Tag Archives: Carto

Posted on 02/11/2019

By: Ken Hissner

Raging Babe Events made their Philly promotional debut at the 2300 Arena in South Philly Friday night . Raging Babe Events is headed by Michelle Rosado and J. Russell Peltz acted as the matchmaker. In the Main Event previously unbeaten Christian Carto was knocked out in the second round by 3-time world title challenger southpaw Victor “Pelon” Ruiz before a standing room only crowd.

“A change of trainer’s three fights ago backfired!” That was from one of the Carto fans. Another watching it on Facebook said “changing trainers came back to bite him.” “Since leaving trainer Mickey Rosati after five years Carto went from a boxer-puncher to a straight ahead puncher and was taking head shots like never before,” said another.

In the opening round after a minute Ruiz landed the first solid punch a lead left to the body. Carto landed a lead right on the chin. Carto landed a lead right to the body. Ruiz landed a left uppercut on the chin as Carto came in.

In the second round Ruiz walked into a left hook on the chin. Both fighters landed body shots. Ruiz missed a right hook but landed a following right. Ruiz landed a thunderous overhand left hook on the chin and Carto went down and out! The replay was never shown on the screens afterwards.

Ruiz had lost five of his last six fights getting knocked out in his last fight in October in the first round. In the six fights the opposition had a 103-35 record.

Carto laid flat on his back for some twenty minutes before being put on a stretcher and taken to Jefferson Hospital.

Philly heavyweight Darmani “Solid” Rock, 14-0 (9), stopped Steven “The Lion King” Lyons, 5-4 (2), of Larose, LA, at 1:20 of the fourth round.

In the first round Rock used a jab and a right to the body backing Lyons up. Lyons had a hard left hook blocked by Rock. Lyons landed a left hook on the chin of Rock. Rock with his left to his side used an effective jab. In the second round the bigger by 64 lbs. Rock landed a right cross to the chin of Lyons that had no effect. Rock drove Lyons back with a lead right to the chin. Lyons landed a double left hook on the chin of Rock. A Rock right on the chin drove Lyons against the ropes.

In the third round Rock started clowning and the fans didn’t appreciate it. He would take a southpaw stance and do little with it. There were few punches landed but Lyons got in as many as Rock. In the fourth round Lyons landed a left hook followed by a right to the chin driving Rock back several steps. A solid right to the mid-section from Rock and down went Lyons taking the full count on his knees until referee Esteves waved it over. Lyons got up immediately. The fans were not happy. It was a lack luster fight with a bad ending.

In the co-feature Welterweight Marcel “Hard-Roc” Rivers, 7-0 (4), of N. Philly, defeated southpaw Derrick “Bad Boy” Whitley, II, 4-1-1 (0), of Springfield, MASS, over 6 rounds.

In the first round Rivers landed a right uppercut on the chin of Whitley. Whitley landed a right hook on the chin during the break and was warned by referee Benjy Esteves, Jr. In the second round Rivers ran into a left on the chin from Whitley. Rivers landed a right uppercut to the body. Whitley came back with a flurry driving Rivers against the ropes. Whitley landed a right uppercut to the body. Rivers backed Whitley against the ropes with several body shots.

In the third round Rivers ducked into a right uppercut on the chin. Rivers landed a combination to the body. Whitley landed a combination to the body and was countered by a Rivers body shot. In the fourth round Rivers landed a combination to the body. In the middle of the round a “fight broke out” with a good exchange! Rivers landed a flurry to the body of Whitley. Rivers landed a right uppercut on the chin. Rivers landed a lead right to the chin.

In the fifth round Rivers landed a lead right to the body a minute into the round. Too many clinches in this fight. Rivers landed a left uppercut on the chin getting a roar from the Philly crowd for the hometown fighter. Whitley came back with a combination to the head. Seconds later Whitley landed a right uppercut to the chin.

In the sixth and final round Rivers came out with a double jab on the chin of Whitley. Rivers landed a right knocking out the mouthpiece of Whitley. Rivers ended the round wit right cross to the chin of Whitley. Whitley came back with a lead left to the chin of Rivers.

Whitley seemed to have as many fans brought down from MASS’s as Rivers had here. Too much holding by Whitley in this one and Rivers seemed confused fighting a southpaw. His trainer is Fred Jenkins, Sr. a PAB HOF trainer.

Scores were 58-56 by all 3 judges, Weisfeld, Braswell and Ruben with this writer 57-57.

Super bantamweight Mexico’s Alejandro “El Grande” Jimenez, 4-0-1 (1), New Hope, PA, drew with southpaw Edgar “Double Trouble Cortes, 6-4-1 (0), of PR/Vineland, NJ, over 6 lackluster rounds.

In the opening round there wasn’t a punch landed for a minute until Cortes landed a lead left to the chin. There was very little action in the round. In the second round Cortes missed a left but followed through landing a right on the chin. Both boxers were too tentative. In the final seconds Jimenez landed a flurry of punches driving Cortes into the ropes at the bell.

In the third round Jimenez missed a right but followed through landing a left to the chin. Halfway through the round both finally got into a good exchange. Jimenez walked into a left uppercut to the body from Cortes at the bell. In the fourth round Cortes missed with a right hook and got countered by a right on the chin by Jimenez. Cortes landed a solid straight left on the chin of Jimenez getting the crowd into it. Jimenez landed a lead right on the chin. Cortez landed a hard right hook on the chin seconds before the round ended.

In the fifth round Cortes walked into a right on the chin from Jimenez. Cortes landed a right hook to the chin. Jimenez came back with a right cross on the chin at the bell. In the sixth and final round Jimenez was warned by referee Dali for coming in with his head. Cortes landed a right hook to the chin seconds before the end of the round and fight. Dali was the referee.

Scores were Braswell 57-57, Weisfeld 58-56 Cortes and Brazinski 58-56 Jimenez with this writer 57-57.

Bantamweight Jonathan Torres, 2-0 (0), of PR/Bethlehem, PA, defeated Dallas Holden, 1-4 (0), of Atlantic City, NJ, over 4 lackluster rounds.

In the opening round Torres showed good movement as Holden was chasing him. Torres rocked Holden with half a minute left in the round with a straight right on the chin. In the second round Holden continues to hold and rabbit punch Torres. Torres rocked Holden with a right on the chin halfway through the round. Torres missed a right but followed through with a left hook to the chin of Holden.

In the third round Holden landed a double jab to the chin. While in the infighting Torres landed a right cross on the chin of Holden. Referee Eric Dali warned Holden for using his head. In the fourth and final round Torres landed a left uppercut to the chin of Holden. Holden landed an overhand right on the chin rocking Torres. Seconds later another right from Holden landed on the chin of Torres.

Scores were 40-36 by all three judges and this writer.

Super lightweight Haitian Osnel “Prince” Charles, 12-19-1 (2), of Atlantic City, NJ, lost a hard fought majority decision to Mexico’s Geraldo Martinez, 4-1 (1), out of Coatesville, PA, in a 4.

In the first round Martinez used en effective jab until Charles landed a right on the chin. Midway through the round both fighters slugged it out in the middle of the ring with Charles getting an edge. In the second round Martinez drove Charles into a neutral corner until Charles landed a hard left hook to the chin. Both fighters exchanged right uppercuts. Martinez drove Charles against the ropes with a flurry of punches. With his back to the ropes Martinez landed a counter left hook on the chin of Charles. Near the end of the round both fighters got their licks in.

In the third round Martinez came storming out backing up Charles until a counter right from Charles landed on the chin. Charles buckled the knees of Martinez with a right on the chin that got the crowd into it. Martinez landed a right while Charles countered with a left bloodying the nose of Martinez.

In the fourth round and final round Charles came out landing a right uppercut. Martinez came back driving Charles against the ropes making him hold. Suddenly Martinez started dancing away. Charles caught up to him and it turned into a slugfest. Charles landed a combination to the chin getting the people into it. Martinez drove Charles into a corner. Both fighters were throwing punches at the bell as referee Benjy Esteves, Jr. had to seperate the fighters throughout the bout.

Scores were 38-38, 39-37 and 40-36 with this writer 39-37. After 32 fights fighting in a 4 rounder it’s time for Charles to call it quits. Martinez is trained by Jimmy D’Orio with Joey Rowan the assistant.

Heavyweight Sonny Conto, 1-0 (1), of S. Philly, stopped Jimmie Levins, 0-5 (0), of Buffalo, NY, at 2:14 of the first round.

In the first round Conto showed a good jab with Levins looking for a way out. Levins slipped to the canvas two times and a third time by a left hook dropping him before referee Dali called in the ring physician who called a halt due to a jaw injury. Dali called the knockdown a slip. If he slipped someone hit him hard enough on the jaw to stop the fight. Levins should be suspended forever. He looked like he was stepping into cement from the time the first bell sounded.

Conto is trained by Mickey Rosati and Conto’s father Frank with Joey Eye in the corner as cut-man. The Conto fans were numerous. He is trained by Mickey Rosati and Conto’s father Frank Conto with Joey Eye as cut man. David McWater the manager and Top Rank the promoter.

Posted on 12/20/2018

By Jake Donovan

It’s been nearly 35 years since South Philadelphia boasted its last world champion.

Time will tell if Christian Carto can help fill that void; in the meantime, he’ll settle for becoming the area’s next leading gate attraction.

Photo Credit: Christian Carto Twitter Account

The unbeaten bantamweight prospect will headline an eight-fight card on February 8 at 2300 Arena in his South Philly backyard. An opponent has yet to be selected for the charismatic 22-year old, but he’s treating the night as if it’s his first world title fight.

“This is going to be a special night for me,” said Carto (17-0, 11KOs), who was a perfect 4-0 in 2018. “It’s only my second time fighting at the 2300 Arena as pro and I enjoy the atmosphere even when I’m just there to support other fighters.

“A big ‘Thank You’ to Michelle Rosado for including me on her first card in Philly.”

The decision to have Carto top the bill—aptly dubbed “Philly Special”—was a no-brainer for Rosado, whose Raging Babe company makes its Pennsylvania promotional debut with the show. The boxing entrepreneur has flexed her promotional muscle in Arizona and North Carolina-in fact, revitalizing both markets with entertaining action and a lively atmosphere on all of her events.

Rosado’s keys to successful shows in such areas are competitive in-ring action loaded with local flavor, a simple formula instilled by her mentor and Hall-of-Fame promoter J Russell Peltz. Having shown what she’s capable of, the natural next step was to return home to her Philly roots.

“This show is for South Philly,” insists Rosado. “The 2300 Arena is in South Philly and it’s headlined by Christian Carto, the hottest fighter to come out of South Philly in years.

“I look forward to getting him the recognition he deserves locally and nationally through this “Philly Special” card. He is the Philly Special!”

Carto’s roots run deep in the area, coming from a boxing family. His grandfather and two uncles —Nunzio (27-2, 13KOs), Frankie (41-13-3, 21KOs) and Joe Carto (4-2-1, 3KOs)—were all pro fighters in the 1930s and 1940s, having established reputations as no-nonsense prizefighters in the lighter weight divisions. Frankie—a bonafide featherweight contender in the 1940s—and Nunzio were both regulars at the famed Cambria Athletic Club, infamously known as “The Bucket of Blood” given its reputation for presenting club shows loaded with non-stop two-way action.

Still, it’s another Italian-American from Philly to whom the youngest boxing Carto has already has drawn early comparisons in Joey Giardello. The late, great middleweight reigned as World champion from 1963-1965 and owns wins over Hall of Famers Sugar Ray Robinson and Dick Tiger, as well as Rubin “Hurricane” Carter and Henry Hank, conquering all in his Philly hometown.

Giardello’s revenge-fueled win over Hank was hailed as 1962 Fight of the Year, while claiming the scalps of Robinson, Tiger (2-2 lifetime, the second win for the Middleweight crown, coming in Atlantic City) and Carter all within the span of 18 months. He’d lose the title to Tiger in their 4th and final fight in 1965, boxing two more years before ending his career in 1967 on a high-note, avenging a prior loss to previously unbeaten Jack Rodgers with a win in Philadelphia.

None of that history is lost on Carto, whose youth was spent actively in ice hockey and, of course, boxing. The latter became his true love, winning the 2014 National Golden Gloves at 108 pounds and then placing third the following year in the same competition at 114-pounds, where he also claimed a Bronze medal in the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Believing he’d gone as far as he could in the amateurs, Carto turned pro in 2016 still five months shy of his 20th birthday. Less than three years into his career, he’s already created a buzz throughout Philadelphia, particularly in South Philly.

“I look to forward to having a strong start to 2019 and continue building my career,” Carto said. ” My sponsors and my fans show unwavering support every fight and I am indebted to them. A lot of people are behind me and I want to make them proud not only of me, but also of South Philly boxing.”

In due time, who knows—maybe the latest unbeaten bantamweight can become South Philly’s first champ since Jeff Chandler held a slice of the 118-pound crown for much of the first half of the 1980s.

“There’s been a lot of great fighters from South Philly and I hope to uphold that tradition,” Carto humbly states.

UNDERCARD AND TICKET INFO

The rest of the show is still being put together, but in true Raging Babe fashion features plenty of local attractions. Already slated to appear are super lightweight prospect Marcel Rivers (6-0, 4KOs), super bantamweight Alejandro Jimenez (4-0, 1KO) and debutant Jeremy Adorno, whose 18th birthday comes one month prior to fight night.

Rivers made his pro debut at 2300 Arena, in fact his first three fights taking place at the venue. His first career start in Dec. ’16 came on the same night that Joseph Adorno—Jeremy’s older brother—turned pro, both scoring 1st round knockouts on the night.

