Notebook: Boxing blends with MMA
GLENDALE — The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene.
GFC FIGHTERS SET FOR HOLLYWOOD Glendale fighters Roman “The Emperor” Mitichyan and Artur “The Punisher” Bernetsyan are both scheduled to compete in respective contests on June 12 at MEZ Sports’ “Pandemonium” at the Hollywood Palladium.
The card will feature both mixed martial arts and boxing.
Bernetsyan (3-0, 2 KOs) will look to continue a promising start to a promising career when he faces Ramon Flores (3-6-1, 3 KOs) in a 135-pound bout. Flores was originally slated to fight Bernetsyan on May 6 at a King of the West card, but the former pulled out to due the death of his father. It will be Bernetsyan’s fourth fight of the year.
Mitichyan (10-3), a former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter, will fight for the first time since August of 2009, headlining the MMA portion of the event.
One of Mitichyan’s training partners at the Main Event Sports Club, Sevak Magakian, was originally scheduled to face Preston Scharf at the aforementioned May 6 event.
Now, Mitichyan will take on Scharf (11-8) in the event’s MMA main event.
Mitichyan, who teaches at the Glendale Fighting Club where Bernetsyan is trained, was scheduled to headline a similar MMA/boxing event promoted by MEZ Sports in April at the Shrine Auditorium, but the event fell through.
Also scheduled to compete on the card is Burbank welterweight boxer Johnny Suarez (5-3-2) and, in the main event, heavyweights Andrey Fedosov (21-1, 17 KOs) and Lance Whitaker (34-6-1, 28 KOs) are set to face off in a 10-round boxing match. Fedosov’s last two victories came in Glendale at the Glendale Civic Center.
BECKER LEADS TEAM TO CITY TITLE Former Glendale High and Glendale Community College softball Coach Craig Becker navigated his Kennedy High squad to a City Section Championship with its 1-0 win over Chatsworth on Wednesday at Cal State Northridge.
The only run of the game came controversially in the second inning when Danielle Estrada scored.
With the bases loaded, Kennedy’s Kellie Mason sent a sinking shot to Chatsworth second baseman Ashley Waters. Waters fielded the ball and came home with a throw for an apparent forceout.
However, the field umpire ruled it a catch and incorrectly ruled it a third out and ordered the players off the field.
Estrada crossed the plate, however. And during an ensuing discussion between the umpires it was ruled that Estrada would score, but the remaining runners would return to their bases.
Reportedly, Chatsworth and Coach Jay Creps protested the game.
Becker coached Glendale college’s softball team in 2000 and had previously coached Glendale High for seven seasons.
Among those coached by Becker in his days as a Nitro was current Glendale softball Coach Christine Paknik.
LOCALS, VILLAGE MOVE TO SEMIS The Village Christian softball team, led once more by Burbank resident Emily Seidel in the circle, moved on to the CIF Southern Section Division V semifinals.
In a quarterfinal scrap on Thursday, the Crusaders bested San Dimas, 3-0.
Two La Crescenta residents have played a key role in the success of the Crusaders (24-5), who will face Olympic League rival Whittier Christian (24-7) on the road Tuesday.
Senior captain Rebecca Gieske and junior outfielder Maddi Velasquez have both proved to be valuable offensive cogs.
Velasquez, who had a double in Thursday’s win and has hit safely in all four of her team’s postseason wins, is hitting .391, which is second-best on the squad.
She’s notched a team-high 36 hits along with 11 doubles, 19 runs and 17 runs batted in.
Gieske’s hitting .327 with 34 hits, 25 runs and seven RBIs. Gieske also leads the team with 22 stolen bases, while Velasquez has swiped 17.
VAQS RACK UP ALL- WSC TRACK HONORS Western State Conference track and field certificates were recently released and 13 women’s athletes from Glendale Community College, as well as seven from the Vaqueros men’s team were among the recipients.
Shannon Azizi, Carissa Porter, Daniella Pollard and Samantha Bogatz were first-team all-conference selections in the 4x100-meter relay and Bogatz also made the first team in the 100 and 200.
Other first-team honorees were Nina Moore in the 10,000, Angelina Gonzalez in the steeplechase and Rosa Del Toro in the 1,500.
Del Toro and Azizi made the second team in the 5,000 and the javelin, respectively, and Jonathan Alpizar earned a second-team nod in the steeplechase.
Women’s honorable mentions went to Porter (100, 200, high jump, 4x400 relay), Moore (1,500, 5,000), Azizi (pole vault), Del Toro (10,000, 4x400 relay), Bogatz (4x400 relay), Karen Rosas (1,500, 5,000), Catlin Kelly (steeplechase), Diana Sanchez (800), Laura Pleumer (800, 4x400 relay), Brianna Jauregui (5,000, 10,000) and Vivian Ochoa (5,000, 10,000).
On the men’s side, honorable mentions were garnered by Francisco Quijada (steeplechase, 5,000, 10,000), Neil Jones (800), James Jones (400 hurdles), Ricky Avila (1,500), Miguel Flores (800) and Spencer Woolwine (javelin).