Tag Archives: Carto

Posted on 02/02/2017

Robinson, Socarras, Reis, Carto, Pizarro, Cuevas, Padilla & Adorno Friday in Philly!
By: Ken Hissner

Hard Hitting Promotions continues to fill the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia with fans and great fights! On Friday February 3rd it continues with Co-Promoters Manny Rivera and Will Ruiz featuring world contender southpaw “The New” Ray Robinson, 20-2 (10), in the main event for the second time in an 8 round bout.

At a Press Conference Wednesday night at the SugarHouse Casino nine showed up for the nine bout card. “Ray Robinson will be fighting for a world title by the end of the year (2017),” said Manny Rivera. Robinson is No. 9 in the WBC rankings dropped down from No. 5 after an auto accident sidelined him for 18 months. He makes no bones about it he wants a world title fight with fellow Philadelphia boxer and the WBC welterweight champion Danny “Swift” Garcia, 33-0 who is in a unification bout in March with WBA champion Keith Thurman. “I’ve been asking for this fight with Danny for years,“ said Robinson.

The undercard has Cuban Hairon “El Maga” Socarras, 14-0-2, out of Miami who meets 90+ bout veteran German “Pan Teonero” Meraz out of Sonora, MEX, over 6 rounds. Socarras is trained by legendary Cuban trainer Jorge Rubio. The boxer is returning to action after posting his second draw which was held in MEX in November of 2015. Now a super featherweight he won the interim WBC Latino super bantamweight title in Spain in 2014. Both he and Meraz were present.
In the other 6 round bout females Kali “KO Meainonoag” Reis, out of Providence, RI, the former WBC world champion takes on Kia Watkins, out of Tyler, TX, a former 3-time world title challenger in a middleweight bout. Former Philadelphia bantamweight National GG champion Christian Carto, 6-0 (6), takes on 40+ veteran Sergio Najera, of MEX, over 4 rounds.

Four of the top Latino prospects in the country help fill out the card featuring Philly’s 17-year old Branden Pizarro, 2-0 (1), against Abdiel Padilla, 1-0 (1), of PR, in a lightweight 4. “Branden Pizarro is a future world champion,” said Manny Rivera. Southpaw Philly lightweight Jeremy Cuevas, 2-0 (2), Allentown-Philly’s super featherweight Joseph “Blessed Hands” Adorno, 1-0 (1), Victor Padilla, 1-0 (1), out of Berlin, NJ, and Harold Lopez, Allentown-Philly’s debuting super flyweight are all featured in 4’s.
Doors open at 6pm and first bout at 7pm for this “Friday Night Boxing” event!

Posted on 12/27/2016

Philly’s Fab Four Turned Professional in 2016 and Are 23-0-1!
By: Ken Hissner

This was to be the year that five Philly boxers were to go to the Olympic in Brazil!The best looking prospect to come out of Philly since 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Meldrick Taylor in this writer’s opinion is Jaron “Boots” Ennis, 8-0 (7), from the Germantown section of Philly at 19. He was 58-3 in the amateurs. His father Bozy Ennis is his trainer and possibly the best in the city. Cameron Dunkin is his manager and Victory Promotions his promoter. He could have signed with Top Rank but Dunkin chose Victory a new name on the block ran by Chris Middendorf. Top Rank Promotions were not thrilled with Dunkin’s decision and neither was this writer.

Ennis defeated Gary Antuanne Russell in his first fight in the Olympic Trials and followed it with two more wins. Then in the box-off he lost back to back matches to Russell who was one of four men to go to the Olympics in Brazil. Bozy Ennis was not happy with the two losses but said “we beat him but they stole it. I’d give Russell the third time.”

Ennis made his professional debut in April in St. George Utah and stopped Cory Muldrew in 0:42 of the first round. He defeated Luis Ramos in 0:23 in Philly in May for his second win. In June he stopped Deshawn Debose in 0:20 of the first round in Springfield, VA, for his third win. Then in July for his third win he stopped Tavorus Teague at 1:38 of the fourth round in Rio Rancho, NM, for his fourth win.