Tickets to “Philly Special” are priced $50, $75 and $125. They can be purchased online at www.2300arena.com or by calling 215-765-0922. Doors open at 6:30 pm and first bout is at 7:30 pm.

Posted on 04/13/2018

By: Ken Hissner

Former Philadelphia WBA World Bantamweight Champion “Joltin” Jeff Chandler was 13-0-1 with 4 knockouts after his first 14 fights. His fourteenth fight was his first 10 rounder.

In comparison Philadelphia’s 21 year-old Christian Carto is 14-0 with 11 knockouts and a former 2014 and 2015 National Golden Gloves Champion. He’s also been the main event boxer on three shows. Starting August 11th, September 29th and March 2nd.

Photo Credit: Darryl Cobb, Jr.

On April 28th he will be fighting for the same promoter Chandler had who is IBHOF promoter J Russell Peltz of Peltz Boxing. The bout will take place at the Liacouras Center in North Philadelphia which is the home base for the Temple University Owls basketball team. It is also where both Peltz and his assistant matchmaker Brittany Rodgers graduated from.

Peltz is known to give the fans what they want and put’s on very competitive fights. Carto’s opponent will not be an exception in Edwin “Puto” Rodriguez, 9-4 (5), of Puerto Rico. He is coming off a win over Juan Carlos Camacho then 6-0 (4) in August by majority decision in Complejo Ferial, Ponce, PR, over 6 rounds. In his previous loss he lost a split decision over 10 rounds to Jose Alfredo Rodriguez, then 31-4 (19), at the ABC Sports Complex in Springfield, VA, to win the UBF All America Super Flyweight title. He has a knockout win over Puerto Rico’s Carlos Rodriguez who was 12-1 at the time for the WBA Fedecentro Super Flyweight title.

Carto is trained by former PA Golden Gloves Champion Mickey Rosati. He trains above Rosati’s Auto Repair Shop in South Philadelphia. Carto’s manager is his brother Frankie Jr. who was a PA Novice champion. In this writer’s conversations with Frankie it’s like talking to an old time manager. For someone so young and inexperienced you would never guess this. Rosati is one of the best young trainers in the business and having his boxing career in Philadelphia following his father’s career has really been a blessing. At the gym today I found out PAB HOF Mickey Sr. fell and fractured his pelvis and broke a hand. He is in the Methodist Hospital in South Philly and “fighting to get back home” with every doctor he encounters.

Carto turned professional on July 2, 2016 stopping Rahkeam Parker at the Santander Arena in Reading, PA. Just 20 days later he was stopping Christopher Nelson who was making his debut at the Claridge Hotel & Casino, in Atlantic City, NJ.

Carto would win 4 more fights in 2016 with 3 at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia and 2 at the Liacouras Center where his next bout will be held. He would have a total of 7 fights at the SugarHouse Casino, 1 each at the Fillmore and 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Tropicana Hotel & Casino as well as the previously mentioned Claridge making it 2 in Atlantic City.

Carto’s last 3 wins have be 8 round decisions over Mexico’s Alonso Melendez, 14-1, Mexico’s Luis Fernando Saavedra, 7-3 and James Smith 12-1 of Detroit, MI. It wasn’t until his last fight against Smith that one of the judges had an opponent winning a round.

KEN HISSNER: Do you know anything about your next opponent Edwin Rodriguez?

CHRISTIAN CARTO & MICKEY ROSATI: We’ve seen several films on him. He looks more like a boxer than a slugger.

FRANKIE CARTO: We have seen enough films on Rodriguez to know that he will be a tough test for Christian even though he is coming up a couple of pounds from his usual weight.

KEN HISSNER: Do you feel you have learned more from winning your last 3 fights by 8 round decisions than your first 11 bouts by stoppages all within 5 rounds?

CHRISTIAN CARTO: I believe I am learning and improving with each fight.

MICKEY ROSATI: We work on new stuff and he adjusts so good it’s amazing how quick he picks things up.

KEN HISSNER: This will be your third time fighting at Temple University’s the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia. Is there much difference than fighting in smaller venues?

CHRISTIAN CARTO: I don’t notice the crowd so the size of the facility or crowd doesn’t matter to me.

KEN HISSNER: You have fought for promoters Hard Hitting Promotions, King’s Promotions and now Peltz Boxing in association with Top Rank Boxing. Do you and your brother Frankie feel it’s good so that you can evaluate them?

CHRISTIAN CARTO: My brother Frankie takes care of all of this.

FRANKIE CARTO: We evaluate them and all have helped Christian’s career which is important in a young career. This keeps him in the gym. He will be having his fifteenth fight next month in twenty-two months since turning professional in July of 2016.

KEN HISSNER: What is the weight set at for the fight with Edwin Rodridguez knowing he is a super flyweight?

CHRISTIAN CARTO: The weight is set at 118 give or take a pound.

KEN HISSNER: Who was your amateur trainer?

CHRISTIAN CARTO: Tony Brisani who also trained Mickey (Rosati) in the beginning. Then Mickey came in from that point and for all my professional fights.

KEN HISSNER: Would you say sparring with Manny Folly also out of Philly who is 10-0 has been as tough as any of your opponents?

CHRISTIAN CARTO: Manny gives me the best sparring I could get and he is as good as my opponents have been.

KEN HISSNER: Who have you sparred with in preparing you for this upcoming fight?

CHRISTIAN CARTO: I just finished sparring with Stephen “Scooter” Felton (12-0 Philly Featherweight).

KEN HISSNER: Have you signed a promotional contract as of yet?

CHRISTIAN CARTO: No.

KEN HISSNER: In your last bout you had your first main event fight. In the one coming up you will be on a card with a world title bout, a pair of 10 rounder’s and be one of the four 8 rounder’s but on a much larger stage and on ESPN. Can you compare the two without yet experiencing it?

CHRISTIAN CARTO: It is exciting on the same card with some good people.

KEN HISSNER: I believe I have covered all your 14 bouts and have to say you are probably the most exciting to watch because you come with the “full package” of boxing skills and punching power. Do you feel the fans expect a knockout since your first eleven fights ended that way?

CHRISTIAN CARTO: I feel I am getting better with each fight. I know it’s a learning process going from the amateurs to the professionals.

KEN HISSNER: I want to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule preparing for your upcoming fight on April 28th.

CHRISTIAN CARTO: Anytime.

Posted on 03/03/2018

By: Ken Hissner

At the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia Friday night unbeaten South Philly bantamweight Christian Carto defeated Kronks James Smith on a Kings Promotion before another sold out crowd in spite of a snow storm Friday night.

In the Main Event Bantamweight unbeaten Christian Carto, 14-0 (11), of South Philadelphia, PA, easily defeated James Smith, 12-2 (7), of Kronk out of Detroit, MI, over 8 rounds of action.

In the first round Smith landed first with a right to the chin of Carto who countered with a left hook to the chin of Smith. Carto used a double jab to the chin of Smith followed by a right to the head. Carto landed a left hook to the chin of Smith getting his attention. Smith ended the round with a left hook to the chin of Carto. In the second round a solid jab from Carto stopped Smith in his tracks. Both boxers were warned by referee Benjy Esteves, Jr. about hitting behind the head. Smith missed with several punches but Carto landed a right to the chin. Smith landed a left hook to the chin having Carto in a corner than Carto came back with half a dozen punches backing Smith up. Smith’s right fell short and Carto countered with a right to the chin. Smith landed a left hook and Carto countered with a right both to the chin at the bell.

In the third round Carto landed first with a right to the chin of Smith. He followed with a combination to the head. Smith drove Carto into the ropes with a left hook but Carto blocked the follow-up right. Carto missed with a lead right but landed a left hook to the chin of Smith. Both landed well until a Smith right went low. Referee Esteves, Jr. gave Carto a minute rest. Against the ropes Carto landed a right to the chin of Smith who came back with a right of his own but missed.

In the fourth round Smith landed first with a right to the chin of Carto. They exchanged left hooks. Smith turned southpaw and got hit with a Carto left hook to the chin. Smith landed a left hook to the chin of Carto but got countered with a combination to the head. Carto rocked Smith with a left hook to the chin. Carto landed a straight right to the chin of Smith and seconds later landed a left hook to the chin of Smith just prior to the bell. The many Carto fans showed their appreciation.

In the fifth round Carto landed a right over a jab to the chin of Smith. Carto landed a 3-punch combination starting with a right hand. Carto landed a wicked left hook to the body of Smith. Carto landed a right to the head of Smith at the bell. In the sixth round Carto used his hand speed with several jabs followed by a right to the chin of Smith. Carto landed a left hook to the chin of Smith knocking him off balance. Carto landed half a dozen punches without return from Smith. Smith landed several left hooks to the body of Carto.

In the seventh round Carto landed several left hooks to the chin of Smith. Carto landed a left hook to the chin of Smith knocking him back a step. Carto missed with a right but landed a double left hook to the chin of Smith. In the eighth and final round Smith came out fast knowing he was well behind trying to land a wild left hook but missed. Smith ducked into a Carto left hook to the chin. Smith missed with a wild right looking exhausted. Carto kept Smith off balance with jabs. Carto landed a 3-punch combination just prior to the ending of the round and the fight.

Judge Steve Weisfeld had it 79-73 while Judges Marc Werlinsky and Dewey LaRosa had it 80-72 as did this writer. Mickey Rosati, Jr. and Frankie Carto worked the Carto corner.

“He’s a strong kid and a good fighter. I’m only getting better with every fight. And thanks to my fans for coming out and Wendy Hamilton of SugarHouse,” said Carto.

In the co-feature Philly’s Super Middleweight Christopher “Ice Cold” Brooker, 13-5 (5), in a hard fought fight defeated Jamaal “Da Truth” Davis, 16-13-1 (7), formerly of Philadelphia and now out of Harrisburg, PA, winning the vacant WBF Super Middleweight title. President James Gibbs presented the belt to Brooker.

In the first round due to too much wrestling it was halfway through the round before Brooker landed the first punch a short right to the chin. Just prior to the end of the round Brooker landed a solid left hook to the chin of Davis hurting him. In the second round both fighters went to the body of one another. Davis pinned Brooker against the ropes with a flurry of punches. Davis came back with a left hook to the chin of Brooker in the middle of the ring. Brooker hurt Davis with a left hook to the chin.

In the third round both boxers went back to wrestling. Brooker landed the first significant punch a left hook to the chin of Davis at the midway point of the round. Brooker backed Davis into a corner landing a right to the chin but Davis landed the final punch a left hook to the chin of Brooker. In the fourth round in the middle of the ring a fight broke out with Davis landing a left and Brooker a right to each others chins.

In the fifth round a Davis left hook to the chin drove Brooker back several steps. Inside Davis landed several left hooks to the chin of Brooker. They exchanged right hands to the chin.

Brooker drove Davis into the ropes with a flurry. In the sixth round the in fighting continued with both landing left hooks to the chin. Davis coming up in weight for this one has the experience while Brooker the strength.

In the seventh round Davis landed a chopping right to the head of Brooker who came back with a left hook to the chin of Davis. Davis started boxing more with a jab but left hand low got caught with a right by Brooker on the chin. In the eighth and final round inside Brooker landed a right uppercut to the chin of Davis. Then Brooker came back with a solid left hook to the chin of Davis getting some noise from the crowd. A lead right from Brooker to the chin of Davis rocked him. Brooker followed up with another right having Davis in trouble. The fight ended with Brooker having Davis on the ropes.

Judge Walinski and Weisfeld had it 79-73 and judge LaRosa 77-75 with this writer having it 78-74. Blair Talmadge was the referee.

Super Lightweight Tyrone “Butterfly” Crawley, Jr., 7-1 (0), of Philadelphia, PA, retired after the third round, losing to Anthony “Club Man” Mercado, 11-3 (10), of Arecibo, PR, due to an injury in a scheduled 8.

In the first round Crawley landed a right hook to the chin of Mercado with the first punch of the round. Crawley continued to dominate with his jab keeping Mercado off balance. In the second round Crawley landed a straight left to the chin of Mercado rocking him. Crawley switched to orthodox and back to southpaw making Mercado miss quite a bit. Just prior to the bell Mercado went to throw a right but Crawley got there first with a right to the chin dropping Mercado who got up quickly.

In the third round Crawley landed a 3-punch combination to the chin of Mercado. Mercado continued to chase Crawley and walked into a right uppercut to the chin from Crawley. Mercado landed a left hook to the chin of Crawley who was against the ropes just before the bell. Crawley couldn’t continue due to an injured rib on the left side after the third round. Tyrone “Butterfly” Crawley, Sr. and Ivan “Mighty” Robinson were in Crawley’s corner. Crawley easily won the first 3 rounds.

Super Lightweight David “Two Gun” Gonzales, 8-3-2 (2), of Philadelphia, PA, was stopped by Victor Vazquez, 10-3 (4), of Yonkers, NY, at 1:56 of the first round of a scheduled 8.

In the first round Vasquez dominates from the bell switching from orthodox to southpaw. The much shorter Gonzales looked beat from the bell. A left hook from Vasquez on the chin dropped Gonzales and upon rising referee Esteves, Jr. wisely stopped the mismatch. Vasquez is now 4-0 against Philly boxers. Angel Pizarro, Sr. worked the corner.

Heavyweight Dominique “Majik” Mayfield, 0-1 (0), of South Philadelphia, PA, got stopped by Ronny “Big Country” Dion Hale, 4-11 (4), of Alabama, at 1:40 of the first round.

In the first round racing from his corner Hale dropped Mayfield twice with rights to the chin. There was another in between but referee Talmadge called it a non-knockdown. The official third knockdown came with another Hale right to the chin ending it as far as referee Talmadge saw it. Mayfield had many fans cheering his entrance.

