BY MIKE HOUSER
Appeal Sports Writer
Reno's Theron DeLorme didn't need boxing. So in 2005, after more than 150 amateur fights, the 2000 Reed High School graduate walked away from the sport he began as an 8-year-old.
After all, DeLorme is married and has two daughters"5-year-old Elisa and 2-year-old Mia (named after boxer Mia St. John)"owns his own business (Checkered Flag Custom Wheels) and works as a service advisor for Scott Motors in Reno.
So why is the 26-year-old DeLorme turning pro against Manny Cotrich in a four-round lightweight bout tonight at the Churchill County Fairgrounds Rodeo Arena?
"I hung up my gloves. Quit. Said, 'No more,'" DeLorme explained. "But I kept seeing people I'd fought. They were on TV with belts. I thought, 'If I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it now.' Since last year, I've been fully dedicated to boxing."
DeLorme, who also said vision problems were part of the reason he quit (he's since been cleared to fight by the Nevada State Athletic Commission), had a hard time sitting still as a Who's Who of former opponents paraded around on his television screen.
There was 2004 Olympic gold medalist and current super middleweight contender Andre Ward, whom DeLorme fought as a 125-pounder in 1999. There was WBO featherweight titlist Steven Luevano (who had bumped DeLorme out of several tournaments) and lightweight contender Vicente Escobedo " among others.
DeLorme watched as other local fighters began to make a name for themselves. After seeing them compete as amateurs, he witnessed the rise of Reno's Joey Gilbert and Yerington's Jesse Brinkley, who gained international acclaim on the NBC reality boxing show "The Contender."
Then there were fellow Native Americans Derek and Tyler Hinkey, with whom he once traveled to Finland for an international meet. While DeLorme was busy racing cars on the dirt track at the Reno-Fernley Raceway, the Hinkeys went pro and were turning their pugilistic prowess into cash (in fact, Derek will be in the main event tonight).
So DeLorme, of Walker River Paiute and Klamath Falls extraction, had to make a choice.
"I thought, 'Why can't I get up there?'" said DeLorme, who had his last amateur fight Aug. 16. "The thing is just to stay in Reno. Everyone says to go to Las Vegas, but Reno is my home."
For a boxer like DeLorme, who has sparred with former amateur star and multi-weight world champion Johnny Tapia, the name and record of his first opponent won't weigh heavily on his mind.
"It doesn't matter to me," DeLorme said. "I'm just trying to get my feet wet in the pro ring. From what I hear from other pro fighters, it's a lot different than the amateurs and to prepare for the worst. I have to work on being more defensive and not dropping my hands, especially."
DeLorme had his share of success as an amateur, winning the Nevada state Golden Gloves twice at 119 pounds and, in 2002, the Native American Nationals at 132 pounds.
DeLorme, who for the last eight months has been training under Reymundo Arce, tuned up for this fight by sparring Carson City lightweight Mike Peralta, going six strong rounds with him last week at the Carson City Boxing Club.
Beginning with Cotrich tonight"and perhaps beyond"DeLorme can begin to do away with a nagging problem that has dogged him for years.
"I don't want to be old and say, 'I could've done it, that that could've been me,'" he said.
Perhaps instead an old Delorme will someday see a familiar face on the television" on an ESPN Classic, for instance"and say he did do it and that is him on the screen.
Doors open at 7 p.m. tonight, with the first bout scheduled for 8.
- Contact Mike Houser at mhouser@nevadaappeal or 881-1214
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
WHAT: Seven-bout boxing card.
WHERE: Churchill County Fairgrounds Rodeo Arena
WHEN: Tonight. Doors open at 7 p.m. First bout at 8.
TICKETS: $100 ringside; $50 floor seating; $25 general admission; $10 for students.
Tickets are available by visiting www.ticketweb.com or by contacting the Fallon Chamber of Commerce at (775) 423-2544.
FALLON NIGHT OF FIGHTS
Derek Hinkey, 5-1 with 5 knockouts, McDermitt, vs. Ben Aragon, 7-11-2 (5), Billings, Mont., six rounds, middleweights.
Mike Peralta, 4-2 (1), Carson City, vs. Khadaphi Proctor, 2-2-1, Hesperia, Calif, six rounds, lightweights.
Theron DeLorme, pro debut, Reno, vs. Manny Cotrich, 0-1, Las Vegas, four rounds, lightweights.
Andrew Remp, pro debut, Yerington, vs. Raul Duhart, 1-0 (1), Las Vegas, four rounds, lightweights.
Jose Pacheco, 0-2-4, Cudahy, Calif., vs. David Springer, 0-0-3, Las Vegas, four-rounds, super bantamweights.
Jacob Chavez, 0-3, Las Vegas, vs. Julio Diaz, pro debut, four-rounds, cruiserweights. Clarence Tillman, 0-1, Henderson, vs. Michael Goins, 1-1 (1), Las Vegas, four-rounds, heavyweights.