Guam’s Wells, CNMI’s Lee torch foes in Ring of Fire 3

It was a lit Saturday night as sweat, punches, and kicks flew inside the raucous Garapan Central Park Round House during the blazing Ring of Fire 3 Boxing and Kickboxing competition, which once again pitted fighters from the CNMI and Guam against each other.

In the K-1 boxing main event that burned on until nearly midnight, Guam Muay Thai’s Harry Wells and Latte Built’s Teipo Brazy Asep had everyone who braved the heat on the edge of their seats. Each punch and kick drew oohs and ahhs from the crowd, fueling both fighters as they left everything in the ring.

The young gun—18-year-old Wells—and Asep both delivered scorching performances, but it was Wells who steadily gained momentum in the third and final round as Asep began to cool down. Wells unleashed blow after heated blow, while Asep’s fatigue showed with fewer counters in return.

Asep landed some solid punches of his own and managed to check Wells’ lightning strikes to the body, but Wells stayed fired up until the very end. He doused Asep’s waning energy with sharp jabs to the face and body. After three intense rounds, the judges handed Wells the unanimous decision victory, 30-27.

After their fight, Wells said of his performance, “I’m still trying to perfect my craft and going in the ring and staying composed—I didn’t do that in the beginning, but I knew that I was the better fighter. I just wanted to win.”

Fighting for just two years, Wells said his goal is to one day turn professional. He thanked Guam Muay Thai, his coach Kevin Jalique, as well as Melchor Antolin and Eric Lacambra.

Guam Muay Thai brought six fighters to the event, finishing the night with three wins and three losses.

As for the equally intense semi-main event, Trench Tech Purebred Saipan’s Ram “Korean Blood” Lee made Saipan proud with a unanimous 30-27 win over Guam’s Josh “Big Daddy” Mesa.

Not only did sweat drip from the fighters locked in heated battle, but Lee’s overpowering punches opened cuts on Mesa’s face, drawing blood as the match wore on. Lee maintained relentless aggression, forcing Mesa to struggle for breath under the pressure. Though Mesa never gave up and burned off every last ounce of energy until the final bell, it was Lee’s fiery performance that ultimately secured the victory.

Here are the results of the other fight cards:

•Heavyweight K1: Latte Built’s Richard “Big Dawg” Salas pummeled Junn San Nicolas in a unanimous decision, 29-28, after three rounds.

•Middleweight: Alvin “Sweeps” Ok won via referee stoppage at 1:32 of the final round over Austin “Quickdraw” Arriola.

• Gren Cepeda beat Kaehe Barcinas via unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

• Maderen Perman bested Kody “Cage” Palacios via unanimous decision, 30-27.

• Miah Dela Cruz defeated Tyrone “The Terror” Babauta via referee stoppage at 40 seconds of Round 2.

• Art Aquinde won over Keith “Rowdy Rebel” Aldan via T.K.O. at 2:48 of Round 1.

• Jimmy “Crazy Ray” Polk defeated Aldric Valera via unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-29, 29-28.

• Saips They narrowly beat Willdon Camacho via split decision, 29-27, 28-29, 30-27.

• Clarence Cabrera beat Rickson Menchor via split decision, 30-27, 28-29, 29-28.

• Jeziah Camacho won over Gable DeChavez via split decision, 28-29, 29-28, 29-28.

• Froilan Wabol defeated Zian “The Sandman” Parada via unanimous decision, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28.

• Jommy “Hot Tamale” Tubale defeated Marc Pizuelo via split decision, 30-28, 28-29, 29-28.

• “Blessed” Stanley Camacho beat Ben “Marvelous” Manglona via majority decision, 29-29, 29-28, 29-28.

• And, Clancy Ramangmou defeated “Ferocious” Joseph Saltin via unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-27, 29-28.

Event organizer and Trench Tech Purebred Saipan’s Justis “Cuki” Alvarez said of the event, “What a slamming success—the crowd was super stoked. Everyone delivered, there was not one boring fight with the majority going all three rounds and it goes to show that the fighters are really evolving and getting a lot better.”

The turnout, he said, “a lot of stuff happening tonight [Saturday]—we have the Taste of the Marianas, it’s the Memorial Day weekend, people are doing a lot of different things, but I was really impressed with the crowd tonight despite the fact that there was a lot going on. It was a better turnout definitely than the Cage of Fire, so we’re super stoked and we can’t wait to do it again.”

He then thanked their sponsors: Miller Lite, Monster Energy, IT&E, Century Hotel, and DC Pro Rental.