In August in his fifth win he stopped Matt Murphy at 2:52 of the second round in Bristol, PA, for his fifth win. “Murphy had just stopped a 3-0 boxer in his previous fight,” said Ennis. He won his sixth fight when hedefeated Eddie Diaz at 2300 Arena in Philly on September 15th. Diaz was from Compton, CA, one of the toughest areas in the country. Ennis is 5:10 and after competing at 141 in the amateurs he’s now a welterweight but just a couple of pounds over 141.”He’s doing pretty good defeating all the opponents he’s fought so far. Even I don’t always realize when he switches from orthodox to southpaw. After seeing him in the Diaz fight I am moving he up to 147 and no more 143 fights,” said Ennis.

“Boots” won his seventh fight on November 11th at the 2300 Arena where he stopped Chris Alexander, 4-3, in 4 rounds. Then he won his eighth fight on December 10th at the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, PA, stopping Marcus Becker, 3-4-3, in the sixth and final round. “I will be back in the ring January 28th at the 2300 Arena that my promoter Chris Middendorf of Victory Promotions is running.

“Boots” two brothers have been pro’s first. Farah “Quiet Storm” won the NABF Super Middleweight while the oldest brother Derek “Pooh” Ennis won the USBA Super welterweight and the PA Super welterweight titles. “Boots” has a combination of both brothers and then some of his own. He is orthodox but fights some of his bouts southpaw. He trains at “Bozy’s Dungeon” in North Philly run by his father over top of Harrowgate’s Boxing Club on E. Venago Street off Kensington Avenue.

In 2015 “Boots” won the National Youth title in January. In May he won the National Golden Gloves title. He took lost in the Olympic Trials in December and was asked to be an alternate but his father turned it down to turn professional. At the Olympic Trial Qualifiers in Philly he won all five bouts.

Joshua Jones, 3-0-1 (2), signed with Dunkin and Victory Promotions along with Ennis. He trains at both Marion Anderson and Bozy’s Dungeon. Aaron Ford is assisted by“Bozy” Ennis. Jones is 23 and a Super lightweight. He made his debut in April in Utah along with “Boots” stopping Jason Thompson at 2:33 of the third round.

He was to fight in Philly along with “Boots” but hurt his hand. He is now scheduled to fight January 28th in Philly. In June both boxers were on the Springfield, VA, show where Jones stopped Christopher Kuhn at 1:52 of the first round. In July he fought to a majority draw with Ahmet Kayretli in Erie, PA, getting a 39-37 vote with the other two having it 38-38. “He could have done better but he certainly deserved the fight. The opponent came in at 139 and was 150 at fight time. Jones has a fight scheduled forNovember 11th in Philadelphia at 2300 Arena meeting Corey Edwards, 2-1. “I believe Boots, Tight and Christian are all great and I believe we will all do big things in boxing,” said Jones.

Darmani “Tight” Rock, 6-0 (4), is a super heavyweight at 6:05 and averaging just under 250. He is trained by his father Wayne “Wiz”. They go between their own Rock Solid Boxing Gym at 2840 Chatman Street in Frankford section of North Philly. His promoter is Jay Z’s Roc Nation. In 2014 he won the Youth World Title in Bulgaria and in 2015 the US Nationals. He also won the 2015 National Golden Gloves. He made it as far as the Olympic Trials semi-finals.
In May Rock turned pro in D.C. stopping Carlos Black at 1:54 in round one in D.C. In June he stopped Bobby Favors who weighed 402 lbs. at 1:46 of round one in Quincy, MASS. In July he stopped Hassan Lee at 2:21 in round one in Pittsburgh. In August he won over Mike Kyle in Oakland 40-35 and a pair of 39-37’s.He is 20.In October he stopped John Orr in Winchester, VA. On November 19th in Las Vegas, NV, he defeated Brice Ritani Coe, 4-4-1, by decision.

