Photos and coverage by Taylor Hallman
Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing presented an evening of boxing broadcast on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights on a time delay broadcast from Mohegan Sun. The five card show featured Breidis Prescott, Demetrius Andrade and the pro debut of Star Boxing’s publicist, Kevin Rooney Jr.
In the main event Junior Welterweight Breidis Prescott defeated Bayan Jargal in a ten round bout. Prescott dominated the game Jargal throughout the fight especially in the first six rounds. Jargal seemed never able to mount a consistent attack due in large part to Prescott’s effective jab. By the end of the bout both Jargal’s eyes were badly swollen. The judges scored the fight 99-91, 99-90 and 100-90.
The co-featured event saw undefeated Junior Middleweight Demetrius “The Hamer” Andrade scored a stoppage over Omar Bell, Montego Bay, Jamacia in what was scheduled to be an eight round bout. Bell, whose record is now 8-2, mugged and laughed through the first round, although Andrade was pounding him with solid and heavy shots to the body and was beginning to land effectively to the head. Bell was warned by the referee to cease the clowning. In the second round Andrade knocked Bell to his knees with fierce left hook to the body. Bell was unable or unwilling to beat the count at 1:31 of the second round. Andrade’s record stands at 12-0 with 9 KOs.
Kevin Rooney Jr, Junior Middleweight, made his professional debut to a cheering, supportive crowd, winning the four round bout with a unanimous decision (40-34 on all three judge’s cards). Rooney scored knock downs on David Navarro (now 0-2) of Philadelphia in both the first and second rounds. Rooney, son of famed trainer Kevin Rooney Sr. who was in his son’s corner, had an excellent showing for his initial fight against a very tough opponent. Several times Navarro mounted an attack on the young Rooney which he weather easily. Rooney displayed an effective left producing the two knock downs. After starting his professional boxing career with this win, Rooney returned to ringside to continue his publicist duties for Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing.
Newark, New Jersey’s undefeated Heavyweight Joe Hanks stopped Terrell Nelson. Hanks landed hard left hooks to the body. Nelson of Plainsfeild, NJ spent most of the fight on the defensive and was only occasionally able to land anything effective. The ringside physician stopped the bout after the forth round giving Hanks his 16th victory with 11 KOs.
In a Cruiserweight bout scheduled to be four rounds Kevin Cobbs stopped a previously undefeated Nicholas Lavin in the first round with a knock out. Although Lavin got to his feet before the count was completed, referee Steve Smoger halted the contest, giving Cobbs an impressive first knock out in his first professional fight.
