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Alvarez: Trench Warz to get bigger and bigger
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Posted on May 31 2006
When Fury III: Fighting Islands hit Saipan last April, it introduced many on island to mix martial arts combat.
Fast forward to today where three edition of Trench Warz is in the books, the fan base for the sport has grown and more action is already being called for.
Last Saturday’s Trench Warz III: Commotion played host to 17 no-holds barred fights, and after all was said and done, event coordinator Cuki Alvarez said it was just the start of something that will only get bigger and bigger.
The first Trench Warz last November and the second last February featured only local fighters, however, Alvarez took a big step for Trench Warz III, inviting three fighters from Guam—Dallas, Tony Borja, and Eric Cepeda all of Spike 22.
“We’re adding a little bit of international flavor to the fighting now here on Saipan,” Alvarez said. “The first two we started with just local boys, this is just the beginning of bigger and better things to happen.”
All three Guam fighters won their fights, with Dallas handing Trench Tech Purebred Saipan’s Giovanni Sablan his first lost, Borja beating Jordan Palacios, and Cepeda defeating J.J. Maliti.
Alvarez said among his long term goal is to attract fighters from Hawaii, Japan, and even the U.S mainland.
“Maybe next time in the future, we’ll start inviting guys from Hawaii and Japan,” he said. “A couple of years down the road, or maybe even sooner, we try to get guys from the mainland so this is just the beginning.”
While Trench Warz is expecting to grow, it is already making contributions as Alvarez disclosed that he will donate a percentage of ticket sales to the CNMI wrestling team that will compete in the upcoming 6th Micronesian Games.
Alvarez said he will donate between $500 and $700 to the team.
“We did pretty good,” he said. “Joe Ocampo is the man in charge for the fundraising, and we’re going to be helping the wrestling federation,” he said.
