Bad Boyz Boxing Club Two members of the Bad Boyz Boxing Club of Garden City recently competed in the USA Boxing National Championships in Kansas City, Mo., and came home with high honors. Efrain Sanchez, a former member of the Garden City High School state champion wrestling team, garnered a second-place finish in the 108-pound Elite division by winning two matches, before losing in the championship bout to Nicholas Scaturchio of Hartsdale, N.Y., by a 4-1 decision. Victor Bravo competed in the 123-pound Elite Division and placed third, winning three matches, before falling in the semifinals to eventual champion Duke Ragan of Cincinnati, Ohio. Bravo lost a 5-0 decision to Ragan. The tournament, one of the top amateur events in the United States, was contested from Dec. 5 to 10. Sanchez’ runner-up finish also earned him a prestigious invitation from USA Boxing to Colorado Springs, Colo., where he will train with Team USA from Jan. 21 to Feb. 18. He will be a member of Team USA when it travels to Almaty, Kazakhstan, for the Strandja Tournament, one of the top international amateur tournaments each year. Last year, the Strandja Tournament was contested in Sofia, Bulgaria. “It’s a great honor for Efrain,” said Robert Gonzales, president and manager of Sanchez at Bad Boyz Boxing Club. “He’s worked extremely hard since he came back to the ring (in January).” Sanchez had a first-round bye in the tournament, putting him into the quarterfinals, where he won a 5-0 decision over Dwayne Dinkins of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. He then won a TKO in the third and final round over Darnell Gibson of Covington, Ga., in the Dec. 9 semifinal bout. “Efrain’s got a lot of speed and he can move and throw combo punches,” Gonzales said of Sanchez’ style. “He can take a hit, but he really works to get a lot of body punches in to his opponents. The head is the last thing we work toward.” Bravo, who has more than 100 wins in his amateur career, first decisioned Yahya Ali of St. Paul, Minn., 5-0. He then earned a 5-0 decision over Ivan Varela of Lindsay, Calif. In the quarterfinal round, he decisioned Erik West of Indio, Calif., 4-1. That set up his semifinal match with Ragan, where he lost the 5-0 decision. There was no third-place bout, but because Bravo had beaten one of his earlier opponents, who also lost to Ragan, he was awarded the third-place finish. “Victor is a very straightforward style of boxer,” Gonzales said. “He loves to go to the body. He allows himself to get hit sometimes, which is not good, but his style is better than it was a year ago. He’s gotten faster.” Bravo had been competing at 132 pounds until he dropped to the 123-pound division recently. Also competing for Bad Boyz was Alejandro Macis, a 17-year-old competing in the Youth Division. Macias won one and lost one bout at the tournament.
