By Bobby Breen – 12-5-09. Another fun night of professional boxing took place Friday night at Essex County College in downtown Newark, NJ. Presented by Edmonds Promotions the show featured Jeremy “Hollywood” Bryan in the main event. Bryan, fighting out of Paterson, NJ made short work of Darren Fallen from Philadelphia, PA in their scheduled welterweight 8 rounder. Bryan knock downed Fallen in round one and moved in for the finish at 2:35 of round two. After a hard right that floored Fallen for the second time, who surprisingly got up, Bryan got Fallen against the ropes and unleashed a body attack barrage that finished Fallen for the night. Bryan, (who boxes for Pound-4-Pound Promotions) improves to a perfect 13-0 with 6 KO’s and continues to move up the ladder of competition. Fallen was no slouch with a record of 12-4-1 with 6 KO’s..
In other action; Alex Mendez of the Bronx, NY won his pro debut in a 4 round featherweight bout. Mendez, who originally hails from Boston, kicked up the action in round two after a mostly even first round. Mendez took control of the bout landing willfully with left hooks and just out hustled his opponent, Joseliz Cepeda (NJ) also debuting taking a unanimous decision. Juan Rodriguez from Union City, NJ won his pro debut in a scheduled 4 round junior middleweight bout. Rodriguez stopped Bobby Bynum of North Carolina at 1:11 of round one in impressive fashion. Rodriguez just had too much for Bynum to handle. Junior middleweight Tyre Roberts from Orange, NJ returned to the ring after a three year layoff. Roberts was making his pro debut as well after a celebrated amateur career that included four NJ Golden Glove championships. An East Orange policeman now, Roberts went four hard rounds against rugged Tyrone Miles of Camden, NJ in what many ringside thought could have easily been a draw. Both boxers put on a display of guts and grit going back and forth, with the taller lanky Miles trying to capitalize on his reach and Roberts trying to work the inside. In the end, the judges had it for Roberts in a majority decision. Eddie Edmond got his first “W” after a 0-0-1 start as a pro. Edmond came out on top with a unanimous decision over Mario Fisher of Salisbury, MD in a four round middleweight clash. Floriano “Flash” Pagliara of Toscana, Italy via Gleason’s Gym won in 6 rounds by a unanimous close decision over Antonio Espinosa of West NY, NJ. Pagliara improves to 10-3 6 KO’s while Espinosa got his first taste of defeat in twelve outings as a pro.
This was a great show. Edmond’s Promotions plans on running again sometime in March. Their publicist Matt Yanofsky (Knockout Publicity) did a real fine job of having a well organized show. There was a food stand at the facility and plenty of free parking. The talent is the new and upcoming contenders from the local area. You cannot beat the price for the ticket.
Other tidbits; Boxing has been active both professionally and in the amateur ranks as of late in the NJ/NY area. NY had three professional cards this month, with NJ running back to back shows this past weekend in Newark and Atlantic City (HB0 Williams vs. Martinez). Joe DiGuardia’s Star Boxing ran live on Versus sports channel Thursday night from NYC. There certainly are enough shows to breed new talent in what some think and say is a dead sport. Brooklyn’s Paulie Malignaggi (26-3-0 5KO’s) gets his much deserved rematch with Juan Diaz (35-2-0 17KO’s) Dec. 12th live on HBO from Chicago. I saw Paulie last week training at the Pound-4-Pound camp where he sparred with likes of Jeremy Bryan. If Malignaggi beats Diaz (again) he should finally get the credit that is long overdue for a truly professional Champion that is at the top of his game. His only losses were to Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto in a span of twenty nine pro bouts. The Francisco Rodriguez Fund has been established for the 25 yr. old super-bantamweight boxer from Chicago, who died after a bout at the Blue Horizon in Philadelphia, PA. on Nov. 20th. Rodriguez (14-3-0 8KO’s), a former 5-time Chicago Golden Gloves and 2001 National Golden Gloves champion was fighting for the vacant USBA Super-Bantamweight title against Philadelphia’s Teon Kennedy (14-0-1 6KO’s). He died 48 hours after the bout from brain injuries. His family donated some of his organs to save other lives. It’s a tragedy with many remarkable threads within it. Francisco aka “El Nino Azteca” leaves behind a young wife and 5 month old daughter. Donations can be sent to;
The Francisco Rodriguez Fund
C/O National Republic Bank of Chicago
1201 W. Harrison St.
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 738-4900
Amateur news: Saturday Dec. 12th John’s Gym 436 Westchester Ave. Bronx, NY 10459 boxing at 6pm. This is a memorial show dedicated to “Ronny Venezuela Vargas” former 3-time NY Golden Glove Champion who was 8-0 6KO’s when he was tragically shot and killed in August 2008.
Friday Dec. 11th @ Robert Treat Hotel 50 Park Pl. Newark, NJ. NJ vs. Connecticut.
Saturday Dec. 19th COMBATT Boxing Club 205 Spruce St. Newark, NJ 1pm. New Jersey Silver Gloves.
See you “around the ring”.
The complete results of the Edmonds Promotion show Dec.4th, 2009 Newark, NJ;
1) Jeremy Bryan Paterson, NJ KO 2:35 R-2 Darren Fallen Philadelphia, PA Welterweights
2) Eddie Edmond Newark, NJ U-dec. Mario Fisher Salisbury, MD Middleweights
3) Floriano Pagliara Toscana, Italy U- dec. Antonio Espinosa West New York, NJ Jr. Lightweight
4) Tyre Roberts Orange, NJ M-dec. Tyrone Miles Camden, NJ Jr. Middleweights
5) Juan Rodriguez Union City, NJ KO 1:11 R-1 Bobby Bynum North Carolina Jr. Middle
6) Alex Mendez Bronx, NY U-dec. Joseliz Cepeda New Jersey Featherweight