On Saturday, July 6, 2024, at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, Fillmore’s Jose “Froggy” Estrada fought with great heart and sportsmanship against his opponent, Devon Brock, who by judges’ decision after the hard-fought rounds, was named the winner. Photo credit Joe Woods.

Pictured right is Jose “Froggy” Estrada along with his Coach Brain Espinoza after the match. Photo credit Joe Woods.

By Joe Woods

Sometimes life doesn’t seem to go as planned. Saturday evening, at the Commerce Casino, Jose “Froggy” Estrada fought with heart, showed great sportsmanship and defeat. His opponent, Devon Brock, came in 10 pounds overweight; Froggy could have taken the win and not fought, but he showed his love for the sport and like a true man of his word, his fans and team, he took the fight. By fight time, Brock outweighed Froggy by 25 pounds.

With no excuses, Froggy fought with heart and determination and most of all, no excuses. The first round both fighters came out toe to toe to see what each fighter had within him. Brock had a strong jab with a longer reach, but that did not stop Froggy. Froggy countered a couple of times with punches to the head and in this writer’s eyes, a draw.

“I came out with a game plan and tried to stick with it,” said Froggy. “I knew he was bigger than me and I knew he was a puncher, and it is what it is, so I just kept on fighting to look for an opening.”

In the second round, Brock came out with more aggression, still wanting to stand and fight. More jabs were thrown, opening a small cut over Froggy’s right eye. “Yeah, it took a couple of stitches after the fight, but to me pain is pleasure,” said Froggy. “And even though he was 25 heavier, I wanted to give it my 100 percent, and wanted to have fun doing it”.
I feel while watching the fight that Brock won the second round due to his jab and his abilities to keep Froggy from using his wrestling to attempt to take him to the ground, while he never backed down and he fought with heart.

The crowd erupted and showed support for Froggy from the very start of the fight and stayed with him until the end. “After a five year’s absence from fighting in front of my hometown crowd, it sure was nice to hear it again,” stated Froggy. “Yeah, I miss that crowd noise. I heard it and felt it and wanted to thank everyone who was supporting me. I heard it, and it motivated me to keep on going”.
In the third round, Froggy tried again to take the fight to the ground, however, didn’t succeed. “I wish I could have used more of my jiu jitsu and wrestling skills on him, but his jab and reach and size prevented me from succeeding at that,” said Froggy. “And then he rocked me with a good right, and I said to myself ‘that was a good punch’ but I kept coming at him.”
When the fight was over the judges awarded the fight to Brock to the disappointment of Froggy’s fans. Froggy showed great sportsmanship and devotion to the fight and his opponent. He fought hard and never gave up by showing that he was a true fighter and true man.

“I would like to fight again by the end of the year for the UNF, and I would like to go back down the 145 (weight class). I feel more comfortable at that weight” said Froggy. “I came out of this fight healthy and if I just heal my cuts, I’ll be back in no time. But I feel good, and I can’t wait to get out there again in front of the crowd. That supports me.”
It was hard to see Froggy go down in defeat; however, it was great to see Froggy fight again with such heart and determination with the ability to always persevere. “I want to say thank you to all of Fillmore for always supporting me,” said Froggy. “I want to thank all the people who came out and I hope to see more of you all by the next fight. I will always try to represent Fillmore… It is always great to hear the crowd again.”

With support, going back down in weight, to the 145 weight class, and with his team at West Coast Gym of Oxnard and coach Brain Espinoza and his brother Francisco “Turtle” Estrada and girlfriend Jordan Johnson, I know that Froggy will be working hard in the gym to succeed in the next fight.