Rock is next scheduled January 20th at Bally’s Event Center in Atlantic City, NJ. “My dad has trained me since I started at 12 or 13. I feel that I will get better and better with each fight,” said Rock.

The final one of the Fab Four is Bantamweight Christian Carto, 6-0 (6), of South Philly was an Olympic Trials Bronze medalist and went to the training camp in Colorado to help others after the trials. He is trained by Mickey Rosati, Jr. Mickey was a PA State GG champion. His gym is over his Business Rosati’sAuto RepairShop at 1937 S. Chadwick St., in South Philly.“He is a rare breed who comes in the gym six days a week. I’ve trained him for the past 3 years. He’s a pleasure to train because he listens. He’s up to bantamweight,” said RosatiHe is managed by Jimmy Binns, Jr.of Binns Management out of Las Vegas.

Carto was the 108 National Golden Gloves Champion in 2014 defeating Leroy “Lucious” Davila who was No. 1 in the nation and 4-0 now as a pro. “I was with him when he beat Davila who was the best in the country,” said Rosati.Cartofinished third in the 2015 Golden Gloves. His father Frank is always there to support his son who is 20. His brother Frank, Jr. won the Novice at 141 in the Golden Gloves this year.

Carto turned pro at the Santander Arena in Reading, PA, stopping Rahkeem Parker who wouldn’t come out after three rounds. In his second bout he stopped Christopher Nelson at the Claridge Casino in Atlantic City in the third round just 20 days later after his debut. In August in his third bout he stopped Jonathan Hernandez at 1:02 of the second round at the SugarHouse Casino in Philly. In his fourth bout on October 28th Carto stopped Angel Carvajal, 2-4, in the second round.

In his fifth fight on November 12th he stopped Leonardo Reyes, 5-10, in the second round. Carto has a big following which showed in his last fight with all the Carto shirts. He boxes well with good balance and is finding some punching power in the professionals. He won his sixth straight at the Sugar House Casino in Philly on December 16th. He knocked out Harold Reyes, 2-6-1, in the second round. During the referee’s instructions to start the bout Reye’s trainer said “now you are in with a man.” Carto’s trainer Mickey Rosati said “I can’t believe he said that. That’s just not right.” After the first round of which Carto won big he pointed to the trainer of Reye’s in the corner saying something. After knocking Reye’s out in the second round Carto again pointed to the trainer with some choice words.

Two other Philly boxers Paul Kroll won the Olympic Trials but didn’t qualify for the Olympics while Mark Dawson fought to a draw in his debut and won his first fight in the Olympic Trials but suffered a cut and wasn’t able to go onto the next round. He is with Split-T Management under David Mc Water. He’s a former 2012 Jr. National PAL, 2013 Nation Silver Gloves, 2013 National Jr. Olympics and 2015 Youth Nationals champion with 75 amateur bouts. He is 19.

Posted on 12/22/2016

The Carto Legacy in Philadelphia Lives on with Christian Carto!
By: Ken Hissner

It all started with unbeaten 20 year-old Philly bantamweight Christian Carto’s Uncle Joe Carto in April of 1932. He was 3-0-1 boxing in Philadelphia. When he branched out to Pottsville, PA and Brooklyn, NY, he suffered back to back decision defeats and decided to hang up the gloves.

Carto’s grandfather lightweight Frankie Carto after winning the 1939 Philadelphia GG at 112, 1940 Philadelphia GG 118, Diamond Belt and Mid-Atlantic AAU titles in the amateurs decided to turn professional in May of 1941 at 18. He was kept busy having 12 fights in 8 months going 9-2-1 that year. He fought mostly in Philadelphia posting a 6-0 record but also fought in Wilmington, DE, Atlantic City, NJ, Baltimore, MD and White Plains, NY.