Welterweight Rasheed “Sugar Sheed” Johnson of Philadelphia agreed to fight giving a 7 pound advantage to overweight Vincent Floyd but the commission declined. So he fought Rondel McGee from Yonkers, NY, in a 3 round exhibition and stopped him in the second when referee Talmadge saw enough and halted it.

Super Flyweight Jerod “The Golden” Miner, 1-1-1 (1), of Philadelphia, PA, drew with Rondarius “Too Fast” Hunter, 1-2-1 (1), of Atlanta, GA, over 4 rounds in the opening bout.

In the opening round Hunter landed the first punch a lead right to the chin of Miner. Miner came right back and landed a left hook on the chin of Hunter knocking him sideways several steps. Miner is the aggressor but got caught with the final punch of the round because he stood in front of Hunter not throwing anything and got hit with a right on the chin. In the second round Hunter landed a combination. Hunter keeps landing a lead right and a right uppercut that Miner ducked into. Miner is doing more missing than landing.

In the third round time after time Hunter lands a right hand as Miner walks right into it with hands down. Hunter ended the round landing another right hand to the chin of Miner. In the fourth and final round Hunter landed a combination. Miner dropped Hunter twice with right hands to the chin. Hunter was exhausted holding on but referee Talmadge allowed it to go the distance. The first knockdown looked more like a push.

Judge Weisfeld had it 39-35 for Miner. Judge’s La Rosa and Werlinsky had it 37-37 as did this writer.

Kings will be back at the 2300 Arena April 6th and back at SugarHouse May 11th per ring announcer Alex Barbosa. Event covered by 11 Sports Network with Marc Abrams and Rich Quinones doing the commentating.

Posted on 03/01/2018

By: Ken Hissner

Philly’s unbeaten bantamweight Christian Carto was a National Golden Gloves champion. He decided to turn professional on July 2nd 2016 at the Santander Arena in Reading, PA, on a Kings Promotion. He was just 19 and being trained by Mickey Rosati, a former PA Golden Gloves Champion and owner of Rosati’s Gym which is located at 1937 S. Chadwick St., in South Philadelphia over his Rosati’s Auto Repair shop. His father Mickey Sr. was 11-1 from 1954-55.

Christian Carto has a 13-0 record with 11 knockouts. The two of them have “South Philly” written all over them. Carto turned 21 last December and will be headlining Friday at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia against Detroit’s James “O.G.” Smith, 12-1 (7), coming off a first round knockout win and promoted by Dmitriy Salita.
Carto stopped his first eleven opponents. One story Rosati tells is during the referee’s instructions on a particular fight the opposing trainer said “you have been fighting boy’s, tonight you are fighting a man!”

Before you knew it the “man” was face down in his own corner and Carto who is a young man of few words pointed to the trainer and was said to say “there’s your man!” Carto won’t talk about it for he is a very confident but humble boxer.

Philly is minus and world champions at present but there are a young group of boxers than have champion written all over them and Carto is one of them! His brother Frank who was a novice champion handles the managing of who his brother fights. They have been fighting for two promoters and it looks like Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotions has taken over putting young Carto in the main event Friday at the SugarHouse Casino.

“Camp has been good. I have done a lot of sparring with different sparring partners,” said Carto. As stopping his first eleven opponents in September he defeated Alfonso Melendez, 14-1 and in his last fight in December defeated Luis Fernando Saavedra, 7-3, both going eight rounds.

“It would have been nice to have kept the streak going, but I am not upset. I actually thought in my last fight with Luis Saavedra I was close to getting him out of there but he did a good job in hanging in there and going the distance. It was a good experience going eight-rounds. I spar 10-12 rounds so I knew I could go eight rounds,” said Carto.

This will be Carto’s seventh appearance at SugarHouse Casino, and the venue has taken a liking to Carto to the point that a 40-foot billboard was erected over I-95, and a million motorists can see Carto each day.

“Smith seems to be a good fighter. I have watched a couple of his fights, and even in the fight he lost, he fought well until he got caught,” said Carto.
This writer has seen all his fights and can honestly say “Carto is the real deal and one of if not the most exciting young boxer in Philly rings today”.

“I want to thank Wendy Hamilton of the SugarHouse. It was good to see the billboard and see myself presented like that. It’s very exciting to see that. That is something I never thought I’d see. I just want all my fans to come out Friday night. It’s going to be a good fight, and I look forward to seeing everybody there,” said Carto.

Ten of his thirteen fights have been in Philly with two in Atlantic City and as mentioned his debut in Reading. There will be six additional fights on the undercard with several Philly against Philly bouts and you know they will be wars!

Super middleweight Christopher Brooker, 12-5 (5), takes on Jamaal “Tyson” Davis, 16-12-1 (7), in an 8 round all-Philly match-up. The son of former world contender Philly’s Tyrone “Butterfly” Crawley who will be in the corner in Tyrone Crawley, 7-0 (0), taking on Anthony Mercado, 10-3 (9), of Arecibo, PR, in a Super lightweight 8. Philly’s David Gonzales, 8-2-2 (2), takes on Victor Vazquez, 9-3 (3), of Yonkers, NY.

Vazquez is 3-0 fighting in Philly defeating Philly boxers Anthony Burgin, Jerome Conquest and Seifullah Jihad Wise.

In addition there will be three 4 rounder’s. In an all Philly welterweight fight Rasheed Johnson, 3-1 (1), takes on Vincent Floyd, 3-4-1 (2). Philly Super Flyweight Jerrod Miner, 1-1 (1), takes on Rondarius Hunter, 1-2 (1), of Atlanta, GA. Philly Heavyweight Dominique Mayfield makes his debut taking on Ronny Hale, 3-11 (3), of Austin, TX.

There will be a press conference Wednesday at SugarHouse Casino at 6pm.

Posted on 01/23/2018

Compiled By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of January 16th to January 23rd; covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

Mikey Garcia vs. Sergey Lipinets Rescheduled for March 10th

The highly anticipated showdown between undefeated three-division world champion Mikey Garcia and IBF 140-pound champion Sergey Lipinets has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 10th. The Premier Boxing Champions event was set to take place on February 10th, but Garcia’s quest for a fourth world title had to be rescheduled following a training injury to Lipinets’ hand. The fight will be live on SHOWTIME and will remain in San Antonio but move to the Freeman Coliseum.

Ticket information will be released early next week. Those holding tickets for the original date at the Alamodome will receive priority on seat exchange for the new venue. Tickets are priced at $250, $150, $75, $50 and $20 and will be available at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 210 556-6390. The event is promoted by Ringstar Sports and TGB Promotions, in association with Leija-Battah Promotions.

The remainder of the card will remain the same including the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING co-feature, which will see two-division world champion Rances Barthelemy taking on Kiryl Relikh in a rematch of their thrilling fight last May, this time for the vacant WBA 140-pound world title. The doubleheader of title bouts in the wide-open 140-pound division sets the stage for a potential unification match.

The 29-year-old Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs), emphatically returned to pound-for-pound lists in 2017 by scoring a highlight reel knockout of Dejan Zlaticanin to win the WBC Lightweight World Championship in January and then dominating four-division champion Adrien Broner on his way to a unanimous decision in July. Garcia is a member of a renowned boxing family, and is noted for his sportsmanship and his commanding presence in the ring, honed by his brother and acclaimed trainer Robert Garcia.

Garcia, of Moreno Valley by way of Oxnard, Calif., returned to the ring after a two-and-half-year layoff in July 2016 without missing a beat by stopping former champion Elio Rojas. Garcia, who has held world titles at 126, 130 and 135 pounds, has stopped 19 of his last 22 opponents including Roman “Rocky” Martinez, Juan Manuel Lopez and Orlando Salido.

With a win, Garcia would become only the third fighter in modern history to become champion at 126, 130, 135 and 140-pounds, joining future Hall of Famers Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao*.

The unbeaten Lipinets (13-0, 10 KOs) captured a super lightweight world title in just his 13th pro fight by defeating Akihiro Kondo via a unanimous decision on November 4 on SHOWTIME. He is originally from Kazakhstan but moved to Russia when he was six years old. He currently lives in Beverly Hills, California, Lipinets and is trained by Buddy McGirt.

Nico Hernandez to Fight on February 10th

2016 Olympic bronze medalist and hometown hero Nico Hernandez has fully recovered from an injury that postponed his December 2nd fight to Saturdeay, February 10, versus Hungarian champion Jozsef “Little Red” Ajtai in the the eight-round main event for the vacant International Boxing Association (IBA) Americas flyweight title, headlining the “KO Night Boxing: Gold & Glory” card, at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas.

“KO Night Boxing: Gold & Glory” is a presentation of KO Night Boxing LLC., in association with Hartman Arena, and sponsored in part by Park City (KS), Twister City Harley-Davidson and Metro PCS.

The action will be taped live for future airing on CBS Sports Network.

The 22-year-old Hernandez (3-0, 2 KOs), fighting out of Wichita, suffered an undisclosed injury that forced him to withdraw from the Dec. 2nd fight. Neither Hernandez nor his promoter, John Andersen (KO Night Boxing, LLC), have revealed any details about Nico’s injury to avoid giving his opponent any possible advantage to target in the ring.

“I feel good, ready to fight,” Hernandez commented. “We wanted to make sure that I was injury free and I am 100-percent. I’m going to do whatever is needed to win this fight. Fighting for my first title means a lot to me. I didn’t think it would happen this fast. I want everybody to see that I can be competitive with the best in my division. A win February 10th will get me there a lot closer.

“My opponent like to runs a lot and he’s quick, so I need to have my legs under me. Other than that, though, I should be okay. He has fought some good guys. I can’t wait to get in the ring in front of my fans.”

Ajtai (19-9, 12 KOs), who is one year and six days younger than Hernandez, has already fought in five title fights. He also went the full 10-round distance, albeit in a loss by decision in 2016, to two-time Olympic gold medalist Shiming Zou, the former World Boxing Organization (WBO) flyweight world champion. Fighting in his opponent’s hometown isn’t a problem for Ajtai, who has vast road experience having fought as a pro in the USA, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Ukraine and Slovakia.

“Nico will not know where I will be in the ring,” Ajtai predicted. “When he looks to the left for me, I will go to the right; when he tries to find me on the right, I will be on the left. When he wants to rest, I will come forward punching; when he wants to punch, he won’t find me.

“I have a plan for this fight and I’m sure he does as well. But, in the ring, only one fighter’s plan can succeed. It’s going to be a good fight, but I can’t promise the public that Nico will be the winner.”

“I’m excited that Nico is 100-percent healthy for this fight,” Andersen said. “We couldn’t be happier to bring this great fight, and many more as we move forward, to the great city of Wichita.”

In the six-round co-featured event, Minneapolis welterweight Javonte Starks (13-2, 7 KOs), a former Future Stars National Champion as an amateur, takes on veteran Mexican fighter Cesar Soriano (28-36-1, 17 KOs), the former FECARBOX lightweight titlist.
Tickets for Beltran-Moses Are on Sale
World championship boxing returns the “Biggest Little City in the World,” Reno Nevada! No. 1 world-rated lightweight contender RAY “Sugar” BELTRAN, fighting for his first world championship belt and his green card to stay in the U.S. with his family, will headline an all-action card on Friday, February 16, in the Grand Sierra Resort’s Grand Theatre. Beltran (34-7-1, 21 KOs), from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, will be battling former world champion and current No. 2 world-rated contender PAULUS MOSES (39-3, 24 KOs), from Windhoek, Namibia, for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight world title. The co-main event will feature undefeated NABF welterweight champion EGIDIJUS “The Mean Machine” KAVALIAUSKAS (18-0, 15 KOs), from Oxnard, Calif., by way of Kaunas, Lithuania, defending his title against former world champion DAVID “Ava” AVANESYAN (23-2-1, 11 KOs), of Pyatigorsk, Russia, in a 10-round battle of Top-10 world-rated contenders. Both title fights will be televised live and exclusively at 9 p.m. EST on ESPN and ESPN Deportes and stream live on the ESPN App at 7 p.m. EST. The championship event will also feature the return of 2016 Olympic silver medalist SHAKUR STEVENSON (4-0, 2 KOs), of Newark, NJ. Stevenson has a unique relationship with Reno, where he began each year from 2013 through 2015 by winning a national amateur title. Additionally, he won the gold medal and Outstanding Boxer award at the 2016 Olympic Trials. Stevenson has never lost in Reno

Two-time world heavyweight championship challenger and current Top-10 world- rated contender BRYANT JENNINGS (21-2, 12 KOs), of Philadelphia, PA, will also be featured on the undercard, in an eight-round bout. Jennings, who is a vegan, appears in “The Game Changers,” a documentary directed by Louie Psihoyos, the Oscar®-winning director of “The Cove.” “The Game Changers” tells the story of James Wilks — elite special forces trainer and winner of The Ultimate Fighter — as he travels the world on a quest for the truth behind the world’s most dangerous myth: that meat is necessary for protein, strength and optimal health. It premiered last week at the Sundance Film Festival.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Let’s Get It On Promotions, tickets to the Beltran-Moses world championship event will go on sale Tomorrow! Wednesday, January 24, at 1 p.m. EST / 10 a.m. PST. Priced at $79, $54, and $29, including facility fees, tickets may be purchased online at www.grandsierra.com, at the Grand Theater Box Office, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. PT, daily, or charge by phone at 1-775-789-1115.

“There isn’t a more inspiring story in boxing than Ray Beltran’s,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum. “It hasn’t been an easy road for Ray, but he has more than met the challenge time and time again. I can’t think of a better way to start Ray’s 2018 season than with this tremendous world championship fight. I am also looking forward to seeing the welterweight battle between Egidijus Kavaliauskas and David Avanesyan which should be nothing but fireworks. And no one lights up a night better than Shakur Stevenson, with his fast hands and bright smile.”

