, won his first fight, in the preliminaries, defeating Randy Trionfel, Queens, N.Y., on a walkover in the 141-pound division. He lost in the quarterfinals however, to Kevin Barger, Forest City, Calif., when the referee stopped the fight with 36 seconds left in the third round.

Jose Haro — probably Utah's top prospect — lost in a quarterfinal bout (his first fight) to Shawn Nichol, Lakewood, Colo., 61-25, in the 119-pound division.

In other quarterfinal action, the referee stopped the fight at 46 seconds left in the second round, and Enver Halili, Weatherford, Texas, defeated Layton's Joseph Barela in the 152-pound division. Manual Gonzales, Salt Lake City, lost to Ryan Schmidt, Grand Rapids, Mich., on points, 28-15, in the 125-pound division.

Utahn Jeffery Salas of East Carbon lost to Roberto Vargas, Santa Ana, Calif., when the referee stopped the fight at the 1:28 mark of the second round. Salas had just received a standing eight-count before the stoppage on Friday.

If there is any good news for Utah boxers, it's that Miguel Beltran, Salt Lake City, has already qualified for the U.S. Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo., and did not have to fight this week. He will represent Utah in the 152-pound division.

The championship bouts for all weight divisions begin tonight at 7, at the Salt Palace. The winners move on to the U.S. Championships on June 1, to compete for a spot in the 2008 Beijing games.

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E-mail: nstorey@desnews.com