East Rutherford, NJ- Staging their first boxing show in four years, Darwish Brothers Knockout Promotions returned to the sport in a big way Tuesday night at the Meadowlands Sheraton Hotel in East Rutherford, NJ. The show was streamed live across the world online at GoFightLive.tv and featured some of New Jersey’s hottest rising talent, as well the return of DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley..
“The atmosphere was electric,” says Wally Darwish, who promoted the show alongside his brother Hani. “The bouts were evenly matched and none of the fights were walk-overs. There wasn’t a single fan that left unsatisfied. Our next show is going to be bigger and better.” The next event will take place at the same venue in March with a date to be announced shortly.
In the ten-round main event, former junior-welterweight world champion DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley of Washington DC and former title challenger Wilson “El Topadora” Enrique Galli of Long Island by way of Salto Uruguayo, Uruguay both knew they needed a win to get back into world title contention. In a classic boxer versus brawler matchup, DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley scored a seventh round TKO over his tough adversary. Official time was 1:23.
Corley, 140.5, established his speed of hand and foot over Galli, 141.5, early in the first round. A Corley left cross on Galli’s nose sent the three-time South American champion. Galli showed a ton of grit as he survived the assault and began to come forward, applying sustained pressure to the former WBO 140 pound champion. The two traded blows throughout, Galli finding most of his success with the right hand while Corley preferred to uppercut with both hands.
In the seventh round Corley sensed that his opponent was beginning to fade as he pushed him back. Corley landed a huge straight left cross on Galli’s chin that sent him sprawling to the floor a second time. Galli bravely rose to his feet but his corner wisely threw in the towel. The time was 1:23.
“I felt my performance was great,” said Corley, now 33-10-1 (19 KO). “On a scale of one to ten, I give myself a nine. I’m not back where I should be but I’m getting there. I’ll be back in the gym on Thursday and I’m going to stay busy. Look forward to me continue fighting great fights and becoming world champion again soon. I want to thank the Darwish Brothers for having me on their card and I hope to do it again soon.” Galli drops to 31-9 (13 KO).
In a stunning upset, Hector Rivera of Passaic, NJ defeated previously unbeaten Omar Brito of Pleasantville, NJ by a four-round unanimous decision. Brito, 135, suffered the first knockdown of his young career in the first round when a southpaw right hook from Rivera, 134, crashed into him. Brito survived the round but once again a right hook would be his bane as a second knockdown followed. Realizing that he had to catch up in a big way, Brito uncorked a huge right hand in the third round that put Sanchez on the canvas and turned the tide. Brito pulled out all of the stops in the fourth round but it was too little, too late. Scores were 37-36 across the board.
Rivera improves to 2-4 (1 KO) while Brito drops to 1-1 (1 KO)
Cruiserweight prospect Elvin Sanchez of Paterson, NJ wasted little time disposing of Charles Presnell, 198.5, of Fernley, NV by way of Masan City, South Korea. Fifty-six seconds into the first round Sanchez, 198, blasted a southpaw right hook to Presnell’s liver that momentarily left him paralyzed. Sanchez, who is managed by Lou Duva, was a class above his opponent. Sanchez raises his record to 2-0 (2 KO) while Presnell drops to 0-3.
Despite giving away 21 pounds to his opponent, New Jersey tough guy William “Big Will” Gill of Newark, NJ, 183, pitched an eight-round shutout over Chuck Berry, 204, of Philadelphia, NJ. Gill, who has a deceptive record despite his propensity to pull off upset wins, showed his class against his much bigger opponent. Gill frequently used his speed and power advantage while hitting his opponent seemingly at will. Berry showed plenty of heart and never stopped trying but it was Gill’s night.
Scores were 78-75, 77-76, and 79-72, all in favor of Gill, now 9-21 (7 KO) over Berry, now 4-8 (3 KO).
Unbeaten welterweight prospect Rashad Bogar, 147, of Newark, NJ picked up his second win in as many fights but it wasn’t easy. Rami Ibrahim, 145, of Philadelphia used every trick in the book and even a few some have never seen before to ruffle the 2007 Golden Gloves champ. It was Bogar who held the decisive edge in power, speed and technique and that was the difference. Ibrahim, a superstar in the Muay Thai community ranked number 3 in the world, drops to 2-8 while Bogar moves to 2-0 (1 KO).
The scores were identical at 39-37.
Willie Limond vs Godwin Mutampuka on Feb 27
Willie Limond was granted his promoter’s licence at a meeting with the Scottish Area Council of the British Boxing Board of Control last Thursday and now it’s full steam ahead for his debut promotion.
