IRVINGTON, NJ — Amateur boxing standout Jean Pierre Valencia scored his third straight victory in New York City on Thursday, Sept. 21, defeating experienced veteran Francisco Frometa by unanimous decision at the New York Athletic Club.
Valencia, of Irvington, punched his way through the defense of the skillful Frometa, a Brooklyn resident who boxes out of the NYC Cops & Kids Club. Valencia picked up the pressure in the second round and was most dominant in the third, landing heavy right hands, which thrilled the crowd at the private social club.
“I felt good fighting in New York. Frometa was a good opponent and I feel that the challenges are becoming more and more difficult. That’s what drives me,” said Valencia, a 2023 National Golden Gloves bronze medalist, who is rated No. 8 in the country at 165 pounds by Boxrec.com.
“I knew that this fight was mine from the second round because of the pressure we put on him. Nobody can withstand it.”
Valencia was originally scheduled to face Ryan Chi, a 2022 National Collegiate Boxing Association champion from the United States Military Academy, in West Point, N.Y., on the New York vs. Army themed card. But Chi withdrew two days before the bout, citing illness. Frometa, a veteran of 25 fights, was already preparing for another bout the following week and stepped in to fill the void.
Valencia is still scheduled to fight the southpaw Chi on Oct. 22, when the Army West Point team travels to New Jersey to face a local slate of boxers at La Neve’s Banquets in Haledon.
“It was a bit tough to adjust from training to face a lefty and then fighting a right-handed boxer instead, but Jean Pierre made the right adjustments and got the victory,” said head trainer Ryan Songalia, who trains Valencia, alongside conditioning coach Aaron Watson, at the Chris Gatling Recreation Center in Irvington. “The mission remains to finish up all unfinished business in the amateurs before we turn our attention to the professional ranks in 2024.”
Next, Valencia turns his attention to the New Jersey Diamond Gloves, which take place from Oct. 13-15. The 23-year-old Valencia won the tournament last year at the novice level.
Valencia, who was born in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, and raised in Barcelona, Spain, has won the N.J. Golden Gloves and New York Boxing Tournament championships in the 165-pound open class division so far in 2023. His current amateur record is 22-2.
Songalia said he has been in contact with Irvington Mayor Tony Vauss. He said Vauss is having the Chris Gatling center’s boxing gym completely redone for Valencia to train.
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