TULSA, Okla. — It was a fast-moving night of fights Monday, with more than 130 boxing champs from across the United States competing in one of the three rings at the 2026 National Golden Gloves prelims.
Two Lancaster boxers were among three from Pennsylvania on the bout sheet at Arvest Convention Center.
Jasiah “Monster” Ortiz (65-20), who trains at Lancaster City Boxing Academy, got the W at 154 pounds.
Jaysonet Caleb “Boogie Man” Martinez (37-13) of Jinji Boxing Club in Lancaster lost by unanimous decision at 143 pounds, as did Paul “P.J.” Bryson, (14-5) of Rob’s Fight Club in Horsham at 165 pounds.
Ortiz’s 154-pound division is stacked, with 31 athletes registered to compete, so he is set to fight in another preliminary bout Tuesday.
Monday’s win against Alexis Venancio-Bantres (30-14) of Nevada, via a 3-2 split, was close.
“He was tough, relentless,” Ortiz said of Venancio-Bantres.
That was clear from the start.
Ortiz had the reach, but Venancio-Bantres closed in, landing body shots and denying Ortiz the advantage.
Venancio-Bantres kept up the pressure, landing a straight right. Ortiz countered with solid defense, shelling up, weaving and looking for the distance he needed.
In the second round, he found it, snapping out a straight right that planted solidly in Venancio-Bantres’ face. Halfway through the round, Ortiz threw a combo and lost his mouthpiece.
There was a moment of drama in the third round when Ortiz, against the ropes and just out of his opponent’s reach, sprang out but, again, it was the mouthpiece that hit the mat. But his boxing was solid and it was clear he’d found his footing.
Ortiz said the match was a “good learning experience.”
“He couldn’t match my skills,” said Ortiz said in explaining why he played to those skills in the third round.
Ortiz and his coach, Will Torres, said that refs in the Golden Gloves let boxers roughhouse more than they are used to in USA Boxing tournaments.
The boxing is “a different style — dirtier,” Ortiz said.
Jaysonet Martinez, who has qualified for the National Golden Gloves Tournament in Oklahoma, poses for a photo ahead of his trip on Saturday, May 2, 2026.
SUZETTE WENGER | Staff Photographer
Martinez echoed Ortiz’s opinion. “The reffing is different,” he said.
But he didn’t offer it as an excuse for his loss to Xavier Correa (55-7) of New Jersey in a prelim.
Despite an explosive leap that cleared the top of the ropes before the first bell, Martinez just didn’t find his groove Monday.
In round one, he was steady, landing right uppers to Correa’s body and deliberate combos that connected. Even the New Jersey team was yelling, “Good fight!”
But in round two, Correa started headhunting — effectively.
Correa nailed Martinez in the head with a solid right in the third round and got an eight on him.
Martinez said there were a “whole lotta things” that led to his loss.
“That wasn’t Caleb today all,” said Jinji Martinez, Boogie Man’s coach and father. “He just looked drained.”
The view from the blue corner was very different.
“That was the best fight!” Correa said, adding that Caleb Martinez is “a great fighter, great power!”
“I felt like I lost the first round,” Correa said.
But once he got a feel for what Martinez was doing, he picked up the pace, he said.
Disappointed, but resolute, Martinez said: “You win some, you lose some. Whatever God has planned, I’m grateful.”
Bryson, by contrast, did not take his loss in stride.
“I’m (upset),” he said. “I let him (Jacques Varner) land too many shots.”
Varner is “very good,” Bryson said.
“Anybody who beats me is a good fighter,” he added.
Varner of Georgia trains at Champion Boxing Gym and said he thought it was a great fight.
“He’s a dog!” Varner said of Bryson. “He made adjustments and I had to adjust to his adjustments.”
On Tuesday night, Bryson and Martinez will join teammates Jerimiah “Drip” Munoz of Lancaster City and Elyssa “Heavy Hands” Spring of Reading in the cheering section.
Ortiz will square off against Jasson Lopez of Oklahoma.
Reading’s Saviel “Pretty Boy Tato” Torres (29-10) faces Utah’s Tanner Gurule in a 121-pound prelim.
Dragan “Hawaiian Punch” Radusewicz (8-3), who trains at G-Ford Athletic Club outside of Pittsburgh, is set for a 176-pound contest against Paulo Rodrigues of Maine.
The 2026 National Golden Gloves tournament is an advancing tournament sanctioned by USA Boxing that began Monday and runs through Saturday. The event can be livestreamed at https://watch.parkwayvideo.com/downloads/national-golden-gloves-livestream-2026/.
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