Two Utahns lose on Day 1

Although they both suffered tough losses on Monday, the pair of Utahns who boxed in the opening round of the 2013 Golden Gloves National Tournament of Champions have vastly different futures in the sport.

Salt Lake City's Danny Galloway, a 17-year-old senior at Highland High, said he has many more bouts in front of him after he lost a close decision to Florida's Carlos Monroe at 165 pounds.

Alpine's 33-year-old Andrew Scott, who owns his own boxing gym in Lehi, said he is calling it a career after he simply ran out of gas and lost badly to Eddy Guillen of Kansas City at 201 pounds.

The other four Utahns in the competition — representing the Rocky Mountain franchise — are scheduled to box in first-round bouts Tuesday night as the competition continues at the Salt Palace Convention Center downtown.

All in all, it was a bad night for the Rocky Mountain team, as Wyoming's Abram Martinez fell in a 3-2 decision to Alemeo Carter of Kansas City.

Galloway was not deterred after losing his opening bout at nationals for the second straight year.

"I thought maybe I got [the win] because I landed some pretty good punches," he said. "But I can't complain about the decision. All I can do is get in the gym and train harder."

It was Galloway's 35th amateur fight, and, unlike many of the 300 or so boxers in Utah this week, he plans to remain an amateur for several more years and hone his skill before turning pro. He has lost just three times the past two years, with all three losses coming in national events.

"I'm improving," he said. "I thought I did enough to pull it off tonight. But I guess they didn't see it that way."

As for Scott, believed to be the second-oldest competitor at the tournament, Monday's bout was his last, he said.

"It is very difficult for me to train consistently, and then teach six classes a day," he said. "I am retiring to focus more on my business."

Scott picked up the sport just four years ago as a way to lose weight, and had only 14 bouts. But he did lose more than 40 pounds, while constantly struggling to find opponents, as most Utahns in the upper weights do. He won the state tournament last month, but was unopposed at the regional.

Scott won the first round convincingly against Guillen, but tired as the bout went on while the Kansas City fighter got stronger and stronger.

"I came in thinking I was in shape, but apparently I wasn't," Scott said. "I did everything I could. I didn't give up. I fought all the way to the end, and it just wasn't enough."

Scott took standing eight counts in the second and third rounds — mandatory when a boxer takes four unanswered blows — but says Guillen never really hurt him.

"I wasn't that tired, going into the second round," he said. "But it seemed like he knew that I was up on the card at that point, and he came out swinging. That just kind of boosted my adrenaline a little bit, but I just gassed myself out in that second round."

Of the 47 bouts contested Monday, all went the distance except one. Gary Antonio Russell of Washington, D.C., took a win over Quincy Means of the Mid-South franchise when the referee stopped the fight in the first round. —

Utah boxers at National Golden Gloves

Monday's results

201 lbs. • Eddy Guillen, Kansas City, dec. Andrew Scott, Alpine

165 lbs. • Carlos Monroe, Florida, dec. Danny Galloway, SLC

• Results in scoreboard, C5 —

Utahns scheduled to compete Tuesday

123 lbs. • Isaac Aguilar, West Valley City

132 lbs. • Francisco Lopez, Taylorsville

152 lbs. • Larry Gomez, West Jordan

201+ lbs. • Jesse West, Fruit Heights