Limond will face Zambia’s Godwin Mutampuka for the vacant WBU lightweight title at the Lagoon Leisure Centre, Paisley on Friday February 27. However, due to the size of the show, Limond’s Glasgow City Promotions will co-promote with Katherine Morrison’s Scottish Promotions.
Limond said: “I’m delighted that I was granted my promoter’s licence and I aim to use it to give back to Scottish boxing what I have gained from the sport. I have created the chance for some of my stablemates to box and keep them active, and I think we have put together an attractive bill for the fans.
“I’m delighted with the response from the fans who snapped up nearly 1000 tickets during the first week of sale. The Lagoon Leisure Centre is a great venue for boxing and there should be some atmosphere in the place on the night.”
Zambian super-featherweight title-holder Mutampuka is tipped to provide a tough examination for Garthamlock’s Limond.
Limond said: “It’s hard to get footage of Mutampuka. We haven’t been able to find any so far but I’m expecting a tough fight from a strong, durable opponent and that’s what I’ve been preparing for.”
Former British welterweight champion Kevin McIntyre makes his comeback by fighting in his hometown of Paisley for the first time in his ten-year professional career.
McIntyre is set to box a minimum of ten rounds and it will be confirmed later this week if he will contest a vacant international title.
Glasgow City Promotions and Scottish Promotions’ bill also features three more welterweights in Paisley’s Kris Carslaw, Edinburgh’s Gary McMillan and Wishaw’s Ryan Scott.
Also in action will be Bellshill super-bantamweight Kris Hughes and Edinburgh featherweight Jason Hastie.
All of the £30 tickets for the show have already sold out but £40 tickets are still available from Garthamlock Roadhouse on 0141 774 0414 and Scottish Promotions on 0141 554 7777.
BATTLE IN THE BALLROOM RETURNS FEATURING McEWAN VS STOVALL & LUNA VS FRANKS
NEWPORT BEACH, CA, February 3 – For over two decades, Roy Englebrecht’s Battle in The Ballroom series has set the standard for quality boxing action in California, and to kick off the 25th Anniversary of this legendary series, the February 19th event at the Irvine Marriott promises to be the most hard-hitting card yet.
In the main event, which is presented in association with Golden Boy Promotions, highly touted middleweight prospect Craig McEwan puts his unbeaten record on the line against popular Pomona product Ivan “Sitting Bull” Stovall, his toughest test to date.
Also in action will be world-ranked featherweight star Rhonda Luna, and unbeaten 21-year old phenom “Mad” Max Skayzer.
Another highlight of this very special Opening Night will be the induction of the first four boxers into the Inaugural Battle In The Ballroom Hall of Fame. Inductees include Gernaro Hernandez, Johnny Vasquez, John Montes, and Freddie Roach. In the non boxer category, the Marriott’s first promoter Don Fraser will be honored.
Plus promoter Roy Englebrecht has completely redesigned the www.battleintheballroom.com website, with a new blog, updated photo gallery, and new ticketing system…check it out.
The pride of Edinburgh, Scotland, 26-year old Craig McEwan (12-0, 7 KOs) has made more than a few fans on this side of the ocean with his exciting style and growing talent. A 6 foot 1 southpaw who has dominated the opposition thus far in his two and a half years as a pro, McEwan will step up the competition when he takes on hard-hitting Ivan Stovall (10-2, 7 KOs), one of Southern California’s most popular fighters, and one eager to pin the first loss on McEwan’s record.
Rowland Heights, California’s Rhonda Luna (13-1-1, 1 KOs) is widely considered to be one of the top featherweights in the world of female boxing, and she is rapidly closing in on her dream of a world championship in 2009. Fresh off a win over Kina Malpartida last November, Luna will first have to get by scrappy competitor Tammy “The Tigress” Franks (2-6-1) if she hopes to keep her title hopes alive.
A proud native of Russia who now makes his home in West Covina, California, welterweight Max Skayzer (5-0-1, 1 KO) has already garnered a significant buzz on the west coast fight scene since turning pro last March. Winner of consecutive bouts over undefeated Johnny Suarez and Nam Phan, Skayzer will get another stiff test in 22 fight veteran Francisco Rios Gil (13-9, 9 KOs), a hard-hitting 22-year old native of Sonora, Mexico who is looking to pull his opponent into deep waters on February 19th.
Rounding out the six bout card will be Santa Ana’s1-0 Arquimedez Garcia facing 1-3 Cesar Garcia; 2-0 middleweight Terrell Hendrix in against pro debuter Ayo Olorunsola, and two more pro debut fighters will meet when La Habra’s Ramon Camacho faces Carlsbad’s Scott Rose.
Tickets prices at $40 and $32 are available online at www.battleintheballroom.com. Irvine Marriott doors open at 6:30pm and first fight at 7:30pm.