St. George boxer returns to ring, wins Mexicali bout by TKO

St. George professional boxer Pano Tiatia poses at his family's restaurant, Island Grinds, St. George, Utah, Nov. 2, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — St. George professional boxer Pano Tiatia, 21, recently won a four-round bout in Mexicali, Mexico, defeating his opponent by technical knockout.

Promotional poster for Pano Tiatia’s fight in Mexicali, Mexico on Oct. 27, 2018, St. George News

Despite knocking opponent Joaquin Lizaliturri Sanabria down in the first round, Tiatia said he decided to take things a little slowly, as it was his first time fighting in more than a year.

“I was just started getting used to being back in the ring, and then in the fourth round I got a little more comfortable and then, that’s when I dropped him with an overhand right,” Tiatia told St. George News Friday afternoon during his work shift at his family’s business, Island Grinds.

Tiatia, who improved his professional fighting record to 3-0 with the victory, said his fight was the first of about a dozen fights on the card for the evening event, which was held Oct. 27 at the Gimnasio de Mexicali.

Several of Tiatia’s family members attended the fight. “The only one I could hear was my mom,” he said with a laugh.

Tiatia, who has been boxing since he was 8 years old, has numerous amateur trophies and belts to his name. He was also a football star at Pine View High School, where he played linebacker and running back.

Tiatia says he hopes to fight again soon, possibly as early as December. Although he has been fighting as a heavyweight, he said he is looking to lose weight for an eventual move down to a lighter classification.

“I want to try to drop down to at least to 220 (pounds) for my next fight,” Tiatia said.

“The goal in six months time is to get him to 195 pounds, which is cruiserweight,” added his father and coach, Paki Tiatia.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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3 Comments

  • DRT November 6, 2018 at 2:30 pm

    I didn’t know we had a place like this here in Dixie. Wife and I will definitely be trying it!

  • stevenxfiles November 6, 2018 at 8:18 pm

    I would suggest trying out another martial art like jiu-jitsu instead. Getting knocked in the head repeatedly will cause CTE and permanent disabling brain damage and that’s no joke. Anyone can make money getting hit in the head. Use what’s inside it instead.

  • Mean Momma November 26, 2018 at 10:48 pm

    I LOVE Island Grinds!

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