The summer seemed to be going
great for Milby High senior Omar “Pinky” Tello. At 17, Tello scored a
first-round knockout in his pro debut on June 20 and was scheduled to fight
again six weeks later.
But tragedy struck three days
after his 18th birthday. Tello’s cousin, Demazo Tello, also Milby
High alumni, was killed in a motorcycle accident on the Gulf Freeway at age 23.
Emotionally devastated, Tello nevertheless opted to go ahead with his upcoming
bout in honor of his late mentor and role model.
“I was his best friend so it
was hard,” Tello said.
“My cousin, Demazo Tello, was
the one who got me into this sport at age 9, so I’m dedicating this to my
cousin.”
Tello’s fight will be one of
six at the Bayou City Events Center, 9401 Knight Road, on Aug. 1. The card will
be staged by Savarese Boxing Promotions.
Tello’s fondest memory of his
cousin was of them turning the living room into a boxing ring as children.
“We used to wear pads and just
play around at the house,” Tello said.
Demazo Tello had over 70
amateur bouts under his belt and was the 2010 Houston Open Ring Nationals
middleweight champion. He was on the verge of turning pro. Omar Tello, who held
an amateur record of 65-15, said much of his fighting style was modeled after
Demazo’s.
“He had a killer left hook to
the body,” Tello said, “the same left hook that I like to use.
“I fight from the outside but
if somebody wants to come in and brawl with me, I’ll brawl. I like to mix it up
sometimes.”
Tello will be one of four
undefeated prospects featured on the card.
Middleweight Gianni Giambi
(2-0, 2 KOs), a converted taekwondo exponent, will fight his third bout since
beginning his prizefighting career in November. A fourth-degree black belt, Giambi
began training in the sweet science under Bobby Benton after his martial arts
career was derailed by a knee injury last year.
Giambi’s main challenge has
been to make boxing second nature to him after years of practicing a form of
combat that deploys predominantly kicks. Split-second defensive and
counter-punching reflexes, after all, cannot be developed overnight.
“I think my instincts can
always be improved,” Giambi said. “There’s always progress to be made in
technique, defense and footwork. The competition is going to get harder and
harder and all those things will add up.”
Although he no longer competes
in taekwondo, Giambi, 26, remains the owner and instructor at the Houston
Center for Taekwondo.
“I have to admit that fighting
is a passion of mine,” Giambi said. “I’m as good at teaching it as doing it
myself.”
Featherweight Pablo Cruz (3-0,
2 KOs) will be fighting his second consecutive bout under the Savarese banner.
Cruz, 26, turned pro last year after failing to qualify for the London
Olympics.
Even as an amateur, Cruz had a
reputation of being a face-first brawler who held his gloves low and swung from
the hip. But he has gained a measure of finesse, he said, since working with
veteran trainer Aaron Navarro.
“Aaron’s kind of working on my
head movement and being slick in getting our punches in,” Cruz said, “not just
going out there and throwing like crazy. Now we’re actually trying to protect
ourselves and make the punches count.”
A graduate of Hastings High
School, Cruz is a personal trainer at LA Fitness and an instructor at the Title
Boxing Club. He is a father of three boys, ages 8, 6 and 2.
“Every boxer wants to become a
champion,” Cruz said. “Right now I want to get as many fights as I can and just
try and stay focused.”
Rounding up the undefeated
roster is welterweight Felipe Reyes (4-0, 3 KOs). Reyes, 26, has fought all his
bouts under Savarese Promotions since turning pro last year. (Source)
