Ft. Lauderdale – Jose Perez, owner of Flaco’s Community Gym in Hollywood, Florida announced “Keep Trucking Challenge,” featuring some of the nation’s top ranked amateur boxers.
The event will begin at 2 pm at Joseph C. Carter Park, located at 1450 West Sunrise Blvd in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Local boxing fans have enjoyed sanctioned amateur boxing events in this landmark venue for years, as it is also home to Contender’s Gym, operated by Chico Rivas.
Fighters from all corners 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 the Premier South Florida amateur boxing event of 2022. All bouts are sanctioned by USA Boxing.
Featured on the card are #1 ranked Ruben Soto, a Junior Olympic Gold medalist and 3-time Florida State Golden Gloves Champion. With goals to compete 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 be facing Andre “Nino” McCallum, from
Glen Allan, Virginia, who is ranked number one at 101 pounds. The two have agreed to meet at 110 pounds.
Lazaro Medina, nationally ranked #7 at 154, brother of former #1 ranked super-heavyweight now turned professional, Lorenzo Medina, will be facing #5 ranked 147 pounder Lionell Colon. Lazaro is an exciting boxer-puncher with notable skills who trains out of the Davie PAL in South Florida. Lionell Colon is making the trip down from Tampa to compete at this unique event.
Another hometown favorite Sebastian Santana, a 5x FL State Champion 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 Junior Olympics. Willis is a very capable opponent for Santana and is comfortable fighting out of both orthodox and southpaw stances.
Another promising bout features two evenly ranked 90 pounders, #3 Adrian Vazquez, who will take on #3 ranked and 11x National Champion Zakariyah Chapman from Philadelphia. Both young men have the potential to become future Olympians. This is what sets the Keep Trucking Challenge apart from other local amateur events. Teams are willing to take the trip down to the Sunshine State to compete against the best Florida has to offer.
Also on the card, Team Philly’s Kadeen Munson (fighting at 141 pounds) and thirteen year-old 101 pounder Javier Mitchell in action, the latter facing #4 ranked Dylan Colon. Colon recently defeated Mitchell via decision at the Junior Olympics this past July. Kadeen Munson is trained by, and is the son of Philly legend Eric “The Outlaw” Hunter, who once held the IBF USBA Featherweight title, and contested for the World Title against Lee Selby in 2016. He will face sixteen year-old Luis Gordillo of Palm Bay.
With seventeen amateur bouts under his belt, fifteen year-old Andrew Madison, currently ranked #5 at 101 lbs, will face fourteen year-old Ernesto Castaneda. Madison recently competed in the 2022 Junior Olympics Summer Festival in Wichita, Kansas.