Irvington Boxer Jean Pierre Valencia Repeats As Diamond Gloves Champ

Irvington boxer Jean Pierre Valencia solidified his status as the best 165-pound amateur boxer in the state after winning the New Jersey Diamond Gloves open class championship on Sunday night.

The 23-year-old Valencia put on a show for boxing fans at the Recreation Center in North Bergen, N.J. stopping the mobile Jordan Simpson in three rounds on Saturday, October 14 before winning a 4-1 decision over Alvin Matthews on Sunday, October 15 to win the championship.

Valencia made a strong statement in the semifinals, breaking down Simpson with body punching before a fusillade of nearly two dozen punches forced the referee to waive the bout off. Simpson, 22, of Middlesex, N.J. had been this year’s novice class Golden Gloves champion and had never previously been stopped.

The following day, Valencia met the iron-willed Matthews, 26, of Trenton, who advanced to the final after his two previous opponents withdrew. Matthews opted to make it a brawl in the opening round, absorbing hard power punches but refusing to relent. Valencia established the range to land his power punches in rounds two and three to earn the decision.

Valencia and the other open class champions will receive their championship belts at the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame dinner on November 9 at The Venetian in Garfield, N.J.

“This is what I’ve been working for all this time, to become a champion again and to be able to receive my championship belt at the New Jersey Hall of Fame dinner,” said Valencia, a native of Esmeraldas, Ecuador who grew up in Barcelona, Spain.

“Last year I went to the Hall of Fame dinner as a spectator and I had faith that if I worked hard I could attend the following year as a champion.”

Valencia is trained by Ryan Songalia and conditioning coach Aaron Watson.

The championship is Valencia’s second Diamond Gloves title after he won the novice class title a year ago, and gives him a clean sweep of the state’s two major tournaments this year, including the N.J. Golden Gloves title, which he won in April. Valencia also won the New York Boxing Tournament in July and was a bronze medalist at the National Golden Gloves in May.

Valencia will return to action on October 22 when he faces National Collegiate Boxing champion Ryan Chi of West Point Academy at La Neve's Banquets in Haledon, N.J., followed by a matchup against Washington D.C. Golden Gloves champ Christian Hamilton on November 11 on a pro-am card at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark.

Valencia wasn’t the only Irvington resident to compete in the tournament. Tymir Daniels competed in the 156-pound open class competition, but lost in the tournament’s first round to the less-experienced Samir Dieujuste.