In 1942 Frankie won his first 9 fights before losing to contender Lulu Costantino, 60-3-5, by decision being his first loss in Philadelphia. He went 12-1 in 1942 improving his record to 21-3-1. In 1943 he won his first 4 fights including beating Sammy Parrotta, 28-6-6, in Pittsburgh. Then he hit a bad spell losing to Costantino again and a month later in their third meeting it ended in a draw. In his next fight he lost to former NYSAC World featherweight champion Chalky Wright, 139-33-17. He took the first two rounds and then Wright took over stopping him in the eighth. Less than a month later he lost to Pedro Hernandez, 51-13-4 by split decision in Baltimore. “Pedro was always dangerous,” said Frankie. He ended 1943 losing to Philly’s Eddie Giosa, 17-0 with only a 4-5-1 record in 1943.

In Frankie’s last fight in 1944 he defeated Jackie Floyd, 11-0-1, in the first of 3 meetings all won by Frankie. From July of 1944 to August of 1945 he served in the Marines earning the rank of Corporal. In 1945 he went 5-1 defeating Jackie Floyd twice, 11-0-1, in the outdoor Arena Stadium in their first meeting. Then he won by DQ when Floyd hit him when he was down. They fought three weeks later and Frankie won a decision scoring a pair of knockdowns in their third meeting. In 1946 he was a heavy underdog when he defeated Freddie Russo, 53-1-2 in the first of 2 fights losing the rematch a month later. In between those 2 fights he lost to contender Phil Terranova, 46-13-10. In May of 1946 he was stopped by top contender Billy Graham, 56-1-6. He ended the year 8-4 before retiring in December after losing a rematch to Pedro Firpo. He ended his career with a 41-13-2 record with 20 by knockout. His highest ranking was No. 10 in the featherweight division.

Frankie was named “Prospect of the Month” in Ring Magazine October of the 1941 issue. He passed away in 2005 at the age of 82.

In 1946 young Carto’s other Uncle Nunzio Carto a lightweight who turned professional at 17 and won his first 8 fights before Frank Carto retired. He had quite a good amateur career winning the 1944 Novice Mid-Atlantic AAU flyweight title and the Philadelphia Silver Gloves. In 1945 he won the Philadelphia Golden Gloves featherweight title and the Diamond Belt and Mid-Atlantic AAU bantamweight title. He would win the same title in 1946 as a lightweight.

Nunzio won his first 11 fights before suffering his first and only loss being stopped by Jesse Watson, 9-11-1. Within 3 months in his next fight he reversed the loss stopping Watson. Nunzio would go onto win the remainder of his bouts with a win over Lou Castrilli, 18-5-2, in Madison Square Garden. He was 16-1 in Philadelphia, 2-0 in other Pennsylvania towns and 1-0 in Detroit. He ended his career with his second win in MSG in October of 1948 with a 23-1 record scoring 10 knockouts. In June of 1947 he was named Ring Magazine’s lightweight “Prospect of the Month”. Nunzio is 88 and of sound mind and his funeral business is still going now and he is the only living of the 3 Carto’s. On a recent visit by Bartsy and I asked who trained him and he said “my brothers Frankie and Joe trained me.” He isn’t one that likes to talk about himself so that’s about all I got out of him. “Nunzio trained at the Penmar Gym at 10th and Mountain Streets in South Philadelphia. He was my kind of boxer and I learned a lot from him,” said Carmen “Bart” Bartolomeo. “Bart” was a good friend of Frankie and Nunzio. “Bart’ was 18-1 as a professional.

The older brother of Christian is a 23 year old 2016 Novice Golden Gloves Champion named Frank III. Christian, 6-0 (6), won the 2014 National Golden Gloves in the light flyweight division. In 2015 he ended up in third place. He turned professional in July of this year at the Santander Arena in Reading, PA, and later in the month in Atlantic City, NJ, both ending in the third round. “Christian has a bright future and I am glad he made his pro debut under Kings Promotions and we look forward to having him on plenty of our cards,” said Marshall Kauffman.
In July of this year Christian won by stoppage in Reading, PA, and Atlantic City, NJ. He made his Philadelphia debut in his third bout in August winning his fourth fight in October in Philadelphia with both ending in the second round. He filled in on a recent card at the Liacouras Center on the campus of Temple University on November 12th and scored his fifth straight stoppage.

