Riverside’s “El Niño” on Friday’s Victory
Jose Reynoso was back in the ring Friday night in the co-main scheduled for eight rounds on 
the “Path to Glory” card presented by Thompson Boxing Promotions. Held at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, the SoCal fighter–dubbed as “El Niño”–was hoping a storm was brewing as the opening bell sounded.
Riverside’s Reynoso (16-3-1, 3 KOs) reported for battle against challenger James “Jay Boogie” Hope (6-10-1, 4 KOs) during this much-anticipated junior welterweight scrap between the hometown fighter and his opponent from Rock Hill, SC.
During their rough-and-tough rumble, Jose (called Pepe by his family and friends) came out shooting hooks to the body of his hopeful opposition. While the sold-out crowd continued to chant “PEPE” in unison, Reynoso responded by trying to finish off his foe. After an early assault by Reynoso, “Jay Boogie” tried to stay in the game, doing all he could to counter the taller “El Niño.” After not landing anything meaningful, Hope countered verbally by taunting Reynoso and trying to follow him into the corner after the rounds ended.
At the conclusion of the seventh stanza, the ringside physician stepped in to access the 28-year-old boxer from South Carolina, who had previously faced Jose Benavidez and Frankie Gomez before taking on Reynoso. After a few minutes of Hope pleading with the officials and imploring the crowd to back him up in his desire to continue in the bout, referee Ray Corona announced to the fans that upon advice of the ringside doctor Hope was in “no condition to continue” the fight, thus giving Reynoso the TKO victory. Looking out for the safety of the fighter, it was determined that after Hope vomited during the rest period, he would not be allowed to head into the eighth and final round of the competition.
Southpaw Reynoso had been up on the official scorecards at the time of the stoppage with tallies of 70-62, 70-62, 69-63 by the trio of ringside judges David Mendoza, Zac Young and David Denkin.
After the fights had ended and on our way out, I ran into Reynoso in the lobby of the fight venue.
While friends congratulated him on the win and new fans wanting to meet him and pose for photos with the prizefighter, the local hero and Jurupa Valley High alum kept it real by telling me he was happy he got the victory–but not entirely satisfied with his performance or the way the fight played out. This was the boxer’s first time fighting since his June 2011 bout versus Texas’ Esteban Almaraz. Jose, who trains with Ruben Castanon, Charlie Perez, Willie Tubbs and others at Capital Punishment in Riverside, plans on perfecting his craft in future bouts.
Always looking to improve and impress, Reynoso, 27, expressed some disappointment in the way this fight ended. He also revealed he may have a minor injury with his hand. “Around the fourth round, I might have injured it,” the Baja-born boxer told me. “But I’ll be fine and I hope to fight again in another month or two!”
Pep has never been one to let minor injuries set him back in any way, shape or form. While injuring his hand in the past from sparring, he also was involved in another gym mishap that forced him to pull out of a high-profile bout against Puerto Rican puncher Thomas Dulorme.
But throughout these slight injuries, the lefty says he has never stepped away from the gym for very long–if ever; he always stayed active and in training mode even while not at 100%. Always remaining optimistic with a positive outlook, Pepe also didn’t think the inevitable “ring rust” was an issue.
And in looking ahead, “El Niño” plans to continue on his path to the top, being a force of destruction against anyone who steps in front of him.
Over the weekend, I caught up with the Thompson Boxing prospect to see how his hand was and to hear his thoughts about Friday’s win, where a special ceremony was also held in honor of Reynoso’s Capital Punishment stablemate and good friend, Artemio Reyes Jr. Reyes Jr.’s father passed away just a week ago from the effects of a 2008 auto accident that left Artemio Reyes Sr. in a comatose state. Reynoso was planning on visiting a doctor this week, but his thoughts were mainly of gratitude to his gym mates, trainers, and the large crew of supporters who came out to see his fight.
“Congrats on your win, Pep! Your last fight was 10 months ago, how happy were you to burn off any “ring rust”? I asked the light welterweight.
“I was really happy to get back in the ring in front of all my family and friends!” the warrior replies. “It was a great feeling to hear everybody cheer my name!”
Always a big crowd fave, the audience did their part by loudly chanting “Pe-pe, Pe-pe, Pe-pe” throughout the contest.
“You were supposed to fight Thomas Dulorme in February, have you made a full recovery from the hip injury?” (The fluke injury when the boxer slipped in the gym.)
He confirms that all is well after that slip: “My hip is perfectly fine. It didn’t bother me for my training camp–or my fight!”
“So what did you think of your fight last night?” I say.
“My fight could of ended a whole lot quicker if I wouldn’t have hurt my hand…” Jose explains as to why he couldn’t finish off Hope. “I’ve had hand injuries before, so this is nothing new. I’ll get it looked at and hope for the best…But I am planning to fight again in the next couple of months!”
“What did you think of your opponent? He came at you verbally after a couple of rounds and got the crowd going after he was seen jawing at you!” I laugh.
“Yeah, my opponent got real verbal!” he answers. “But it didn’t bother me; I stuck with the game plan–which was to keep attacking the body!”
“You did come out blazing in the second round. So were you surprised when Hope didn’t go down?”
“I was a little surprised,” states Reynoso. “He took A LOT of punishment!” (Laughs)
The Riverside talent also wanted to show some support to his compadre Artemio “King” Reyes Jr. and his Thompson Boxing’s Ken Thompson and Alex Camponovo.
“I wanna thank everybody who came out and showed me love,” the humble young pug states, “and I thought it was really special that Thompson would do the ’10 Count’ in memory of Artemio’s father that passed (‘Rest in peace’) before the start of my fight! To me it was an honor to have been part of that.”
“Thanks for your thoughts, Pep, and hope to see you back in the ring soon!”
“Thank you, Michele, for taking the time to interview me!” Jose says.
Looking to get back in the ring again soon, Jose “El Niño” Reynoso promises to be a force of nature in leather gloves.
Photos by Marlene Marquez and Michele Chong