“I’m excited about this fight for many reasons. I’m fighting for myself, for my eighteen years I have worked to become a world champion, I am fighting for my family, my wife, and for my children to be proud of me,” said Beltran. “When you’re a champion, you are a champion forever. I am fighting for my team, the people who have been with me from the start. It’s easy when you are on your way up to have fans, but my true fans have been with me at my lowest, and stayed through my highs in life. This fight means everything to me, a victory will also seal my green card. For me to be world champion, and a citizen of this country, this is my dream. I respect my opponents always, but this is my destiny, and no man will get in the way of that. I’m ready to prove to everyone that I am the most dangerous lightweight in the world. I’m coming February 16th to take what was mine in Scotland, and when I leave Reno I am leaving as the WBO world champion.”

“I would like to thank God for this amazing opportunity. I have had a blessed boxing career and all thanks to everybody who supported me over the years. Thanks to my Promoter and mentor Nestor Tobias and to an amazing forward looking visionary sponsor in MTC who continues to push us to become only the best,” said Moses. “It’s been an incredibly positive week. I am honoured to have recently been inducted as a MTC Sports Legend, the highest sports honour in Namibia and now an amazing opportunity to fight Beltran who I highly regard, and of course an opportunity for me to become world champion again. I look forward to this fight and doing my country proud once again.”

“I don’t remember much about Avanesyan when we were in the amateurs. But he will, for sure, be my toughest opponent in the ring,” said Kavaliauskas. “I am very excited to show the best of me in this fight. Thank you, Top Rank and ESPN for giving me this opportunity — one step closer to getting a world title belt.”

“I am so glad and proud for the Mean Machine to climb to a new level. Thank you, Top Rank for giving the Machine an opportunity to make his debut on ESPN,” said Egis Klimas, who manages Kavaliauskas.

“This is a great opportunity for me to return to the top of the welterweight division,” said Avanesyan. “My trainer and I are working very hard on my conditioning, strength and strategy because we know what is at stake and we know Egidijus brings to the fight. And make no mistake, this is a fight.”

“I’m ready to kick off 2018 in my first eight-round fight. I’ve been wanting to go eight rounds for awhile now and I’m excited to finally get the opportunity in my first fight of the year.” said Stevenson. “I’m undefeated in Reno and won four national titles there in the amateurs, including the 2016 Olympic Trials, so I plan to keep that streak going on February 16.”

“Grand Sierra Resort is thrilled to host this exciting championship fight card and generate national TV exposure for the Reno-Tahoe region,” Christopher Abraham, VP of Marketing at Grand Sierra Resort said. “We are thrilled to work with such outstanding partners as Top Rank, ESPN and Let’s Get It On Promotions.”

Beltran, a native of Mexico who resides in Phoenix, AZ., enters this fight having won four of his last fights by knockout. A three-time lightweight world title challenger and a former sparring partner of eight-division world champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, Beltran still trains at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif. Beltran is fighting for more than just a world title. He is fighting to obtain his green card so that he can remain in the U.S. with his family under the Extraordinary Ability as a Professional Boxing (EB-1) Employment-Based First Preference category.. A world title victory will all but assure him of his permanent status. Recent career highlights include one-punch knockout victories over Mason Menard (32-1, 24 KOs) and Jonathan Maicelo (32-1, 24 KOs) on December 10, 2016 and May 20, 2017, respectively. In his most recent fight, Beltran solidified his upcoming world title shot by winning a gritty majority decision over former two-time interim World Boxing Association (WBA) super featherweight world champion Bryan Vasquez (36-2, 19 KOs), on August 5. Vasquez was world-rated No. 1 by the WBA when they fought. Beltran is currently world-rated No. 1 by the WBO and the World Boxing Council (WBC).

Moses captured the WBA world lightweight title in 2009, traveling to Yokohama, Japan to defeat defending champion and hometown favorite Yusuke Kobori via a unanimous decision. After one successful title defense — another unanimous decision victory, this time over Takehiro Shimada, Moses’ 15-monthn reign as world champion ended in 2010 at the hands of Miguel Acosta. Since losing a unanimous decision to Ricky Burns in their 2012 WBO lightweight world championship fight, Moses has strung together an impressive record of 11-1, 1 NC, including TKO victories over Cosmas Cheka and Crispin Moliati in his last two fights and a two-year reign as WBO International lightweight champion and his current 14-month reign as WBO Africa lightweight champion. Moses, a veteran who has fought professionally in Asia, Europe and Africa, will be making his North America debut.
World Boxing Super Series Semi-Finals Schedule
Super Channel, the No. 1 destination network for Canadian boxing fans, will air the upcoming semifinals of the popular World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) tournament, featuring world-class cruiserweight and super middleweight divisions action, live from various venues in Europe.

Super Channel acquired exclusive rights in Canada to air the entire WBSS tournament from MP & Silva, a leading international media company that provides media rights, digital, technology and sponsorship services.

“We are thrilled that the WBSS is returning to Super Channel for exclusive Canadian coverage of the highly anticipated semifinals,” said Troy Wassill, Director of Programming, Domestic Distributors and Sports. “I have no doubt that every single bout is going to deliver exciting, must-see action for boxing fans, as these world-class fighters compete to see who is going to go head-to-head for the coveted Muhammad Ali Trophy.”

WBSSis a revolutionary bracket-style elimination tournament featuring the world’s best boxers and a total of $50 million in prize money. The knockout format of the competition will see the best boxers ultimately compete for the Muhammad Ali Trophy, the greatest prize in boxing. The tournament is organized by newly-founded Comosa AG, a Swiss-registered company with principal owners Highlight Event & Entertainment, Modern Times Group and Team Sauerland. Comosa AG is working in partnership with boxers, promoters and managers around the world, and in alignment with the four major world boxing federations, to create a new global platform for the sport.

The first of its kind tournament, which is planned to take place on an annual basis, kicked off this past September with quarterfinals competition in two divisions, cruiserweight and super middleweight. An expert panel invited the world’s best boxers to compete, namely the top 15-ranked fighters of the four major federations: WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO. The winners of the two semifinals will advance to the championship round in both divisions this May.

Below find the WBSS semifinals schedule and a preview of the four matches and eight fighters who survived the quarterfinals:
January 27, Riga Arena, Riga, Latvia – WBO/WBC Unification
Oleksandr “The Cat” Usyk (13-0, 11 KOs), WBO World Champion, Ukraine – Ring #1 vs. Mairis Briedis (23-0, 18 KOs), WBC World Champion, Latvia – Ring #3
February 3, Bolshoy Ice Dome, Sochi, Russia – IBF/WBA Unification
Murat “Iron” Gassiev (25-0, 18 KOs), IBF World Champion, Russia – Ring #2 vs. Yunier “The KO Doctor” Dorticos (21-0, 20 KOs), WBA World Champion, Cuba – Ring #5
SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS
February 17, Manchester, Arena, Manchester, UK – WBA/IBO Unification
“Saint” George Groves (27-3, 20 KOs), WBA World Champion, United Kingdom – Ring #2 vs. Chris “Next Gen” Eubank Jr. (26-1, 20 KOs), IBO World Champion, United Kingdom – Ring #4
February 24, Arena Nurnberger Versicherung, Nuremburg, Germany
Juergen Braehmer (49-3 35 KOs), Germany – Ring #10 (Former WBO & WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion) vs. Callum “Mundo” Smith (23-0, 17 KOs), United Kingdom – Ring #3 (WBC Diamond Super Middleweight Champion)

Christian Carto to Face James Smith on March 2nd
Popular and undefeated bantamweight Christian Carto will headline a packed night of boxing when he takes on James Smith in an eight-round bout on Friday, March 2nd at The SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia.

The card is promoted by King’s Promotions.

Carto of Philadelphia has a record of 13-0 with 11 knockouts. The 21 year-old has established himself as one of the top prospects in Philadelphia, and the popular Carto continues to draw large and enthusiastic crowds to his fights.

Carto, who had a very active 2017 as he mustered seven victories and has a signature win over Alonso Melendez (14-1). Carto is coming off an eight-round unanimous decision over Luis Fernando Saavedra on December 1st at The SugarHouse Casino.

This will be Carto’s 7th appearance at The SugarHouse Casino.

Smith of Detroit has a record of 12-1 with seven knockouts.

The 27 year-old is a seven-year professional, who won his first 11 bouts, which was highlighted by a win over Olimjon Nazarov (14-2).

After suffering his lone defeat, Smith won his last bout as he stopped Yaqub Kareem on August 4, 2017 in Detroit.

In an eight-round all-Philadelphia super middleweight bout, Christopher Brooker (12-5, 5 KOs) battle Jamaal Davis (16-12-1, 7 KOs).

In an eight-round bout, Tyrone Crawley, Jr. (7-0) of Philadelphia takes on Anthony Mercado (10-3, 9 KOs) of Arecibo, PR in a super lightweight bout.

David Gonzales (8-2-2, 2 KOs) of Philadelphia will fight Victor Vazquez (9-3, 3 KOs) of Yonkers, NY in a super lightweight contest.

Undefeated Marcus Bates (8-0-1, 6 KOs) of Washington, DC will take on an opponent to be named in a eight-round super bantamweight fight.

Carlos Rosario (7-3, 4 KOs) of Pennsauken, NJ will square off with Seifullah Wise (3-4, 1 KO) of Philadelphia in a super featherweight fight.

Darius Ervin (4-1) of Los Angeles tangles with Jesus Perez (3-0, 1 KO) of Reading, PA in a super lightweight fight.

Jerrod Miner (1-1, 1 KO) of Philadelphia fights Rondarrius Hunter (1-2, 1 KO) of Atlanta in a four-round super flyweight bout.

Tickets are on sale for $100, $75, $50, and can be purchased at SugarHouseBoxing.eventbrite. com.

Posted on 12/02/2017

By: Ken Hissner

At a sold out (in 3 days) SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia Friday night Hard Hitting Promotions with Manny Rivera and Will Ruiz (matchmaker) put on as good a show as I have seen in Philly in many a year featuring Philly heavyweight Joey “the Tank” Dawejko, in the main event with some of the best talent in Philly in years on the undercard of an event full of excitement by the promotion and great matchmaking.

Heavyweight Joey “The Tank” Dawejko, 19-4 (11), of Philly, used a knockdown to defeat Kelvin Nunez, 15-1 (14), of Carolina, PR, for the vacant WBC FECARBOX Title, over 8 hard fought rounds.
In the first round Dawejko is throwing every punch including jabs with bad intentions keeping Nunez on the defense.

A counter right from Dawejko off a Nunez miss rocked the latter. It was all Dawejko in this round. In the second round both fighters were exchanging with Nunez becoming more active but not enough to win the round. In the third round Dawejko landed a solid right uppercut to the chin of Nunez. Dawejko landed the better of the punches in a round of action.

In the fourth round the bout became very tactful on the part of both fighters.
Nunez finally seemed to get an edge in this round. In the fifth round Nunez came out firing until Dawejko landed a right hand to slow him down. Nunez turned southpaw and back to orthodox. It was a very close action round on the part of both fighters. In the sixth round Nunez was going to the body while Dawejko was countering with left hooks to the head. In the seventh round Nunez turned to the referee Shawn Clark complaining of who knows what and he got hit with a left hook from Dawejko that almost drove him through the ropes. In this writers opinion it was the difference in the end.

Dawejko had a big round landing some eight solid punches to the head of Nunez just prior to the bell. In the eighth and final round Nunez fought back possibly figuring he needed a knockout to win as he kept coming to Dawejko with too little too late. “I hurt my back in the first round,” said Dawejko. Nunez kept leaning on him doubling him over throughout the contest. Referee Clark warned him several times.

Judge John Poturaj had it 77-74 as did Dave Braswell while judge Frescia had it 76-75 while this writer had it 77-74.
Unbeaten Philly bantamweight Christian Carto, 13-0 (11), of South Philly, won a lopsided spirited decision over Luis Fernando Saavedra, 7-4 (3), of San Luis Potosi, MEX, over 8 rounds.

In the first round of feeling each other out Saavedra landed the first punch a straight left to the chin of Carto. Carto stalked Savvedra falling short with most jabs as Saavedra had his hands held high.

Saavedra switched back to orthodox from southpaw. Carto opened up with a flurry of punches just prior to the bell to the head of Saavedra. In the second round a solid left hook from Carto to the chin dropped Saavedra for an eight count from referee Eric Dali before getting up.

In the third round Carto landed a 3-punch combination to the head of Saavedra. Saavedra keeps switching from southpaw to orthodox. Carto went to the body of Saavedra who is countering sparingly.

Carto does better when Saavedra is orthodox. At the bell both fighters were throwing leather. In the fourth round Carto stalked and outworked Saavedra hurting him with follow-up right hands off of his jab.

In the fifth round Carto opened the round with a lead right to the chin of Saavedra now fighting southpaw. Carto was now on the move countering Saavedra well with combinations to the head. In the sixth round Carto landed a flurry of punches that had the crowd responding. Saavedra was stalking but walking into punches from Carto. It was Carto outworking Saavedra though the latter was coming forward.

In the seventh round Carto landed a hard right and left to the head of Saavedra who was up against the ropes. At the bell it was Carto landing punches with Saavedra doing more feinting than punching. In the eighth and final round it was all Carto with Saavedra more interested it seemed in going the distance than winning the fight.

Judge had it 80-71 as did this writer.

The Referee was Eric Dali.