In his sixth bout he stopped Harold Reyes from PR in the second round at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia on December 16th. Upon receiving instructions by the referee Reye’s trainer said to Carto and his trainer Micky Rosati “now you are in with a man” and it cost his fighter dearly. After the first round and the fight being stopped this writer noticed Carto saying something to the opponent’s corner. Then afterwards he told me what happened. He was on a mission after the instructions to destroy Reyes. Carto improves with each fight. “He’s a rare breed who comes to the gym 6 days a week. I’ve trained him for the past 3 years. He’s a pleasure to train because he listen’s,” said Rosati.

Christian’s father Frank II is always by his side or nearby. His trainer is Mickey Rosati, Jr. a former Pennsylvania Golden Glove champion who owns Rosati’s automobile repair shop on South 22nd Street in South Philadelphia with the gym on the second floor. His father Mickey, Sr., was 11-1-1 as a professional with all his fights in Philadelphia except the draw in New York. Christian’s manager is Jimmy Binns, Jr., now out of Las Vegas.

Posted on 08/22/2016

Boxing in Sands Casino in Bethlehem and Sugar House Casino in Philly This Week!
By: Ken Hissner

Sands Casino in Bethlehem, PA, continues to be busy thanks to Kings Promotions while Hard Hitting Promotions is the first running in the Sugar House Casino in South Philly.

The Sands event will be over Fox Sports 1 on Tuesday with a line-up of young talent with a total record of 60-6 versus some good record opposition. Headlining is Super Middleweight Caleb “Sweet Hands” Plant, 13-0 (10), from Nashville, TN, against Dominican Juan “La Amenaza” DeAngel, 18-4-1 (17), over 10 rounds. Caleb is a top prospect who has fought in PA on three occasions including twice at the Sands.

There will be four 8 round bouts with Cruiserweight Earl Newman, 9-0 (7), of Brooklyn, NY, and Leo Hall, 8-1 (7), of Detroit, MI, Middleweight Dominican Junior Castillo, 10-1 (9), meets Khurshid Abdullaev, 7-1-1 (3), of Kyrgyzstan now out of Oxnard, CA. Light heavyweight Ecuador’s Carlos Gongora, 5-0 (4), out of Brooklyn, NY, takes on Ronald Mixon, 7-0 (6), out of L.A. Kyron “Shut It Down” Davis, 10-1 (4), of Wilmington, DE, with a TBA opponent. Four other bouts will open the nine bout show.

At the Sugar House Casino they will feature 19 year-old sensation Super Lightweight Milton “El Santo” Santiago, 14-0 (3), of Philly, against Dominican Ken Alvarez, 7-4-2 (3), out of PR, over 8 rounds. This is a 10 bout card with three 6 round bouts featuring Ricky Lopez, 16-4 (6), of Colorado Springs, David “One-Two” Murray 4-1 (3), of Wilmington, DE, and National GG champion Christian Carto, 2-0 (2), of Philly, John Joe Nevin, 7-0 (4), Two-time Olympian from IRE, a Silver Medalist in 2012 Olympics, Lebron “Popeye” Lebron, 5-0 (2), of San Juan, PR, Ring Announcing-boxer Alex Barbosa, 5-2-1 (1) , and debuting Angel Pizarro, both out of Philly. Making their debut will be Philly’s Laurie Shiavo against Mary O’Leary of Springfield, MASS. Philly Heavyweight Pedro Martinez, 7-9 (3), of Philly will also appear. There will be a press conference Wednesday 5:30pm at the Labor Union Hall Local 57, on 500-506 N. Sixth Street, in South Philly.