Irvington Boxer Turns Attention To Golden Gloves After Milestone Win

IRVINGTON, NJ — A boxer from Irvington punched his way to the New Jersey Golden Gloves finals with a hard-fought decision win over Chris Campbell on Friday at Bloomfield High School.

Jean Pierre Valencia, who won the New Jersey Diamond Gloves novice title last year at 165 pounds, began boxing after moving to Barcelona, Spain as a teenager. Valencia now makes his home in New Jersey, where his record as an amateur boxer now stands at 15-1.

“It felt good to earn a win in my first big tournament,” Valencia said after Friday’s bout.

“Chris Campbell did a great job but I refused to lose,” he added. “I’m sure we will fight again one day.”

Head trainer Ryan Songalia credited the victory to Valencia’s “tireless work in the gym.”

Valencia now turns his attention to the Golden Gloves finals, which will take place at the Recreation Center in North Bergen on April 14 and 15. There he will face Trenton’s Alvin Matthews, who advanced to the finals via walkover after his semifinals opponent William Balbonet failed to make weight at Friday’s event.

Valencia defeated Matthews last year by a one-sided decision in the Diamond Gloves finals at the same venue. A win over Matthews will qualify Valencia for the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, which takes place May 8 to 13 at Harrah's Casino in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Other Essex County boxers to advance to the finals were Keith Colon, who outslugged Yohenrry Rosario in the 125-pound semifinals, and Jasai Kirkpatrick, who topped Alexander Collado in the 139-pound semifinals. Both boxers train out of the Ironbound Boxing Academy in Newark.

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