Lightweight 18 year-old prospect Branden “The Gift” Pizarro, 8-1 (4), of Philly, was upset in a close decision by Christian Rivera, 7-0 (5), of Bayamon, PR, over 6 rounds of action.

In the first round Pizarro was the aggressor. Pizarro opened the round with a right and left to the head of Rivera. Pizarro drove Rivera into the ropes with a flurry of punches. A hard left hook landed by Pizarro rocked Rivera on the chin. A 3-punch combination from Pizarro to the head of Rivera got his attention.
Rivera’s face was red from the punches he received. In the second round Rivera landed a combination that was countered by a flurry of punches from Pizarro. A left to the chin from Rivera dropped Pizarro who seemed more embarrassed than hurt. Rivera tried to follow-up but was countered by Pizarro. Pizarro ended the round with a lead right to the chin of Rivera.

In the third round Pizarro hurt Rivera to the head with a right hand driving him into a neutral corner. Another right from Pizarro drove Rivera across the ring.

Pizarro had Rivera hurt in the corner but was countered by a left that momentarily dropped him to a knee. He was up as referee Clark counted and went after Rivera when the round ended. In the fourth round Pizarro was on the offense as Rivera countered with chopping left hands. Pizarro landed a pair of rights to the chin of Rivera that kept him on the move. Rivera landed a solid combination to the head of Pizarro getting his attention. It was a close round but Pizarro rebounded nice.

In the fifth round a lead left from Pizarro on the chin got Rivera’s attention. Rivera’s face is well marked while Pizarro’s is unmarked. Pizarro was once again on the attack while Rivera countered with less offense. In the sixth and final round Rivera opened up with a solid lead left to the chin of Pizarro.

Pizarro rocked Rivera with a left hook to the head. Pizarro knocked out the mouthpiece of Rivera causing referee Clark to halt the action. Pizarro was on the attack when this happened. It was one great fight full of action.

Judge John Portaju had it 58-54, Dave Braswell 58-55 and Adam Frescia 57-56 while this writer had it 56-56 with 4 rounds to Pizarro and 2 the knockdown rounds to Rivera.

Salvation Of Sorrows Inc. a non-profit organization at intermission with Abby (President) and Chris Anderson giving gifts to three youngsters including free training at the Hard Hitting Gym.

Celebrity boxers and trainers being introduced were Ray “Tito” Serrano, “Hammerin” Hank Lundy, former WBA champion Jason “El Canito” Sosa and title challenger on December 9th the American Idol Tevin “Successful” Farmer along with trainers Raul “Chino” Rivas and Rashiem Jefferson. Also in attendance was Philadelphia Eagle Malcolm Jenkins.

Lightweight Liberian “Tsuanami” Sammy Teah, 12-1-1 (5), of Philly, defeated “Mr. Marvelous” Maynard Allison, 9-3 (6), from NC, now living in Philly, in a spirited six rounds.

In the first round Teah was the aggressor using a good jab. The first punch landed by Allison a right to the head of Teah was countered by a right by Teah that had Allison holding on. Both landed right hands to the chin at the same time with Allison getting the worst of it. A left hook from Teah to the chin hurt Allison as the bell sounded. In the second round Teah lines up Allison with jabs to the mid-section with right hands following.

The fighters got into a heated exchange of punches with Teah getting the better of it. Teah landed a double right to the head while Allison came back with a right rocking Teah. Teah came back driving Allison into a neutral corner and on his bike.
In the third round controls with his jab keeping Allison at bay. Allison landed a good right uppercut to chin of Teah. The round ended with a Allison right to the chin of Teah. In the fourth round both fighters landed left hooks to the chin at the same time. Teah continued to stalk Allison when another exchange from both fighters had the sold out crowd yelling. The last two rounds were close but Teah seemed to pull them out.

In the fifth round Teah landed half a dozen punches hurting Allison who pushed Teah back against the ropes only to have Teah rock him with several uppercuts and a chopping right hand hurting Allison. It turned into a war. The fighters ended up slugging it out in the corner of Allison. In the sixth and final round there was a clash of heads making referee Dali halt the action. Allison pushed Teah to the canvas receiving a warning from referee Dali. Teah chased Allison around the ring trying for the knockout. Allison was warned for the second time for pushing off. Teach landed a good combination to the head of a retreating Allison as the fight drew to a close. The fans showed their appreciation.

All three Judge’s Vargas, Freisca and Braswell had it 60-54 as did this writer.
Heavyweight from Philly Darmani “Rock Solid” Rock, 10-0 (6), made his hometown debut a successful one stopping Carlos Cotto, 8-2 (5), of Carolina, PR, at 2:59 of the first round.

In the first round Rock used a good jab. Cotto missed with a right uppercut and Rock countered with a hard right to the head rocking Cotto. Rock landed a good combination to the head of Cotto making him blink with both eyes showing redness.

Rock missed with a right and countered with a left to the side of Cotto’s head dropping him to a knee. He struggled to get up at nine but was in no condition to continue as referee Shawn Clark wisely waved it off. The ring physician examined Cotto who was holding his right ear from the left hook that dropped him. “I saw he was scared so I went in for the finish,” said Rock.

In the opening bout Lightweight southpaw Jeremy Cuevas, 6-0 (5), of Philly, halted Jose Miguel “The Hammer” Castro, 5-10 (3), of Carolina, PR, at 2:05 of the fifth in a scheduled six round bout.

In the first round southpaw Cuevas used a good jab countering Castro. Cuevas hammered Cuevas into the ropes with half a dozen punches before Castro spun off the ropes. Referee Dali warned Castro to watch using his head which has reddened the nose of Cuevas. In the second round Cuevas landed a lead straight left to the head of Castro. Cuevas followed up with a right uppercut and left to the head. Both fighters exchanged punched to the head at once. In the middle of the ring Cuevas landed half a dozen unanswered punches.

Just prior to the bell Castro landed a right to the head of Cuevas who jumped all over him landing over half a dozen punches before the bell sounded.

In the third round Cuevas landed half a dozen unanswered punches in the middle of the ring. Castro continues to be the aggressor but has been on the defense when Cuevas opens up. Both fighters have red abrasions on their faces. In the fourth round both fighters get into an exchange of punches. Castro landed a hard right to the head of Cuevas bringing noise from the crowd. Castro turned away and Cuevas went after him rocking him with a pair of left hands to the head. A lead left from Cuevas to the chin of Castro rocked him at the bell.

In the fifth round Cuevas drove Castro into the ropes with a vicious variety of punches having him out on his feet when the corner of Castro threw the towel in causing referee Dali to wave it off.

“My corner said I was breaking him down by going to the body and I could see he was starting to cover up so as I was pounding on him the referee called it off,” said Cuevas.

Posted on 09/30/2017

By: Ken Hissner

Kings Promotions returned to the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia Friday featuring former National Golden Glove champion and current unbeaten bantamweight Christian Carto of South Philly.

In the Main Event bantamweight Christian Carto, 12-0 (11), of Philadelphia, went the distance for the first time easily defeating a game southpaw in Alonso “El Elegante” Melendez, 14-2 (12), of Chihuahua, MEX, over 8 rounds.

In the first round the taller Melendez used his reach but Carto landed several right hand body shots. Carto landed a flurry of punches without return to the delight of his many followers. In the second round a lead right from Carto to the chin of Melendez stopped him in his tracks. Carto followed-up with a 3-punch combination but ran into a left hand counter from Melendez to the chin. Carto landed four punches to the body of Melendez. In the third round Melendez landed a good right hook to the head of Carto. Melendez landed a right jab and was countered by a Carto left hook to the chin. Carto landed solid punches on two separate occasions to the chin of Melendez some twenty seconds apart. In the fourth round a left hook from Carto drew blood from the nose of Melendez. Carto jumped on Melendez landing a solid right uppercut to the chin. Melendez landed a counter left to the chin of Carto.

In the fifth round a lead right from Carto to the chin of Melendez backed him up several steps. Carto landed four unanswered punches to the body and head of Melendez. In the sixth round Melendez landed a left to the face of Carto who returned four punches to the head without return. In the seventh round Carto landed four punches without return backing up Melendez several steps. Carto landed four body punches before Melendez returned a left to the chin of Carto. In the eighth and final round Carto continued to dominate the bout. Melendez was returning to the ring after a two year lay-off.

All 3 judges Dave Braswell, John Poturaj and Marc Werlinsky as well as this writer had it 80-72 for the winner. “I was please with his performance,” said Mickey Rosati (trainer of Carto). The winner as usual had little to say “I felt real good,” said Christian Carto. He was mobbed by his many fans. At ringside was Mickey Rosati, Sr. with his granddaughter next to him. Sr. was an unbeaten boxer during a short stint in the ring.

In the co-feature lightweight southpaw Jerome “The Conqueror” Conquest, 9-2 (1), of Philadelphia, defeated Carlos “Rock Hands” Rosario, 7-3 (4), of Pennsauken, NJ, for the WBF North American junior lightweight title over 8 rounds.

In the first round Conquest used an effective jab to outwork Rosario. In the second round of a close contest Conquest out landed Rosario though few punches were landed. In the third round there was a lack of action with Conquest landing what little did land. In the fourth round a “fight broke out” with both landing combinations. At the bell Conquest landed several punches to the chin of Rosario.

In the fifth round both fighters threw punches at the same time with a Rosario punch going south of the border dropping Conquest. Referee Conquest was given a full 5 minutes to re-coup. When the contest continued Conquest went right after Rosario landing a flurry of punches. In the sixth round Rosario did too much “posing” as Conquest dominated with his jab dancing around the ring. In the seventh round Rosario landed a lead right to the chin of Conquest. Knowing he was behind Rosario loaded up hoping to land the right hand as Conquest kept him at bay for the most part with his jab. In the eighth and final round Conquest stunned Rosario with a right hook to the head. Conquest countered with a straight left to the chin of Rosario. The last 30 seconds were the best of the fight with both throwing bombs and Conquest getting in the better of the two.

Judges David Braswell and Lynne Carter scored it 77-74 while judge John Poturaj had it 78-73. This writer had it 79-73. Representing the WBF were Greg Hackett and James Gibbs. The referee was Benjy Esteves, Jr.

“It was a great fight as I expected. They have been asking for this fight for a year. I’m getting better and better every year and I want more competition even with the limited amateur experience. I took his best shot and I used my jab knowing he couldn’t adjust to my boxing ability while he loaded up with his right hand,” said Conquest.

In the opening bout super lightweight from North Carolina Maynard Allison, 9-2 (6), now out of Philadelphia, was stopped at the end of the second round by Juan Rodriguez, 8-7-1 (6), of Haymarket, VA.

In the first round Allison countered the body of oncoming Rodriguez. In the second round Allison is missing wild overhand rights following his jabs but Rodriguez couldn’t take advantage of this until all of a sudden “bang” and down went Allison. It was a short right hand to the chin by Rodriguez who had a bloody nose. Allison beat the count but referee Dali waved it off as the bell sounded.

Allison is originally from NC and his trainer is former boxer Rasheed Brown questioned this but got no answer. “He had his moments but in the second round I felt I was starting to get to him,” said Rodriguez.

Super lightweight David “Two Gun” Gonzales, 8-2-2-1nc (2), of Philadelphia, and Darius “I Am King” Ervin, 4-1-1nc (0), of L.A. ended up in a No Decision do to a clash of heads at 1:53 of the second round. The referee was Dali. “He stopped it do to a cut by my left eye,” said Gonzales. The cut was under the eye lid.

In the first round there were more misses than connections. In the second round the much shorter Gonzales tried his best to make a fight out of it but ran into the first punch of the fight landed by Ervin a right to the chin. Referee Dali had his hands full separating these two. Do to a clash of heads Gonzales was examined by the ring physician who halted the bout. This saved the fans of 5 more rounds like the first one.

Super welterweight southpaw Erik “Abnormal” Spring, 10-2-2 (1), of Reading, PA, was upset by Anthony “Put ‘em down” Prescott, 7-7-2 (2), of Cherry Hill, NJ, over 6 rounds.

In the first round Spring did enough to outwork Prescott. In the second round Prescott pinned the taller Spring in a neutral corner. Prior to the end of the round Prescott had Spring in trouble. In the third round Prescott continued to press the action getting the better of Spring.

In the fourth round Spring worked his way back into the fight landing lead left hands to the head of Prescott who countered well but not well enough. In the fifth round Spring continued outworking what looked like a tiring Prescott. In the sixth and final round Prescott countered with several hard right hands to the chin of Spring.

Judge Braslow had it 58-56 while judges Poturaj and Werlinsky had it 59-55. This writer had it 58-58.

Light heavyweight Brandon Robinson, 7-1 (6), of Upper Darby, PA, stopped George Sheppard, 1-3 (0), of Norfolk, VA, at 1:20 of the fourth and final round.

In the first round Robinson was the aggressor. At the bell both fighters were letting leather fly. In the second round Sheppard stood his ground willing to exchange with Robinson who outworked Sheppard with combinations mostly to the head. Sheppard decided to start moving backwards and was taking quite a bit of punishment from Robinson to the body and head.

In the third round Robinson continued to dominate. In the fourth and final round do to a clash of heads Sheppard took a knee. When time resumed Robinson jumped all over Sheppard landing a barrage of punches having Sheppard hanging over the ropes facing the crowd when referee Dali had no choice but to halt the contest. A jubilant Robinson said “I took the fight on a weeks notice.”

Super featherweight Roberto “Infamous” Irizarry, 4-1-1 (0), of Camden, NJ, defeated southpaw Bryan Perez Nevarez, 2-8-1 (1), of Carolina, PR, over 4 close rounds.

In the first two rounds it was the southpaw Nevarez landing several overhand lefts to the chin of Irizarry. At the 10 second warning ending the first round there was a clash of heads as the time ran out ending the round.

