‘The Clinch’ aims to keep clean slate

Vince “The Clinch” Masga, right, is seen here during his title bout against Guam’s Josh “The Hedgedog” Alvarez during the Rites of Passage 14: Mayhem in April last year at the Royal Taga Hall of Saipan World Resort. ( ROSELYN B. MONROYO)

Trench Tech’s Vince “The Clinch” Masga will be putting both his bantamweight title and perfect record on the line when he takes on Spike 22 and Countershot Guam’s Rick “2Slick” Camp tomorrow in the main event in Rites of Passage 16: Unleashed at the Royal Taga Hall of the Saipan World Resort.

Masga holds a 5-0 mark and took the bantamweight crown from Guam’s Josh “The Hedgedog” Alvarez during the ROP 14: Mayhem in April last year. Masga dethroned Alvarez after winning via rear-naked choke at the 2:37 mark of the second of their five-round bout.

“I will do my best to defend my title. I’ve been training for the last three months, working on my stamina and fighting skills, and I hope these will be enough to get another win. You can’t really tell what’s going to happen out there so you just have to be prepared and go all out,” said Masga when asked about his chances against Camp.

Masga said he is working on his standup and kickboxing skills, but his best weapon remains to be his wrestling abilities.

The Masga-Camp title fight is one of the 12 MMA bouts scheduled in ROP 16, which will have its weigh-in today at GIG from 5pm to 7pm.

Zalaka’s Allan “The Silver Bullet” Zalaka and HBP Guam’s Ernie Santos will open the mixed martial arts action tomorrow as they collide in a 125-lb bout. Also dueling in a 125-lb catch weight are Trench Tech’s Seongho Chung and D2S’ Jay “Bonbon” Camacho.

Another Trench Tech’s bet Walt “The Silent Assault” Florencio will be featured in ROP 16, as he challenges GMT/UX Jarome Cruz of Guam at 145 lbs, while the other 145-lb bout will have Tinian’s Haini “The Protigy” Hofschneider debuting against GMT/UX’s Rob Eclavea.

Other MMA fights slated tomorrow are Jones Langu vs. Lenny “The Machine Gun” Sablan at 135 lbs; Mitchel Torre vs. Eric Sian at 185-195 lbs; Mikey Sanchez vs. K.J. “Man Down” Villagomez at 135 lbs; Scotty “Da Slaya” Eclavea vs. Josh “Oh My Gosh” Cruz at 135 lbs; Ryan “The Predator” Toves vs. Jun Taitingfong at 160 lbs; Rocky “Rockstar” Quichocho vs. Slade “The Rage” Adelbai at 220 lbs; and Jose “Young Blood” Ramirez vs. Ning “The Slicer” Cepeda at 155 lbs.

Before the MMA bouts, Trench Tech’s season-opening offering will have three kickboxing match. The first one with have U.M.A. Gym/Team Ultimate Guam’s Ethan “Typhoon” Reyes battling D2S’ Jonathan “Britt” Camacho at 125 lbs, while Jasper “The Disaster” Van Der Maas will face Primo Po in the second K1 tiff. Guam Muay Thai’s Albert “Butu” Andrea and KYA’s John Tudela will cap the kickboxing action of the night as the square off in a 160-lb bout.