Thompson Boxing Promotions’ 11th Annual Event
Prizefighters are used to taking swings in the boxing ring.
But on this day, it was time for the fighters to put down the boxing gloves as they picked up the golf clubs at the 11th Annual Golf Tournament of Champions hosted by Thompson Boxing Promotions. This desert showdown featured boxers Chris Martin, Artemio Reyes Jr., Charles Huerta, Danny Hernandez and Rodolfo Gonzalez participating in the four-man scrambles and awards dinner held on May 2.
Here is my special report direct from the golf course at the picturesque Desert Princess Country Club in Cathedral City, Calif.
Thompson Boxing President Ken Thompson and General Manager Alex Camponovo greeted the entrants at this annual function which draws a full house each and every year. Ring announcer Sonny Franco and Ring Girls Natalie and April also gave the golfers a warm welcome. There were fresh cookies from the DoubleTree Hotel, goodie bags filled with Thompson Boxing gear, T-shirts (13th Annual Golf Tournament with Omega Products International) and a treasure trove of raffle prizes available to the participants.
The day may have reached 100 degrees on the greens as the foursomes traveled from hole to hole on the Lagos and Cielo landscape but the guys stayed cool under pressure– while trying to stay under par on the greens. There was a Hole-in-One contest for a chance to win a car (VIP Autos), pit stops at the popular Belgard booth and golf towels courtesy of H.C. Muddox Interstate Brick.
It was Chris Martin and Charles Huerta’s very first time taking part in this fun-filled golf tourney and the pugilists told me they were having a great day testing their skills at golf. Danny “El Travieso” Hernandez, Rodolfo “El Gato” Gonzalez and Artemio Reyes Jr. have all been part of this highly-anticipated event and they said they really enjoy being in the desert and meeting all of the team players which included many employees, vendors and sponsors from Thompson Building Materials and Omega Products International.
The fighters told me it was a fun, relaxing time on this sprawling course near Palm Springs. And it was also a nice challenge for the athletes to try the sport of golfing. “It’s much harder than it looks!” was the consensus from the fighters.
“I really enjoyed meeting everyone and playing with these guys,” first-time golfer and pro boxer Chris Martin told me at the dinner following the last hole. “This was a great team; they were great golfers! And my highlight of the day was when they actually used one of my shots as the best ball.”
Danny Hernandez also said he had a memorable day. The fighter is also now working at the Lomita branch with Thompson Building Materials in Lomita. Danny still trains in the boxing gym while working a full-time job.
After an afternoon of 18 holes, it was time for the 2014 Awards Dinner.
Emcee Sonny Franco introduced all the fighters and special guests including VIP Autos’ Richard Perry (“Battle of the Badges”) and WBC Supervisor Joe Noriega. Both men are World Boxing Hall of Fame (WBHF) alums along with Ken Thompson, who was President of the WBHF. And Team Thompson will have a busy month of May with this 2014 golf tourney and also a May 16 live boxing show celebrating Thompson Boxing’s 14th Anniversary of promoting fights. This will be a triple-header championship fight night at the DoubleTree Hotel in Ontario.
VIP tickets to this upcoming fight event were a coveted prize during the evening’s raffle. After the dinner, the drawing commenced for a for a bounty of raffle prizes including golf clubs, Los Angeles Laker souvenirs, signed boxing memorabilia, hotel stays at the DoubleTree, the boxing tickets to the next Thompson Boxing show and much more. Blonde Natalie and brunette April drew the lucky numbers for the prizes and posed with the lucky winners.
Then it was time to reveal who won this year’s bragging rights for the 2014 Tournament of Champions.
Par for the tourney was 72 and after some long drives and expert putts, Team Belgard 2 won with a score of 55 and Team Omega 2 second place with a score of 55.5. And in the Boxer’s Division, prizefighters Chris Martin and Charles Huerta came in first and second in this year’s honors. San Diego’s Martin and his team had a combined score of 56 to nab first place amongst the fighters. The guests enjoyed meeting some of the current stable of Thompson fighters and veteran boxers like the famed “El Gato” Gonzalez.
With new suntans and newfound skills in golf, the fighters said they can’t wait till next year’s tournament. And while they took their hits on the golf course, look for Martin and Artemio Reyes to return to the boxing ring soon. Reyes said he is scheduled to fight on June 27 and Martin said he is planning to lace up again in the near future.
All in all, it was a very good day in the desert at the 11th Annual Thompson Boxing bash!
PHOTOS BY MICHELE CHONG