In the third round Irizarry got his best punch in up until then a lead right to the chin of Nevarez. In the fourth and final round both fighters let it all hang out. Nevarez had asked Irizarry to come in and fight and he should have watched what he asked for as Irizarry came in and fought.

All 3 officials had it 39-37. This writer had it 38-38.

In the first walkout bout light heavyweight Amir Shabazz, 4-2 (0), of Philadelphia, was stopped by Alan Lawrence, 2-0 (2), of Newark, NJ, at 1:24 of the first round.

In the first round of action a crushing left hook from Lawrence to the chin of Shabazz dropped him under the ropes. Referee Eric Dali immediately waved it off.

In the second walkout bout welterweight Rasheed Johnson, 2-1 (1), of Philadelphia, knocked out Demetrius Williams, 1-4 (0), of Philadelphia, at 0:36 of the first round.

It was all over in the first round when Johnson landed a lead right hand flattening Williams. Referee Esteves didn’t even have to count.

The ring announcer was Alex Barbosa. It was a very large crowd with Eleven Sports broadcasting the event.

Posted on 09/29/2017

By: Ken Hissner

King Promotion held a press conference at the 2300 Arena in South Philly Wednesday night the CEO Marshall Kauffman announced that the proposed main event between Junior Castillo and Gabriel Pham is off. Both fighters this writer had been told suffered training injuries.

With a solid undercard Kauffman moved Philly’s unbeaten bantamweight Christian Carto, 11-0 (11) into his first 8 round bout. Carto will meet his toughest opponent today against opponent Alonso “El Elegate” Melendez 14-1 (12), of Chihuahua, MEXICO.

Carto is a former National Golden Gloves champion who lets his fists “do his talking” in the ring! He was scheduled to fight in Philly on September 22nd but his trainer Mickey Rosati was away so they were fortunate to get this opening on short notice.

Melendez 14-1 (12) will be making his US debut and first fight in two years. He is tall and thin and in obvious good shape while speaking through his trainer.

“11 Sports Network will be showing what is a solid undercard and a new and stronger main event. We will donate $1.00 from each ticket and from the 50-50 tickets half the earnings to those suffering in Puerto Rico,” said Kauffman.

The opening bout on the televised portion of the event will have a long waited match-up between Philly’s southpaw Jerome Conquest, 8-2 (1), and Pennsauken, NJ, lightweight Carlos Rosario, 7-2 (4). “I promote Rosario and when both parties agreed I immediately made this match,” said Kauffman.

Welterweight Mykal Fox, 14-0 (4), of Forestville, MD, is pitted against Marion Aguas, 9-1 (6), of Quito, ECU. Philly super lightweight Maynard Allison, 9-1 (6), will meet Juan Rodriguez, 7-7-1 (5), of Haymarket, VA.

Super lightweight David Gonzales, 8-2-2 (2), of Philly meets Darius Ervin, 4-1 (0), of L.A. Super welterweight Erik Spring, 10-1-2 (1), Reading, PA, takes on Anthony Prescott, 6-7-2 (2), of Cherry Hill, NJ.

Other young Philly talents like Tyrone Crawley, 7-0 (0), Brandon Robinson, 6-1 (5), and Amir Shabazz, 4-1 (1), will be featured.

Doors open at the 2300 Arena at 6pm with the first fight scheduled at 7:15pm. It will be an 11 bout card.

Posted on 09/13/2017

Compiled By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of September 5th to September 12th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

Sergey Kovalev to Face Vyacheslav Shabranskyy on November 25th

Former Unified Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-2-1, 26 KOs) returns to the ring Saturday, November 25 at The Theater Madison Square Garden to take on hard-hitting contender Vyacheslav “Lion-Heart Chingonskyy” Shabranskyy (19-1, 16 KOs) in a 10-round light heavyweight showdown.

Kovalev vs. Shabranskyy will be promoted by Main Events and Krusher Promotions in association with Golden Boy Promotions, and televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets for this exciting event will go on sale soon.

The Krusher, 34, from Chelyabinsk, Russia, rose to the top of the pound-for-pound rankings as he quickly tore through the light heavyweight division, stopping 26 of his 33 opponents. He won the WBO Light Heavyweight Title from Nathan Cleverly in 2013 when he stopped the then-unbeaten champion in Cleverly’s backyard. After three straight title defenses, all knockouts, Kovalev dominated future Hall-of-Famer Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins in a unanimous decision shutout to add the WBA and IBF belts to his collection. He continued his run as the unified light heavyweight champion for two more years before meeting undefeated champion and Olympic gold medalist Andre “SOG” Ward in Las Vegas and on HBO pay-per-view. Kovalev dropped two controversial and hard-fought losses to the current pound-for-pound king.

Now, Sergey Kovalev is ready to write the next chapter of his career. Before returning to the United States from a summer in Russia, he spent time at a monastery in Greece to clear his head and prepare mentally and spiritually for his climb back to the top of his division. Kovalev said, “I learned a lot from my fights with Andre Ward. When you don’t win and when you suffer adversity, it makes you stronger.

It also shows you who your real friends are. I feel like I cleaned out my life and now I’m ready to start fresh. I’m very excited to get back in the ring, and fight at Madison Square Garden for the first time, and I’m focused on the future. I’m not looking back.”

Shabranskyy, 30 of Zhytomyr, Ukraine, and fighting out of Los Angeles, California has quickly made a name for himself in the light heavyweight division. “Slava” made his professional debut in 2012 with 17 straight victories and 14 knockouts. His only career blemish is a hard-fought TKO loss to Sullivan Barrera, the Cuban sensation who is currently ranked #3 by the WBC and #2 by the WBA at light heavyweight. Since his loss to Barrera, Shabranskyy has two straight wins both coming by way of knockout including his most recent win over Todd Unthank May where he secured the WBC USNBC Light Heavyweight Title. This is Shabranskyy’s opportunity to shoot to the top of his division if he can pull off an upset of the former unified champion.

“I’ve been waiting for this fight a long time. I will take this chance to show everyone my abilities and qualities in the ring,” Shabranskyy said. “My coach, Manny Robles and I have been working on movement and defense, which together with my natural power will be more than enough to defeat a great fighter such as Kovalev. I’m proud to represent USA and Ukraine at this fight.”

Main Events CEO Kathy Duva said, “The Theater at Madison Square Garden is really a perfect place for Sergey to start the next chapter of his career. He needs to go out and remind people why they love the Krusher. Sergey is an exciting fighter who is a pleasure to watch in the ring and that’s what everyone is going to see on November 25th.”

“Vyacheslav Shabranskyy is back, and ready to prove he will do everything to climb to the top, including facing a top-level fighter such a Kovalev.” said Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya. “Shabranskyy is stronger and smarter inside the ring, and will show off his mastered talent when he faces Sergey. We are excited to partner with Kathy Duva and the Main Events team yet again for an amazing show that will no doubt bring the action.”

About Kovalev-Shabranskyy: The Saturday, November 25 bout between Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev and Vyacheslav Shabranskyy is a 10-round light heavyweight match-up at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The event is promoted by Main Events and Krusher Promotions in association with Golden Boy Promotions and will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

World Boxing Super Series to Feature Murat Gassiev vs. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk

World Boxing Super Series action comes to the east coast as the cruiserweight quarter-final showdown between IBF champion Murat “Iron” Gassiev (24-0, 17 KOs) and former world champion Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (53-3-1, 37 KOs) is set for Saturday, October 21 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Promoted by Ringstar Sports in association with World Boxing Super Series, tickets for the live event are on sale now and are available at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets will also be available to purchase at the Prudential Center box office beginning Monday, September 11 at 11 a.m.

“It’s a great pleasure to promote this exciting World Boxing Super Series matchup,” said Richard Schaefer, Chairman and CEO of Ringstar Sports. “Murat Gassiev is clearly one of the top cruiserweights in the world but he will have a great obstacle against the battle-tested former champion Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, who will have a big boost from the raucous Polish fans in New Jersey. Prudential Center is the perfect venue for this event and I know that the fans will enjoy this matchup as both men vie for the Muhammad Ali Trophy.”

“It’s so exciting that the Ali Trophy is coming to a fighting place like New Jersey,” said Kalle Sauerland, Comosa’s Chief Boxing Officer. “Hold tight and enjoy the ride, October 21 is going to be a unique experience, think ‘Game of Thrones’ meets boxing. Can’t wait!”

A full slate of undercard bout will be announced soon.

“I promise that I’m going to come to the ring to win and do everything possible to get this victory,” said Gassiev. “I want to take advantage of this opportunity to fight the best boxers in my weight class.”

“I have a very serious opponent in Krzysztof Wlodarczyk who is a two-time world champion and his resume speaks for itself. He has fought the best and I’m looking forward to a very hard fight.”

“It is a great honor for me to fight in the World Boxing Super Series for the Muhammad Ali Trophy,” said Wlodarczyk. “I trained for two weeks in the Polish mountains and now I am back in Warsaw putting in the work for October 21.”

“I am very happy to have the opportunity to fight a champion like Murat Gassiev. He is a young, strong champion like I was a few years ago but I am ready to show that I am still the best in the division.”

One of the hardest punchers in the sport, Gassiev trains with Abel Sanchez in Big Bear, California and hails from Vladikavkaz, Russia. The 23-year-old made his U.S. debut in 2015 and delivered four straight knockout victories, including a “Knockout of the Year” contender when he flattened Jordan Schimmel in the first round in May 2016. Gassiev then challenged Denis Lebedev in Russia last December and was able to drop the champion on his way to winning the IBF title.

Fighting out of Piaseczno, Poland, Wlodarczyk first became a world champion when he defeated Steve Cunningham in 2006 to capture the IBF crown. After fighting to a draw against WBC Champion Giacobbe Fragomeni in 2009, Wlodarczyk stopped Fragomeni in their 2010 rematch to become a champion again. He would go on to defend the title six times and enters his October 21 matchup on a four fight winning streak.

California’s Most Exciting Prospects and Contenders to be Part of Linares-Campbell Undercard

California’s most exciting prospects and contenders will showcase their talent on the explosive non-televised undercard of the lightweight showdown between Jorge “El Niño de Oro” Linares (42-3, 27 KOs) and Luke Campbell (17-1, 14 KOs) for the WBA, WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine Lightweight World Championship on Saturday, Sept. 23 at the “Fabulous” Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The Linares vs. Campbell non-televised undercard action will be live streamed on RingTV.com beginning at 3:00 p.m. PT/ 6:00 p.m. ET.

As previously announced, super lightweight contender Antonio “Relentless” Orozco (26-0, 17 KOs) of San Diego, Calif. will make the first defense of his WBC USNBC Super Lightweight title against veteran Roberto “Massa” Ortiz (35-1-2, 26 KOs) in the co-main televised opening bout.

Topping the non-televised portion of the card, Filipino lightweight sensation Romero Duno (14-1, 13 KOs) will take on Juan Sanchez (29-13, 14 KOs) of Tabasco, Mexico in an eight-round lightweight fight. Duno, a member of the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif. was last seen in the U.S. blasting Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez in only two rounds in a knockout upset on the March 10 edition of LA FIGHT CLUB. Duno then stopped Jason Tinampay via second-round technical knockout in June in his return to the Philippines. This will be Duno’s first fight on U.S. soil since signing with Golden Boy Promotions earlier this year.

Azat Hovhannisyan (12-2, 10 KOs), a member of the Glendale Fighting Club, will return in a 10-round fight for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Super Bantamweight title against Sergio Frias (19-7-2, 10 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico. Hovhannisyan was last seen in the ring headlining the June edition of LA FIGHT CLUB, beating Isao Carranza by unanimous decision.

Contender Abraham “Chamaco” Lopez (22-1-1, 15 KOs)of La Puente, Calif. will fight in an eight-round featherweight bout against Isao Carranza (15-9-1, 9 KOs) of Mexico City. Lopez will return after his first professional loss, which was against Jesus Rojas, who will now fight Claudio Marrero for the interim WBA Featherweight title on Sept. 15 edition of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN.

Manuel “Tino” Avila (22-1, 8 KOs) of Fairfield, Calif. will also return to the ring in an eight-round featherweight bout against Ramiro Robles (14-6-1, 9 KOs) of Queretaro, Mexico. Avila suffered his first defeat against Joseph “Jojo” Diaz, Jr. in May 2017, and will look to return to his climb of the competitive126-pound division with a win on Sept. 23.

Rafael “El Alikin” Gramajo (8-1-1, 2 KOs) of Los Angeles’ Westside Boxing Club will open the night of boxing in his return after more than a year away from the ring in a six-round super bantamweight fight against Pedro Melo (17-15-2, 8 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico.

AIBA Statement on Interference During 2017 African Continental Championships

Following an incident on 25 June 2017, during the AFBC African Boxing Continental Championships hosted by the Congolese Boxing Federation (Fecoboxe) in Brazzaville, Congo and in light of reports made by AIBA officials present at the tournament, the AIBA Disciplinary Commission has decided to exclude Fecoboxe from organising any AIBA competition for two years and suspend with immediate effect the President of the African Boxing Federation (AFBC), AIBA Vice President and member of the Executive Committee, Mr Kelani Bayor, from all boxing activities, duties and responsibilities for a period of three years.

The Disciplinary Commission found that a hostile and threatening reaction to AIBA officials by spectators after the result of a bout on the last day of the competition was exacerbated by comments from Mr Bayor, who committed serious and unacceptable violations of the AIBA Disciplinary Code. The intimidation felt by AIBA officials as a result of insufficient security planning from Fecoboxe, their inadequate response to the situation and Mr Bayor’s own actions, was fully outlined in the Tournament Supervisor’s written report. The Commission’s decision was also based on written testimony from the majority of those officials present. The Commission’s decision is final and is not subject to appeal.

