Foot. Lauderdale – Jose Perez, owner of Flaco’s Community Gym in Hollywood, Florida, announced the “Keep Trucking Challenge,” featuring some of the highest-ranked amateur boxers in the country.
The event will kick off at 2 pm at Joseph C. Carter Park, located at 1450 West Sunrise Blvd in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Local boxing fans have enjoyed sanctioned amateur boxing events at this landmark location for years, as it is also home to the Contender’s Gym, operated by Chico Rivas.
Fighters from every corner of the Sunshine State, from Miami to Orlando to Tampa, will share the stage with opponents from Philadelphia, Virginia and Texas in what promises to be South Florida’s premier amateur boxing event of 2022. All bouts are sanctioned by USA Boxing.
On the undercard is No. 1-ranked Ruben Soto, junior Olympic gold medalist and three-time Florida State Golden Gloves champion. With the goal of competing for his country in the Olympics, Soto has been training diligently at Lights Out Boxing and Fitness in Boynton Beach, FL. Soto, who competes at 106 pounds, will face Andre “Nino” McCallum, of
Glen Allan, Virginia, who is ranked number one at 101 pounds. The two agreed to meet at 110 pounds.
Lázaro Medina, #7 nationally at 154, brother of former #1 super heavyweight turned pro Lorenzo Medina, will face #5 ranked 147 pound Lionell Colon. Lazaro is an exciting boxer-puncher with remarkable skills who trains at Davie PAL in South Florida. Lionell Colón will travel from Tampa to compete in this unique event.
Another hometown favorite, 5-time Florida State Champion Sebastian Santana will take on James Willis in a grudge match. Sebastian has been impressing fans in his amateur career for years. He is currently ranked #10 in the junior men’s division with USA Boxing. James Willis hails from Ft. Meyers, FL and also recently competed in the 2022 Youth Olympics. Willis is a very capable opponent for Santana and is comfortable fighting from orthodox and southpaw positions.
Another promising fight features two equally ranked 90-pounders, #3 Adrian Vazquez, who will take on #3 ranked and 11x National Champion Zakariyah Chapman of Philadelphia. Both young men have the potential to become future Olympians. This is what sets the Keep Trucking Challenge apart from other local hobby events. Teams are willing to travel to the Sunshine State to compete against the best Florida has to offer.
Also on the undercard are Team Philly’s Kadeen Munson (fighting at 141 pounds) and thirteen-year-old, 101-pound Javier Mitchell in action, the latter taking on No. 4-ranked Dylan Colon. Colón most recently defeated Mitchell by decision at the Junior Olympics last July. Kadeen Munson is trained by and is the son of Philadelphia legend Eric “The Outlaw” Hunter, who once held the IBF USBA featherweight title and contested the world title against Lee Selby in 2016. He will take on Luis Gordillo , sixteen years old. from the Bay of Palma.
With seventeen amateur fights under his belt, fifteen-year-old Andrew Madison, currently ranked No. 5 at 101 pounds, will take on fourteen-year-old Ernesto Castañeda. Madison recently competed at the 2022 Youth Olympics Summer Festival in Wichita, Kansas.
