Christian Carto wins Golden Gloves state title at 114, heads to nationals

As the third and final round of his bout got underway, Christian Carto probably could have stayed on the outside and let outclassed Daniel Sandoz flail away.

But Carto didn't see it that way.

"I wanted to win the round," said Carto, of Deptford. "I didn't want to leave anything to the judges because they might have seen something different."

Carto, 18 and last year's Golden Gloves 108-pound national champion, scored an easy unanimous decision Saturday night at 114 pounds at the Golden Gloves Pennsylvania Eastern Regional Championships at 2300 Arena. With the victory, Carto not only earned the state championship at 114, but he also automatically advanced to the nationals in Las Vegas next month. The state championships in other weight classes are next Saturday in Pennsauken.

Carto, who fights out of Rosati's Gym, controlled the fight from start to finish. It was immediately clear that he was the superior fighter in the first round, when he landed a series of combinations.

However, a left hook to Sandoz's kidney midway through the second round - followed up by another telling left to the head - firmly put Carto in charge.

Carto, trained by Mickey Rosati, picked up the 108-pound national crown when he defeated two-time USA Boxing 108-pound champ Leroy Davila last May. However, Carto wanted to move up and try a heavier weight.

The 2014 experience, Carto said, has helped him on his trek back to Las Vegas.

"I feel like I have improved on things," Carto said. "It's not like I learned more because I've always been into boxing. But I feel like I'm more comfortable at this weight, my jab is better, and my right hand is better. I just worked on things to get better."

Earlier in the night, Marquise Noel (Kingsessing) easily outpointed Zyaare Britt (MVJ) to capture the Novice Regional Championship at 123 pounds.

Noel advances to the states in Pennsauken next week. While there is no novice category at the nationals, Noel, who consistently beat Britt to the punch and landed many combinations, said he's looking forward to next week, when he hopes to fight his last novice bout.

"My game plan was to . . . let my hands go and be smart," said Noel, an 18-year-old senior at Mastery Charter. "Once I saw that he wasn't as interested in fighting, I turned it up."