Christian Carto to Face Alonso Melendez on September 29

Undefeated bantamweight sensation, knockout artist, Christian Carto has been added to an already loaded night of boxing on Friday night, September 29th at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.

Carto (11-0, 11 KOs) is set to take on Alonso Melendez (14-1, 11 KOs) of Chihuahua, Mexico in a bout scheduled for eight-rounds.

The show is promoted by King’s Promotions.

The 20 year-old continues to step up in competition, and on September 29th, he will be taking on his toughest foe in Melendez.

Carto has kept extremely busy as he fought all eleven of his bouts in a 13-month span, with his latest being a 2nd round stoppage over Phillip Adyaka on August 11th in front of a sold-out crowd at SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia.

He will be making his 1st appearance at the 2300 Arena.

Melendez will making his United States debut. He has won three in a row, and the five-year professional has a win over previously undefeated Edgar Garcia. Alonso is coming off a 7th round stoppage over Jesus Limones on September 9, 2015 in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Carlos Rosario (7-2, 4 KOs) of Pennsuaken, New Jersey and Jerome Conquest (8-2, 1 KO) of Philadelphia will meet in a highly anticipated eight-round lightweight bout.

In a ten-round super middleweight attraction, Junior Castillo (14-1, 10 KOs) of the Dominican Republic takes on Gabriel Pham (9-1, 4 KOs) of Atlantic City.

Mykal Fox (14-0, 4 Kos) of Forestville, MD will take on Marlon Aguas (9-1, 4 KOs) of Quioto Ecuador in a eight-round welterweight bout.

In six-round bouts:

Maynard Allison (9-1, 6 KOs) of Philadelphia meets Juan Rodriguez (7-7-1, 5 Kos) of Haymarket, Virginia in a junior lightweight bout.

David Gonzales (8-2-2, 2 KOs) of Philadelphia battles Darius Ervin (4-1) of Los Angeles in a super lightweight bout.

Erik Spring (9-1-2, 1 KO) of Reading, PA will fight Anthony Prescott (6-7-2, 2 KOs) of Cherry Hill, NJ in a super welterweight fight.

Posted on 08/12/2017

By: Ken Hissner

Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotions in Association with David Feldman returned before a standing room only crowd to the SugarHouse Casino Friday night with a 10 bout card.

In the Main Event South Philadelphia sensation Christian Carto, 11-0 (11), stopped Ugandan out of St. Paul, MN, Phillip Adyako, 7-10 (4), at 2:43 of the second round.

As Carto took his walk to the ring the many supporters of him were on their feet cheering. In the opening round Carto looked much taller than Adyako and used his jab effectively keeping Adyako on the defense. Carto landed a right to the body followed by a left hook to the head of Adyako. Halfway through the round Carto landed a lead right followed with a left hook both to the head rocking Adyako. Just prior to the bell Carto landed a pair of left uppercuts to the chin and followed by a left hook to the head of Adyako.

In the second round Carto landed a left hook to the head of Adyako knocking him back several feet stunning him. Carto jumped on Adyako landing a dozen unanswered punches without return causing referee Gary Rosato to wave it off.
Carto is scheduled September 22nd at the SugarHouse Casino. In the corner for Carto were trainer Mickey Rosati, Jr., and cut-man Joey Eye.

In the co-feature super welterweight southpaw Erik Spring, 10-1-2 (1), of Reading, pulled out a majority decision over southpaw David Wilson, 5-1-1 (1), out of New Haven, CT, over 6 rounds.

In the opening round both southpaws used their jabs for the first minute until Wilson opened up with Spring countering. A lead left from Wilson to the chin of Spring rocked him. In the second round both boxers opened up with wild right hooks. Wilson used several left uppercuts to the body and chin of Spring to control the round having Spring on the defense.
In the third round Spring landed a good combination making Wilson tie him up. It was a wild swinging round with more misses than landing punches.

In the fourth round Wilson continued to be the aggressor landing lead overhand lefts followed by right uppercuts keeping Spring on the defense. Both continued throwing haymakers with few landing. In the fifth round Spring started fast going to the body of Wilson digging in uppercuts. Spring became more aggressive backing Wilson up though the latter got his punches in. Spring seemed to pull out the round. In the sixth and final round Spring came out fast landing right hooks to the head of Wilson who came back with little in return. It was the best round of the bout with Spring rocking Wilson with a lead left to the chin. Wilson suffered a slight cut to the left eye brow. Referee was Blair Talmadge.

Judge LaRosa had it 57-57 while judges Hill and Poturaj had it 58-56. This writer had it 57-57.

Both boxers were returning to the ring after 2 years. Whitmore entered the ring with his usual Afro wig, gold chain and sun glasses to the delight of the fans. Cruiserweight Khalib “Big Foot” Whitmore, 6-2 (5), of Philly, was stopped by Elvin Sanchez, 8-3-1 (6), Paterson, NJ, at 1:54 of the second round scoring a knockdown.

In the opening round Whitmore landed a straight left to the chin of Sanchez stopping him in his tracks. Sanchez midway through the round landed a solid left hook to the head of Whitmore. Both showed some ring rust. In the second Sanchez came out southpaw and it was bombs away for both fighters with Whitmore getting the best of it. A left uppercut by Sanchez to the chin of Whitmore put him down. He got up after referee Rosato’s count but looked out of it. Sanchez jumped all over Whitmore driving him into a neutral corner causing referee Rosato to call a halt. Whitmore wasn’t happy with the stoppage but it looked like the right call.

In the fight of the night Super featherweight Antonio “The Tiger” Dubose, 9-2-1 (2), of Philly, scored a knockdown in an action packed fight defeating Josh Manuel Crespo, 7-5-3 (3), of New Haven, CT, over 6 rounds.

In the opening round Dubose rocked Crespo with an overhand right to the chin. Crespo came right back with a right to the chin of Dubose. In an all action packed round Dubose seemed to pull it out. In the second round it was Dubose rocking Crespo with a straight right to the side of the head. Dubose landed five unanswered punches before Crespo landed a body shot. Dubose got the fans to their feet dropping Crespo with a flurry of punches. After referee Talmadge’s 8-count from a Dubose flurry of punches Crespo got up but seemed lucky to be saved by the bell. In the third round Dubose used a variety of punches easily taking the round as Crespo seemed to take the round off.

In the fourth round the action continued with Crespo going to the body with uppercuts. Dubose was on the defense up until the 10 second warning and had Crespo out on his feet starting with a lead right to the chin following up with a combination at the bell. In the fifth round a low blow by Crespo gave Dubose only about 15 seconds to rest. Near the end of an action packed round Dubose missed with a lead right but followed with a left hook to the head of Crespo getting his attention. In the sixth and final round Crespo looking for a knockout landed a 3-punch combination to the body and head of Dubose who was using an effective jab up until then. Crespo’s legs seemed shaky but kept plodding forward until a Dubose right to the chin stopped him in his tracks near the end of the round and the fight. The fans appreciated this scrap.

Judges Adam Friscia and John Poturaj scored it 58-55 while judge Dewey LaRosa and this writer had it 60-53.

Super middleweight Brandon “B-Rob” Robinson, 5-1 (4), of Upper Darby, PA, destroyed Shane Pearson, 2-2 (2), of Statesville, NC, at 0:25 of the second round by technical KO.

In the opening round Pearson was the aggressor though throwing few punches as Robinson was content in countering and doing it well. In the second round Robinson returned to form and landed a dozen unanswered punches. Referee Talmidge was stepping in and backed out until Pearson hit the canvas face down. Talmidge immediately called in the ringside physician without a count.

Welterweight southpaw Vinnie Floyd, 3-3-1 (2), of Philly, lost to Marquis “Marvelous” Taylor, 7-1 (0), out of Houston, TX, over 6 round’s.

In the first round it was ugly with too much holding mostly on Taylor’s part. Floyd did just enough to take the round. Floyd was trying to make it a fight but Taylor was jabbing and grabbing. In the second round Taylor pushed Floyd to the ropes with borderline punches with Floyd landing one chopping left getting Taylor off of him. Floyd followed up with a pair of straight lefts to Taylor’s head knocking him back several feet. In the third round it was more of the same with Taylor getting away with rabbit punches and questionable low punches.

In the fourth round Taylor landed another rabbit punch on the back of Floyd’s head getting a warning from referee Rosato. Taylor keeps coming in low landing body shots. Floyd allows Taylor to push him to the ropes landing only too few counter lefts to the head of Taylor In the fifth round Taylor rocked Floyd with an overhand right to the chin. Taylor got warned for a low blow from referee Rosato. Floyd can’t seem to get untracked with Taylor pushing him to the ropes and using so many dirty tactics. In the sixth and final round Taylor landed a solid left hook to the chin of Floyd. Taylor landed half a dozen unanswered punches having Floyd backed to the ropes. For Floyd it was a learning experience.

All 3 judges, Hill, Frisica and LaRosa had it 60-54. This writer had it 59-55.

Super lightweight Demetrius Williams, 1-3 (0), of Philly, lost a lackluster decision to Reading southpaw Kashon Hutchinson, 3-3 (1), over 4 rounds.

In the opening round southpaw Hutchinson seemed to take an edge in a close round. In the second round it was Williams taking control in taking the round. In the third round it seemed Williams got very defensive giving Hutchinson the round. In the fourth and final round with Hutchinson continuing coming forward mostly landing the jab and an occasional straight left seemed to want it more. Williams landed several lead rights but not enough to take the round. Talmadge was the referee.

All 3 judges along with this writer had it 39-37.

Bantamweight Jerrod “Golden” Minor, Philly, 1-0 (1) halted Steven Lopez, 0-2 (0), of Philly, at 2:34 of the 4th and last round. Referee Rosato’s stoppage was questionable even though Minor won every round. Lopez deserved to go the distance. It was a slugfest throughout all four rounds.

Super lightweight southpaw Shamsudden “Silent Killa” Justice, 1-0 (1), of Philly, in his debut halted late sub Matthew “Titos” Gosalves, 0-3 (0), of Lancaster, PA, at 2:11 of the 4th and final round.

In the first round it was all Justice trying to go for an early knockout. Halfway through the round Gosalves finally settled down from being on the run to stand his ground. Gosalves was a late substitute. In the second round Justice chased and Gosalves survived. Near the end of the round Justice finally decided to go to the body with a three punch combination hurting Gosalves.

In the third round Justice continued with uppercuts to the body. With plenty of fans behind him Justice seemed to want to play to the crowd instead of concentrating on doing what his father-trainer Zahir Justice wanted him to do. In the fourth and final round you could sense referee Rosato wanted to stop the lopsided match and did to the regret of Gosalves.

Houston, TX, Cruiserweight Christian Montano, 2-0 (1), scored 3 knockdowns in stopping Dameron Kirby, 0-1 (0), of Wash. DC.

Marc Abrams was the publicist. Alex Barbosa was the Ring Announcer. Fred Blumstein was the timekeeper. Kings Promotion will be back September 29th at the 2300 Arena.

Posted on 05/12/2017

Philadelphia’s Unbeaten Little Big Men Christian Carto & Manny Folly!
By: Ken Hissner

Philadelphia had a WBA World Bantamweight champion back in the early 80’s named “Joltin” Jeff Chandler, 33-2-2 (18). In November of 1980 he stopped Julian Solis, 21-0, for the WBA bantamweight title. He was the first American in 30 years to hold the bantamweight title.

Chandler won both the USBA & NABF titles and as world champion had nine successful title defenses. He knocked out Solis in a rematch and also stopped Japan’s Eijiro Murata, 18-0-3, having been held to a draw in Japan in their first title encounter. He stopped fellow Philadelphian Johnny “Dancing Machine” Carter, 23-1, who he lost to in his short amateur career. In 1983 he defeated future Hall of Famer Gaby Canizales, 24-1. Later that year he lost a non-title fight to Oscar Muniz, 35-3-3, out of L.A. He would stop Muniz in a title fight before the year was out.

In April of 1984 Chandler was stopped and lost his title to Richie Sandoval, 22-0, in which would be his last fight. He would undergo removal of a traumatic cataract from his left eye and retire shortly afterwards. J Russell Peltz was his promoter and is an IBHOF inductee and still promoting in Philadelphia. You would almost think this is an article about Chandler who was inducted into both the World Boxing Hall of Fame and the IBHOF.

Chandler was introduced into the ring recently on April 29th at the Temple University Liacouras Center where he watch Philadelphia bantamweight Christian Carto, 9-0 (9), score his ninth straight knockout in a row since turning professional. As usual Carto stole the show with his performance. He was the National Golden Gloves champion in 2015 and is trained by former amateur success Mickey Rosati in his trainer’s gym over his auto body shop in South Philadelphia.

Carto’s brother Frank is an amateur and his father Frank recently said “Manny and Christian have sparred together many times”. Carto comes from a long line of boxers with two uncles and a grandfather who boxed. Hard Hitting Promotions has been promoting him since he turned professional in July of 2016. His next fight should be at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, sometime in June. He is a boxer-puncher.

The other “little big man” is super bantamweight Manny “Major Pain” Folly, 10-0 (8), out of Philadelphia who has served on the city Police force for the past three years. He trains out of the Rock Ministry Gym in the Kensington section of the city under owner, trainer and manager Buddy Osborn who also had a successful amateur career. In his last bout he stopped veteran Luis Hinojosa, 30-10, at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia. He too, usually is fighter of the night.

