Carrrasco, Garrobo advance to National Open title bouts

Mar. 14—Nevaeh Williams was late.

Ariana Carrasco took charge early.

Las Cruces' Carrasco, a 2023 Golden Gloves national amateur champion, defeated Cleveland's Williams by unanimous decision Thursday in a USA Boxing National Open semifinal at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

Carrasco advances to the women's 146-pound Elite Division final, where she'll face New Yorker Stacia Suttles, a U.S. Olympic Trials runner-up, on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Peralta's Alexa Garrobo defeated Emily Bazan of Azusa, California by split (3-1, 1 even) decision in a 132-pound Elite quarterfinal.

Garrobo's quarterfinal became a semifinal when the other half of the 132-pound bracket consisted only of walkovers (canceled bouts). She'll face Olympic Trials semifinalist Casey Dial of Seattle — who defeated Arizona's Elisha Crockett on Thursday — for the title on Saturday.

The start of Carrasco's fight was held up when Williams, apparently caught off guard when three fights scheduled ahead of theirs were canceled, failed to appear promptly at ringside. Carrasco stood waiting in her corner for several minutes before Williams finally turned up.

Once the bout began, Carrasco quickly assumed control. She won the first round on all five scorecards, principally on the strength of a sharp and accurate left jab.

Williams, seeing the fight slipping away, became more aggressive in rounds two and three — winning the third on one judge's scorecard.

But Carrasco showed she was more than capable of matching Williams' urgency. The final scorecards read 30-26, 29-28 and 30-27 three times, all for Carrasco, who competes for the U.S. Army boxing team headquartered in Fort Carson, Colorado.

Garrobo started strong in her bout against Bazan, winning the first round on all five scorecards. Two judges scored it 10-8, a decisive round.

Bazan rallied, taking round two on three of the five cards and doing so again in the third. But Garrobo's early lead held up.

The scores were 30-26, 29-28, 29-28 for Garrobo and 29-28 for Bazan, one judge scoring it even at 28-28.

Three New Mexico men's boxers lost their bouts on Thursday.

Chaparral 156-pounder Sebastian Martinez, who'd won his opening bout on Monday, lost by unanimous decision to southpaw Sergio Angel Soto of Odessa, Texas. Los Lunas 178-pounder Victor Alcala lost by first-round RSC (referee stopped contest) to Tyric Trapp of Tinton Falls, New Jersey.

Las Cruces 156-pounder Ajani Hernandez lost by unanimous decision to Aaron Waldon of Finchville, Kentucky.

In the younger age divisions, Las Cruces' Austin Sanchez defeated Colorado's Michael Cruz-Ford by split (3-2) decision for the National Open title in the Bantam (ages 11-12) Division.

The judges' scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Sanchez, 29-28 and 29-28 for Ford. Sanchez pulled out the victory in the third and final round, winning it on four of five official scorecards.

Friday: (Session starts at 12 p.m., order of fights to be determined):

Yoruba Moreu Jr., Albuquerque, vs. Emmanuel Carrillo, hometown unavailable, semifinal, Elite Division, 125 pounds.

Leroy Clark, Albuquerque, vs. Henry Ortiz, Uvalde, Texas, semifinal, Elite Division, 203+ pounds.