ASSOCIATED PRESS Brian Battease landed a punch on Samson Guillermo in the 125-pound semifinal match yesterday in Little Rock, Ark.

Guillermo beats Battease to
reach Golden Gloves final

The Waianae phenom stops Wahiawa’s
hope for a Golden Gloves title
in the semifinals

Pedigree won out over pride last night in the semifinals of the 125-pound class of the National Golden Gloves Championship in Little Rock, Ark.

Samson Guillermo of Waianae beat Wahiawa's Brian Battease 5-0 to advance to today's final against Pernice Brewer of Cleveland. The program will be televised on ESPN Classic beginning at 2 p.m. in Hawaii.

Guillermo was forced to face his island neighbor because he fights out of Northern Michigan University, the same program that produced Waipahu light flyweight Brian Viloria. Guillermo came into the tournament with a 50-7 record and a 2003 national championship to his credit, while Battease brought a 19-15 mark and only one fight in the past year.

Guillermo, 22, hung two of those losses on Battease, 21, when they were junior fighters in Hawaii.

"I was expecting a different Brian Battease," Guillermo said. "But we are pretty much the same fighters we were back in the day, he was the same tough Brian Battease."

But all that Guillermo had going for him didn't hurt Battease's confidence, as the Wahiawa fighter stood up to Guillermo and invited him to press the action. Guillermo won the bout with an effective barrage to the body and a stiff right hook in the third round.

"My coach was telling me I was missing to the head so to go to the body," Guillermo said. "I am pretty pleased I was able to do that."

Although Guillermo is looking forward to continuing his amateur career with his first Golden Gloves title, Battease is through. Battease says he wants to turn pro after one more day of doing all he can to get Hawaii some respect on the national stage.

"I'll come back tomorrow and cheer for him -- he's a Hawaii boy," Battease said of Guillermo. "I wish we could have met in the finals, I hope we made Hawaii proud."

The Hawaii team went 6-4 in this tournament after going 2-6 in each of the past two years. Hawaii hasn't had a National Golden Gloves champion since 1998, when Tuese Ah Kiong won the super heavyweight division.

"This is one of the more common tournaments boxers talk about," Guillermo said. "Winning it would be more than just another title."