BOXING: Kalispell's Guzman wins first pro bout

Bloodied, bruised and exhausted, Kalispell’s Kenny Guzman climbed out of the ring after winning his professional debut and was greeted by, well, just about everybody.

Fighting in front of an entire section full of friends and family — some clad in shirts bearing his name — Guzman’s four-round victory highlighted a spirited card of Friday night fights at the Flathead County Fairgrounds.

Guzman, a veteran of more than 40 amateur fights, outpointed Chris Wheaton to earn a unanimous decision. The fight saw Guzman bloodied in the second round, but he rarely relinquished control of the action, frequently catching Wheaton cleanly but unable to send him to the mat.

“I felt my boxing experience and technique out-boxed him pretty clearly,” Guzman said after the fight. “He didn’t really have the traditional boxing style. He got squared up a lot.”

The two 126-pounders brought the crowd to its feet at the final bell, capping a furious four rounds of action by trading a wild barrage of punches in the waning seconds.

In the other co-main event, at 160 pounds, Eric Simonton avenged an earlier loss with a third round knockout of Jeremy Grilley. Simonton sent Grilley to a knee four times in the second and third rounds.

Spokane heavyweight Pat Ferguson delivered the most devastating performance of the night in his professional debut. The winner of the 2015 USA Boxing National Championships and a qualifier for the Olympic Trials, Ferguson recovered from a flash knockdown in the opening seconds to pummel bare-knuckle boxing champion Billy Martin, knocking him down four times in the second round.

“When the fight got started I felt a little, I don’t know, I didn’t feel that comfortable,” Ferguson said. “Once we got going it felt good.”

In the only other professional bout of the evening, Sean Quinnet won a ferocious unanimous decision over Jaime Miranda, who was also beginning his pro career. Ferguson opened a gash over Miranda’s right eye in the second round and hammered away at his blooded opponent in another wide open, entertaining fight.

The card began with five amateur bouts, including four mixed martial arts duels. Former AAU National taekwondo champion Taylor Reed, who trains at Big Sky Martial Arts in Kalispell, tapped out just 40 seconds into the first round against Dan Pratt.

Friday Night Fights

At Flathead County Fairgrounds

Amateur Bouts

Joaquin Calderon dec. Mozi Gerber (140 pounds)

Lucas Mantel tapout Erik McQueen, rd. 2 (MMA)

Brandon Scholz K.O. Luis Alejandro Calderon, :25 rd. 2 (MMA)

Christain Knopp tapout Josh Jolliff, 1:19 rd. 1 (MMA)

Dan Pratt tapout Taylor Reed, :40 rd. 1 (MMA)

Professional Bouts

Sean Quinnet dec. Jaime Miranda (140)

Pat Ferguson K.O. Billy Martin, 2:00 rd. 2 (200)

Eric Simonton K.O. Jeremy Grilley, 1:34 rd. 3 (160)

Kenny Guzman dec. Chris Wheaton (126)