Boxing beat

Rafael “El Chocolate” Labaceno is in stable condition now at the University of New Mexico Hospital. Labaceno was shot Saturday night by police officers who were responding to a disturbance at around 9:30 p.m. When police officers were confronted by two men – one holding a sledgehammer, the other, a knife – they wounded both. The other man has... Read More »

Fight Week schedule

Fight Week festivities begin on Wednesday for Friday night’s “Bad Blood” card headlining Holly Holm vs. Melissa Hernandez. At 1 p.m. tomorrow at Isleta (Ballroom A), Chris Cozzone will be giving a presentation on New Mexico boxing history as a prelim to the press conference. The final presser for Holm vs. Hernandez begins at 2 p.m., same location. The... Read More »

Esquibel gets third title shot

It’s almost like that scene in The Godfather, Part III, in which Michael Corleone says, “I keep trying to get out, but they keep pulling me back in . . .” For over a year now, Jodie Esquibel has been preparing to make her debut in mixed martial arts. In her situation, it’s boxing, not a local mob, that... Read More »