Before turning professional in 2013 Folly was a Bronze Medalist in the National Golden Gloves. It’s been a lot more difficult for this 25 year-old since he has worked on swing shift to squeeze in a professional boxing career only averaging two fights a year. He reminds one of a “back-in-the Day” boxer with a Philadelphia style of boxer-puncher.

Both Carto and Folly have a large following and with a combined record of 19-0 with 17 knockouts one would suspect a good following. Besides they are two of the nicest and respectful young boxers out of the city.So Philadelphia has not only one “big little man” but two. Keep your eye on both of them in the future!

Posted on 04/30/2017

Tevin “American Idol” Farmer and Christian Carto Win in Philly!
By: Ken Hissner

Hard Hitting Promotions Manny Rivera and Will Ruiz put on a great show at another new location featuring world contender and NABF super featherweight champion and world contender Tevin “American Idol” in the main event Saturday night at the Temple University Liacouras Center in Philadelphia.

Super featherweight Tevin “American Idol” Farmer, 24-4-1 (5), of Philadelphia won his 18th straight fight defending his NABF title and defeating Arturo Santos Reyes, 19-7 (5), of Sonora, MEX,
The first round was a feeling out round with southpaw Farmer winning it. In the second round both exchanged hooks to the head. Farmer may have hurt his right arm or hand landing a punch. His trainer Raul “Chino” Rivas was massaging his arm. In the third round Farmer is switching from southpaw to orthodox not using his right but spairingly. Reyes is taking advantage of this doing well in the round. In the fourth round Reyes landed a solid combination to the head of Farmer who came right back using both hands. Farmer landed a good left uppercut to the jaw of Reyes who came back with solid combinations.

In the fifth round it was very close with Farmer using the right more and may have edged it out over Reyes. In the sixth round Farmer looked like his old self a boxer on a 17 fight winning streak. Reyes keeps chasing him getting countered but getting his punches in especially to the body. In the seventh round it was another close round with plenty of action. Farmer seems to be pulling out the close rounds but Reyes isn’t giving him any breathing room. In the eighth round Farmer is on the attack with Reyes getting in several right uppercuts but Farmer simply outworked Reyes.

In the ninth round Farmer landed a hard countering left uppercut to the chin of Reyes. Reyes came back landing half a dozen punches without return before Farmer fought back out of a peek-a-boo defense. Farmer landed a solid left hand to the chin of Reyes at the bell. Reyes seemed to pull out the round. In the tenth and final round turned out to be the best round of the fight with both boxers letting it all hang out. Referee Shawn Clark warned Farmer for an accidental head butt. Both boxers put on a good show up until the end.

Super lightweight Samuel “Sunami” Teach, 10-1-1 (4), of Philadelphia, stopped Efran “Macho” Cruz, 4-4-1 (1), of Vieques, PR, at 1:40 of the fourth and final round in a war!

In the first round Teah landed a 3-punch combination but Cruz came back. Near the end of a very good round Teach rocked Cruz with a straight right to the head. In the second round both boxers scored hard rights knocking each others heads back. It’s an action packed round. With seconds to go Teach landed a hard right while backed into a corner with Cruz countering with a left hook to the head. Just before the bell Teach rocked Cruz with a right uppercut to the chin.

In the third round Teah landed a double right uppercut to the chin of Cruz who came right back at Teah. In the fourth and final round Teach countered Cruz who was swarming all over him in a corner. Teah rocked Cruz with a right uppercut to the chin had Cruz out on his feet when another right dropped him on his back. Referee Dali stepped in and waved the fight off. In the corner of Teah were “Bozy” Ennis and assistant Rashiem Jefferson.

Bantamweight Christian Carto, 9-0 (9), of Philadelphia, fought a flawless fight stopping a tough Sammy “Panterita” Gutierrez, 14-19-5 (5), of Saltillo, MEX, at the end of the fifth of a six round bout.

In the first round Carto started the action with a left jab followed by a left hook to the body. A right by Carto to the head of Gutierrez had him hurt. Carto landed a 3-punch combination on two occasions. Carto was almost flawless. In the second round Carto landed a 4-punch combination. Cruz finally opened up with a flurry. Gutierrez became the aggressor in a well fought round with Carto countering him. In the third round Gutierrez landed his best punch of the bout an overhand right to the head of Carto. Carto came right back with a flurry. A Carto combination rocked Gutierrez. At the ten second to go in the round mark Carto landed half a dozen punches without return.

In the fourth round Carto started off landing ten punches before Gutierrez landed one in return. In the fifth round a Carto double chopping right got Gutierrez’s attention. Near the end of the round Carto rocked Gutierrez’s head back. In the fifth round a double right from Carto to the head of Gutierrez and down he went. Up with a swelled right eye he tried fighting back as Carto rocked him with a right to the head at the bell. Gutierrez’s corner stopped the fight in between rounds. Referee was Dali.

Carto put on a “clinic” and is a pleasure to watch and what a crowd pleaser. The humble Carto is a young man of few words. He let’s his fists do the talking after each fight. In his corner was former amateur star Mickey Rosato. “He was a very experienced fighter and it was good getting the rounds in,” said Carto. He is a show stealer every time he appears on a card!

Lightweight 17 year-old Branden “The Gift” Pizarro, 5-0 (2), of Philadelphia, defeated Chris Gutierrez, 0-3 (0), of Greenville, TX, over four rounds.
In the first round it was all Pizarro being one of the most relaxed young talents out of Philly. Gutierrez came out southpaw and switched back with much offense. In the second round Pizarro rocked Gutierrez with a lead right to the chin. Gutierrez is using dirty tactics knowing he is being out fought. In the third round it was all Pizarro with Gutierrez continuing with foul tactics trying to offset the young Pizarro from landing a big punch.

In the third round Pizarro continues to stay a step ahead of Gutierrez. In the fourth and final round Pizarro is doing too much posing playing to the crowd. Gutierrez woke him up with a combination to the head. A solid left hook to the head of Gutierrez had him reeling. Angel Pizarro the father and “Bozy” Ennis worked the corner.

Judges Hill and Grant had it 40-36 as did this writer. Werlinsky had it 39-37.
In the opening bout light heavyweight, David “One-Two Punch” Murray, 6-1 (5), of Wilmington, DE, in a war came off the canvas twice to stop Sammy “The Russian Concussion” Horowitz, 6-3-1 (5), of Chicago, IL, at 1:26 of the fourth and last round.

In the first round it was all Murray up until 10 seconds left in the round when Horowitz landed a right to the chin of Murray who went down on the seat of his pants. Referee Clark counted to 8 while the bell had sounded. In the second round Horowitz was cut on the left eyebrow from a Murray right hand. Murray landed half a dozen punches without return near the end of the round.

In the third round a Murray right to the head had Horowitz out on his feet. Horowitz came back with a right of his own to the head of Murray dropping him.

In the fourth and final round Murray rocked Horowitz back several steps having him out on his feet. Referee Clark jumped in and stopped the fight with Horowitz complaining about the stoppage while against the ropes.

This was a second Annual Urban League fund raiser after the professional boxing card. Numerous former boxing people were introduced into the ring by ring announcer Pat Michael Fattore like Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins, Buster “The Demon” Drayton, Steve “USS” Cunningham, Jason “El Canito” Sosa, Mike “The Jewish Bomber” Rossman, “Joltin” Jeff Chandler, Charlie “Choo Choo” Brown, Fred Pendleton, Vernoca Michael, Tim Witherspoon, Jr., Dwight Qawi Muhammad, Jackie “Sister Smoke” Frazier, Mitch Allen, Damon Allen, Charles “Hatchet” Brewer and at ringside Willie Gibbs, “Hammerin” Hank Lundy, Garrett “The Ultimate Warrior” Wilson, Angel Pizarro, Jr., Jerome Conquest and Greg Hackett.
Hard Hitting will be back in June at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City with “The New” Ray Robinson in the main event.

Posted on 04/26/2017

Tevin “American Idol” Farmer at Liacouras Center Saturday!
By: Ken Hissner

At Temple Universities Liacouras Center in Philadelphia Saturday Tevin “American Idol” Farmer, 24-4-1 (5), of Philly is in the main event against Arthur Santos Reyes, 19-7 (5), of Sonora, MEX, in a super featherweight 10 round match.

There will be a celebrity boxing event following the professional show of 5 bouts with some of the best prospects in the city.

On the undercard will be bantamweight Christian Carto, 8-0 (8), of Philly against Sammy Gutierrez, 14-18-5 (5), of Saltillo, MEX, in a 6 round match. Lightweight Branden Pizarro, 4-0 (2), of Philly will be against Chris Gutierrez, 0-2 (0), of Greenville, TX, in a 4.

Super lightweight Samuel “Sunami” Teah, 9-1-1 (3), of Philly is against Efrain Cruz, 4-3-1 (1), of Viegues, PR, in a 4. In a light heavyweight David “One-Two Punch” Murray, 5-1-1 (4), of Wilmington, DE, will be against Sam “The Russian Concussion” Horowitz, 6-2-1 (5), of Russia in a 4.

Posted on 02/04/2017

“The New” Ray Robinson Wins in Philly’s “Friday Night Boxing”!
By: Ken Hissner

Hard Hitting Promotions continue filling up the seats at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia with co-promoters Manny Rivera and Will Ruiz leading the way!

In the Main Event the WBC No. 9 welterweight contender “The New” Ray Robinson, 22-2 (11), Philly, knocked out Edwin Palacios, 12-5-1 (8), NIC, at 2:39 of the second round posting his eleventh straight win.

In the opening round the southpaw Robinson used an effective jab. Palacios landed a straight right to the chin of Robinson getting a reaction from the crowd. Just prior to the bell an overhand left by Robinson drove Palacios into the corner and down. He was up as the bell sounded.

In the second round Robinson became very aggressive landing a good body punch with a left hook. A straight left dropped Palacios who was holding his nose taking the count on one knee as referee Gary Rosato counted him out.

“I didn’t know until the weigh-in that Palacio was so tall. After a feeling out round my trainer (“Bozy” Ennis) and I figured it out to go to the body and it worked,” said Robinson. This win puts Robinson one step closer to moving up in the rankings and a title fight.

Bantamweight Christian Carto, 7-0 (7), of Philly, stopped Sergio Najera, 12-29-2 (6), of MEX, at 2:06 of the third round.

In the first round on two separate occasions a Carto jab put Najera back several steps. Near the end of the round Najera had Carto in a corner and landed several punches to the head of Carto who came back as the bell sounded. In the second round a roundhouse right by Najera landed on the neck of Carto. A lead right hand by Carto drove Najera into the ropes. With about ten seconds left in the round Carto rocked Najera with a right to the chin.

In the third round Najera continued to throw wild punches as Carto countered him well while avoiding those wild swings. Carto opened up with punches in bunches having Najera backing up taking a beating time and again when referee Talmadge saw enough and stepped in and waved it off saving Najera from any unnecessary punishment. Najera came in nine pounds over the contracted weight but was able to take three pounds off with Carto giving away five pounds. “I knew he was heavier than me but knew I would eventually catch up to him,” said Carto. That’s seven straight knockouts in as many fights.

Lightweight prospect Branden “The Gift” Pizarro, 3-0 (2), of Philly, knocked out Abdiel Padilla, 1-1 (1), of PR, at 2:52 of the first round.

In a mismatch Pizarro chased Padilla who mostly covered up but for some reason would end up in a corner and Pizarro would pummel him. When Padilla ended up in the opposite corner it was all over as Pizarro landed a flurry of body punches dropping Padilla to the canvas and not making an effort to get up as referee Bashir counted him out.

Super featherweight Cuban Hairon “El Maja” Socarras, 15-0-2 (10), of Miami, FL, outpointed German “Pan Teonero” Meraz, 55-41-1 (32), of Sonora, MEX, over six dull rounds.

About a minute into the round a combination from Socarras to the head and down went Meraz. Referee Rosato gave him the eight count and Meraz got up and managed to get to the end of the round. In the second and third rounds Socarras simply landed more punches then Meraz with some good left hooks to the body.

In the fourth and fifth rounds the pace continued with Meraz seemingly looking to coast to the distance. In the sixth and final round Socarras did enough to win the round and just before the bell sounded he landed his best punch since the first round a left hook to the chin of Meraz.

All three Steve Weisfeld, Alan Rubenstein and Anthony Lundy scored it 60-53 for Socarras.

Super featherweight Joseph “Blessed Hands” Adorno, 2-0 (2), out of Allentown, PA, knocked out Jonathan Hernandez, 0-4, PR, at 0:18 of the first round.

Adorno threw one punch a right hand to the head of Hernandez and down he went. The referee Blair Talmadge waved it off without a count knowing Hernandez was out before he hit the canvas. The ring physician immediately came into the ring. After close to ten minutes Hernandez was able to get up on his own and leave the ring.

Lightweight Victor Padilla, 2-0 (2), of Berlin, NJ, knocked out Tony Wilson, 0-2 (0), VA, at 0:30 of the first round.

Padilla went out fast looking for the knockout and it came that fast landing a combination to the chin of Wilson. Referee Bashir counted Wilson out on a knee.

Super flyweight Harold Lopez, 1-0 (1), of Allentown, PA, made his debut a good one when he knocked out Argenis Armando, 0-1 (0), at 0:57 of the first round in a mismatch.

In the opening round hit Armando about four times and down he went refusing to get up until the referee Talmadge said “ten”!

The opponent for Kali Reis, who is a former world champion never showed up. Kita Watkins who challenged for the world title three times made the weigh-in Thursday night but didn’t show up for the fight.

The fans seemed to enjoy all the early knockouts and continue to fill the arena at the SugarHouse Casino. A ten count was given for veteran trainer George James, the manager of Christian Carto Jimmy Binns, Jr., and the father of top cut-man Joey Eye after a long illness.