Sweet Home’s Wolf Pack boxers Marco Ashe and Jeff Leonard finished in first place in the USA State match for Oregon held earlier this month to advance to the USA Regionals this weekend.
The fights were held on Jan. 6-7 in Medford. The two will advance to the regional contest in Tacoma, Wash., on Feb. 3-4.
Leonard, 165, decisioned Nathan James of Medford , who placed third in Olympic trials, in four rounds.
Leonard started with a few jabs, returned by James, but Leonard started coming on strong by the end of the first round and beginning of the second.
Leonard pressed James and knocked the wind out of him in the third round, but Leonard was getting tired, he said. Leonard wanted to finish the fight up but was too tired and had to take it to the fourth round for a decision.
“I knew he was going to go down,” Leonard said. “But I just didn’t have the energy to stop him.”
Though he knew he was the favorite in the fight, Leonard said, he knew he would have to fight decisively or the match would go to Medford.
Marco Ashe, 180, faced Tyler Livingston of Bend.
“He was a big dude,” Ashe said. Livingston stood 6’3” or 6’4”, and Ashe spent the first round “just trying to feel him out.”
Livingston got a strong jab into Ashe’s arm setting Ashe off. Livingston got some hits in, but Ashe pummeled him into a standing eight count in the first round.
Ashe wore Livingston down after stunning him, bringing him to another eight count in the second. Forty seconds later, Livingston was standing another eight count, and Ashe won with a technical knockout.
“I had some bruises,” Ashe said. “But I was feeling pretty good after I beat that big dude.”
Ashe has also won the Oregon Junior Olympics title, against teammate Leonard.
Leonard is a two-time state champion, two-time State Memorial champion, Golden Gloves state champion and regional champion, Golden Gloves national runner-up in 1999 and USA national runner-up in 1998.
In other recent Wolf Pack achievements, Jonathan Leonard, 125, won the state Silver Gloves title and finished number two at regionals.
Caleb Leonard, 95, finished first at state, but failed to make weight for regionals and forfeited.
Stevie Walker, 112, finished first at state but lost at regionals.
The Wolf Pack includes about 10 regular members. The club is coached by Jesse Ramoz and Bob Ashe. It meets every weekday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. upstairs at Cascade Hardware, formerly Coast to Coast.
Persons looking for information on the Wolf Pack or wishing to join may contact Ramoz at 258-5925 or Ashe at 367-6342.