On Thursday, January 31st two female warriors will lace up their gloves and wage battle at Star Boxing’s Paradise Theater series. “Slick” Alicia Ashley (13-7, 1 KO) and Brooke “No Mercy” Dierdorff (4-1, 3 KO’s) will square off in a super-bantamweight showdown for the NABF championship..
Ashley has never been one to shy away from a challenge, literally crisscrossing the globe in her nine- year career to prove that she is one to be reckoned with in the female fight business by taking on the best opponents possible. Ashley’s search to be the best has put her in boxing rings from Argentina to Austria, from Germany to North Korea, and from China to the coasts of North America. While many notable male fighters have been unwilling to leave their own backyard over the years, Ashley has taken on four undefeated opponents overseas undaunted by hometown favoritism or handpicked judges. In May of 2005, in what would be one of the biggest fights of her career at the time, Ashley took on German Alesia Graf (10-0, 4 KO’s) for the WIBF’s bantamweight title, knocking down Graf in the third round en route to a win in the German’s hometown.
Having defeated Delia Hoppe this past April at Utopia’s Paradise Theater, Ashley is hoping her return to the time-honored building will have the same result when she faces the merciless Brooke Dierdorff on January 31st.
Ashley is in no way looking past Dierdorff, as “No Mercy” has proven before that she can stand toe-to-toe with the best of them. Last April, in what would be her fourth professional fight, Dierdorff took on the famed Mia St. John on short notice after the former Playboy centerfold’s earlier opponent had dropped out. Even though St. John had defeated 43 previous challengers, Dierdorff, coming off three knockout victories, shocked St. John by trading punches from the opening round, with Dierdorff earning the sweet victory by split decision.
When these two female warriors meet up in the squared circle during Punchin’ at the Paradise 8, sparks will certainly be flying, and fans will undoubtedly be begging for more from these ring gladiators.
Headlining the card, Former World Champion Lou “Honey Boy” DelValle (35-5, 22 KO’s) will face the destructive power of Newton “The Butcher” Kidd (6-6, 4 KO’s) in the ten-round main event. Renowned for being the first person to knock down the legendary Roy Jones Jr., DelValle is planning on spoiling Kidd’s night by tearing down “the Butcher” punch by punch until he is chopped meat. However, Kidd is not one to mess around in the ring, and has proven so by stopping all of his knockout victims by the third round. With a “sweet” victory on January 31st, “Honey Boy” knows bigger fights are on the horizon.
The cruiserweight division is quickly becoming a fan favorite of the boxing world, leaving DelValle an endless amount of possibilities for championship fights down the road with David Haye, O’Neil Bell, Jean-Marc Mormeck, Steven Cunningham, and Enzo Maccarinelli. Of course, with Roy Jones Jr. looking for his next opponent, DelValle could always attempt to finish what he started with the former pound-for-pound king.
In the co-featured bout, “The Kosovo Kid” Elvir Muriqi (34-4, 21 KO’s) will face Willis Lockett (10-5-4, 4 KO’s) in a light heavyweight eight round battle. Coming off his impressive fight with “The Magic Man” Antonio Tarver, Muriqi knows all eyes will be on him. “I’m training hard in the Catskills, putting the rounds in, and trying to get in as much work as possible so that I can put on a good performance. I know a lot of people have their eyes on me after my fight with Tarver.” Responding to how he will ensure himself victory on January 31st against Willis, Muriqi said, “I am working on throwing my one-two’s down the pipe quicker, and getting my combination off quicker.” Muriqi knows a victory against Willis puts him one step closer to a possible rematch with Tarver, in which the Kosovo Kids proclaims, “I’d expect to stop him the next time we fought.”
In other action that night, cruiserweights Jon Schneider (6-1, 4 KO’s) and Jerry Spiegel (3-2, 2 KO’s) will surely get the crowd going when they display their power in a six round battle between two native New Yorkers; Ronica Jeffrey and Karen Dulin will be making their pro-debut in a four round featherweight fight.
Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing extends an invitation to its valued loyal fans to purchase exclusive VIP tables for what promises to be a night of electrifying fights. The VIP tables are the always the talk of the night; and provide complimentary food and beverages. VIP tables are available by contacting 718-823-2000.
Tickets are at the fan friendly price of $100, $50 and $30, and can be purchased at Utopia’s Paradise Theater box office (718) 220-6143, 6143, all Ticketmaster outlets ticketmaster.com, and by calling Star Boxing 718- 823-2000 or visiting our web site www.starboxing.com .
Star Boxing
Those fight fans who are unable to be in the New York area for this extraordinary night of boxing can still be part of the action by catching it live on to www.GoFightLive.tv Don’t miss it!!!