FORT WORTH – For the unknowing viewing from a distance, Saturday night’s heavyweight championship bout in the state Golden Gloves tournament looked as if it were Hakeem Olajuwon squaring off with Danny DeVito.
At 6-foot-5, Team Austin’s Den Tati-Mackaya had a clear edge over 5-7ish Jurgen Deraj of Team Fort Worth in both physical traits, experience and letters and hyphens.
It also turned out to be the most captivating bout of the week’s tournament, capturing the imagination of the partisan Fort Worth crowd at Will Rogers’ Watt Arena, all of them clamoring for the underdog while knowing he’d need both one of his patented well-placed overhand rights as well as a slingshot and a bag of rocks.
This was David v. Goliath.
And Goliath won, but just barely, in a decision.
Tati-Mackaya knocked Deraj down during a furious onslaught in the first round, and then had to hold on for dear life as Deraj stalked and attacked in the final six minutes, getting inside his bigger foe and throwing hard overhand rights that connected.
Think Jack Ruby roaming a police department basement.
When he connected, which he did often in the final two rounds, the people watching rose to their feet.
“Everybody always tells me I put on a good fight,” Deraj said. “I’m aggressive, even though I’m always the little guy. I’m a lot shorter than everybody else. The crowd likes that.”
Deraj went toe-to-toe for the final two rounds and believed he had won.
Others, the less discriminating, did, too.
Only the judges count in this fight game.
“He caught me and I tripped over my feet,” Deraj said of the first-round knockdown. “I always try to feel out my opponent in the first round. I thought I had it the last two rounds. Second round I thought I landed more shots. I thought I hurt him … well, maybe not hurt, but stunned him. Third round, he was just running around the ring.
“I feel like the two rounds I outworked him.”
Candor and frankness are never a problem with boxers, who are the furthest thing from shrinking violets.
Tati-Mackaya was one of 15 champions crowned Saturday night. All advanced to the national Golden Gloves tournament May 6-11 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Dallas won the team title, its boxers winning four state titles.
Among them were the Jenkins twins, Josh and Jordan, who won in the 141- and 132-pound divisions.
Fort Worth’s JR Guzman found redemption from a loss a year ago by winning in the 108. Alexis Mones of Fort Worth advanced to nationals in the women’s 119 pounds.
“The guy was holding and pushing a lot. I thought they should’ve have deducted a point from him,” said Jamaal Lawson, Jergen’s trainer from the Lewisville Boxing Team. “That’s how goes. We try to fight as hard as we can and do the best that we can. That’s all you can do. I thought he gave it everything he had, like always, with everything he has.”
It wasn’t as if Jergen lost to a tomato can.
Tati-Mackaya is an interesting guy.
A native of Gabon in Central Africa, Tati-Mackaya came to the U.S. and went to school at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
“The expectation was for me to graduate and then go back and serve in Gabon … until a few things got compromised,” he said. “I wound up staying stateside.”
His military fulfillment obligation is a “work in progress.” He said he is working with officials from his country to get that done, though, as of now, he’s not active military.
Tati-Mackaya was able to fight in the Golden Gloves this year, his first appearance, because of the organization now allowing non-citizens to compete in advancing events. Once upon a time, the Golden Gloves national champions advanced to the U.S. Olympic Trials. There is now a separate qualifying tournament for that.
Forgoing that competition restriction is also a reason the Texas Golden Gloves saw its numbers increase this year.
“It’s definitely a great achievement considering it’s my first run through,” Tati-Mackaya said. “I give a lot of credit to my coaches, who prepped me for this opportunity and for this event. It feels great.”
Tati-Mackaya is a man of experience and ability in the game.
At Air Force, he won the National Collegiate Boxing Association title in the 195-pound division in 2018. He was also an All-American from 2016-18.
By appearances, Deraj was the clear underdog, but a boxer of his stature and style presents the other guy his own set of challenges.
“It’s a whole different fighting style. I saw him fight the day before. He’s a banger, he comes inside, he wrestles,” Tati-Mackaya said. “He makes it ugly. Sometimes when you’re that tall it’s quite an adjustment to make.
“He had some successes. Eventually, we prevailed.”
Patience not being his best attribute, Deraj tried to wait for a jab and then press forward and get inside the taller Tati-Mackaya, who was doing his best to stay away and land from the outside.
“I’ll give him the first round,” Deraj said. “He threw more.”
As for next year, Deraj was asked … .
“Of course,” he said.
These non-shrinking violets after all are perennials.
Saturday’s championship results
Women’s 106 pounds: Dajia Contreras, Corpus Christi, defeated Alyson Calderon, Dallas, default.
108 pounds: JR Guzman, Fort Worth, d. John Atiles, Houston, decision.
114 pounds: Sean Moncada, Houston, d. Joe Martinez, Corpus Christi, dec.
Women’s 119 pounds: Alexis Mones, Fort Worth, d. Kellsie Pence, Corpus Christi, dec.
123 pounds: Angel Garcia, Rio Grande Valley, d. Sean Brewer, Austin, dec.
Women’s 125 pounds: Destiny Jasso, Dallas, d. Carmen Vargas, Houston, dec.
Women’s 132 pounds: Nancy Garcia, Austin, d. Nicole Ocasio, Fort Worth, dec.
132 pounds: Jordan Jenkins, Dallas, d. Jose Bernal, Corpus Christi, dec.
Women’s 141 pounds: Ravven Brown, San Antonio, d. Destiny Jones, Austin, dec.
141 pounds: Joshua Jenkins, Dallas, d. Marquese Steward, Austin, dec.
152 pounds: Joshua Moreno, San Antonio, d. Mauricio Quintanilla, Houston, dec.
165 pounds: Noah Jones, Dallas, d. Eugene Hill, Houston, dec.
178 pounds: Jaylon Stanley, Houston, d. Jessie Elizondo, San Antonio, dec.
201 pounds: Den Tati-Mackaya, Austin, d. Jergen Deraj, Fort Worth, dec.
201-plus pounds: Habeb Saibu, East Texas, d. Devon Rangel, Houston, dec.
