by Geoffrey Ciani – As a long time boxing fan, there is a certain charm when it comes to watching young, inexperienced fighters. This is especially true when a fighters making their professional debut square off against one another. Oftentimes, such contests lack the sort of skill and discipline we are accustomed to seeing in the sweet science. On the other hand, this has a different type of appeal altogether. Friday night at Essex County College, a batch of young fighters got to show their stuff, many of them entering the ring for the first time as a professional.
The first fight on the card was a four rounder between two featherweights making their pro debut. Alex Mendez from New York squared off against Koselize Cepeda from New Jersey. This was actually an interesting fight. The two young fighters looked as if they had some decent amateur experience behind them. This was not the type of raw undisciplined fight I was expecting.. On the contrary, the young pugilists both displayed skill and patience in this surprisingly entertaining contest. At the end, Mendez took a unanimous decision winning by scored of 39-37 (twice) and 40-36. It was a good little scrap to start off the show.
The second bout was another contest between fighters making their debut appearance. In this one, junior middleweights Juan Rodriques from New Jersey and Bobby Bynum from North Carolina were paired together. Rodrigues hurt Bynum early in the first with a shot that staggered his taller foe. Moments later, a powerful straight left from Rodrigues dropped Bynum and that was all she wrote. Although the fight was brief, Rodrigues showed good patience and nice power. What better way to start off your professional career than with a first round knockout.
Next up was another four round contest between junior middleweights. Tyree Roberts was pitted against Tyrone Miles. This was Roberts’ debut fight, while Miles entered this contest with a record of 1-1. The two young men from Jersey fought a competitive fight. At one point in the third round, Roberts had Miles pinned against the ropes. A barrage of punches followed and Miles appeared to be in trouble. Out of nowhere, Miles came back with a short left hook which appeared to stagger Roberts and the momentum seemed to turn. It was a back and forth affair where each young fighter appeared to have his moments. I scored it a draw, and one of the judges agreed with me, but the other two scored it 39-37 in favor of Miles giving him the majority decision victory.
After that came a six round fight between two more experienced fighters. Antonio “The Tiger” Espinosa is a New Jersey fighter who entered this contest with an 11-0 record. He squared off against young Italian pugilist Floriano “Flash” Pagliara whose record was 9-3 with 6 knockouts. Pagliara exhibited good defense and patience from the onset. He was making Espinosa miss and overextend himself. This pattern continued for two or three rounds, by which point, Espinosa seemed reluctant to fight. He was in survival mode, and at times, it appeared as if he was perfectly content to stay out of his opponent’s punching range. This emboldened the Italian fighter, as he began pressing the action with more intensity. Pagliara landed the more telling blows and was more active. In the end, all three judges scored the bout in his favor.
Following this was another four rounder. This one was between middleweights Eddie Edmund from New Jersey and Mario Fisher of Maryland. These two young fighters were both raw. They did not seem as skilled as the rest of the fighters on the card and it made for a sloppy fight. In the end, Edmund was able to utilize his size advantage to score points. He was awarded a unanimous victory with all three judges scoring the fight in his favor 40-36.
The main event of the evening was an eight round fight between welterweights. Jeremy “Hollywood” Bryan from New Jersey entered the fight with a perfect 12-0 record including 5 wins by way of knockout. He faced off against Philadelphia pugilist Darren Fallen who had a record of 12-4-1. “Hollywood” Bryan was by far the best seasoned fighter on the card and it showed. He was patient and appeared to have solid fundamentals. He had good power, nice movement, and worked behind a snappy jab. In the opening round he dropped Fallen with a quick left hook. To his credit, Fallen rose to his feet and appeared calm. In the next round, a flurry of punches ending with a good right hand sent Fallen to the canvas again. This time, he was visibly hurt. He rose to his feet, and was soon dropped again which prompted his corner to throw in the towel.
All in all, it was a fairly entertaining card. It will be interesting to see how Bryan progresses from here. He seemed to have good tools, but it is difficult to gauge what he is made of given the fact he was fighting what turned out to be an overmatched opponent. Regardless, Bryan did what he had to do and to the delight of the crowd, he put on an exciting performance. He seemed very confident and relaxed throughout, and I am curious to see how he would fare against better competition.
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