2008
AMATEUR EVENTS
2008
“Around The Ring”
USA vs. Puerto Rico World Duel Results
NYC’s Sadam Ali Wins
By Bobby Breen
4/29/08. USA-Boxing had an International World Duel night of competition at Temple University’s Liacouras Athletic Center in Philadelphia, PA. on Saturday April 26th. Broadcast live on Philadelphia channel CN8, the show had eleven bouts with several 2008 Olympians competing.
Brooklyn’s own Sadam Ali, a 132 lb. 2008 Olympic Boxing team member won by decision in his bout over Puerto Rico’s Reynaldo Ojeda. Ali looked sharp and crisp boxing well on the out and inside. Ali demonstrated just a bit more speed over the dead game Ojeda. With a home town crowd who traveled down from Brooklyn to cheer him on, Ali pleased the crowd and his Olympic Team coaches with a very clear and convincing performance as he conducts his final preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China this coming August. Ali is the first NY Boxing Olympian since Riddick Bowe ’88 and Mark Breland ’84.
Fellow 2008 Olympians, Luis Yanez 106 lbs., Warren Rashee 112 lbs., and Javier Molina 141 lbs. all won their respective bouts in fine fashion. Yanez and Rashee both stopped their Puerto Rican counter parts with an RSC/OS (referee stops contests/out-scored). With the Olympic computerized scoring system, when one boxer gains a 20 point lead the bout is automatically stopped, except in the last round. The boxers box four rounds two minute each.
Puerto Rico’s 2008 Olympian Carlos Negron looked impressive stopping Siju Shabazz of USA in their 178 lb. bout. Negron, at six foot six, is not only tall lean and muscular, he was relentless ending the bout with an RSC/OS by convincing margin. Shabazz an Olympic Trials semi-finalists and a 2007 National GG champion and who is currently ranked #4 is no easy opponent. Negro just had a great night. Look for him this Summer in Beijing, China representing Puerto Rico at the Summer Olympic Games.
USA won nine of the eleven bouts but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Puerto Rico earned two wins, Negron’s in the 178 lb. division and Jonathon Gonzalez over Bruno Escalante in the 112lbs. division. David Clark of USA and Hector Marrero of PR put on a great show in their 119 lb. bout bringing the crowd to its feet. Clark won by decision but Marrero was in the bout until the last round when Clark put him down on the canvas for a standing eight count, then came right back with a right hand that snapped Marrero’s head back.
That must have been what pulled it out for Clark in a very close bout. When the decision was announced, a predominantly Puerto Rico favored crowd booed.
What was impressive in both teams is the level of conditioning all the boxers had. One could tell these athletes train full time. I attend amateur boxing events all the time, but the Olympic caliber level is really a league apart from what I usually observe, and I get to see some of the best amateur boxers from all over the country. The USA Olympic Boxing team is coached by Willy Price and Robert Martin. They were assisted by 2004 Olympic coach Anthony Bradley and Mike Stafford.
The level of officiating was superb as well. Sharing referee duties were, Emanuel Valentin (Puerto Rico) and Angel Villareal (USA). Also officiating was Gerardo Montero (Dominican Republic). There were other officials from USA-Boxing, as well as the Local Boxing Committee officials from the Mid-Atlantic Association of USA-Boxing. Mr. George Hill Chief of Officials of Philadelphia, and referee David Braslow were seen at ringside.
The complete results of the USA vs. Puerto Rico World Duel meet April 26, 2008;
1) Luis Yanez USA RSC/OS Bryan Aquino PR 106 lbs.
2) Jonathon Gonzalez PR dec. Bruno Escalante USA 112 lbs.
3) Warren Rashee USA RSC/OS Carlos Ortiz PR 112 lbs.
4) David Clark USA dec. Hector Marrero PR 119 lbs.
5) Robert Rodriguez USA dec. Jorge Maysonet PR 125 lbs.
6) Sadam Ali USA dec. Rey Ojeda PR 132 lbs.
7) Javier Molina USA RSC/OS Luis Gonzalez PR 141 lbs.
8) Javontae Starks USA dec. Ricardo Reyes PR 152 lbs.
9) Luis Arias USA Ret. Enrique Collazzo PR 165 lbs.
10) Carlos Negron PR RSC/OS Siju Shabazz USA 178 lbs.
11) Kimdo Bethel USA dec. Juan Jacob PR 201+ lbs S/Hvy.
Iron Will At MSG Golden Gloves
by David Pambianchi
On April 18, 2008, Night Two of the 81st Annual Daily News Golden Gloves Finals, an anxious crowd packed the WAMU Theatre. A massive image of Iron Man against Madison Square Garden’s facade foreshadowed tonight’s event. Every fighter fought with Iron Will resolve.
From the onset of the 145 pound women’s bout, Ebonny Fowler fought hard against a quick and accurate punching Dariana Casado who won the decision. Later, Heavyweights Sonya Lamonakis and Shayna Hargraves of Gleason’s Gym slugged it out with Sonya using that left hook to Shayna’s head enough times to secure the win.
Amanda Walsh fought Yuku Yamamotto (110 pounds), with both fighters tossing defense to the wind, trading and racking up points that resulted in a definitive fourth round and overall victory for Amanda. Soon after, Jody-Ann Weller spend most of her fight locked up close to Amanda Serrano (125 pound), trading body uppercuts. Whenever Serrano got a little space, she popped most of her left and right hits in for the win.
A nonstop slug fest between Ruth O’Sullivan and Laura Ramirez (106 pound), resulted in a win for Ramirez. While an aggressive Ramirez sent a barrage of left and right roundhouses toward O’Sullivan, they were no match for Ruth’s right handed uppercut replies. Both fighters had soul, but there seemed to be the counting of punches that did not land.
132lb Champ Amando Serrano after win . . .
The bout between Chinazo Rena Anakwe and Kathleen Walsh (138 pound), told it all. These boxers traded punches in an incredible match of blood, sweat and heart with Chinazo taking the decision.
Other Results:
Allen Littlejohn over Anthony Caramanno (112)
Walter Velazquez defeated Marlon Baird II (152)
Anthony Karperis beat Marlon Charlton (132) (with good hard combinations from both)
Will Rosinsky jammed up and maintained control to defeat Peter Lawson (178)
Joseph Livingstone took a close one over Mike Brooks (141)
Ngoli Okafor over Jerry Gaspard (201) in a hard hitting match up
Tor Hamer over Adam Kownacki in a close one (201+) amid an end of night wild crowd of U.S.A. and Poland chants
David
Around The Ring”
NJ Golden Gloves Battle OnBy Bobby Breen04/02/2008. The NJ Golden Gloves continue to pound away to the finals and championships for our young boxers vying for the golden crown. The tournament completed its fifth week and the semifinals are in full swing with shows scheduled for the first three Fridays in April.Thursday night March 27th a card was held at JFK High School in Paterson, NJ, the “Silk City” where so many boxing personalities hailed from. Lou Costello (of Abbott and Costello) and the boxing club that bares his name, Ruben “Hurricane” Carter, Lou Duva, Kendall Holt, and former IBF Featherweight Champ Frank Toledo Jr., all hail from Paterson.Dustin Fleischer of Gladiator Gym decisioned Anthony Bryant from Joe Grier BC in a 141 lb. Open bout. Fleischer was the quicker more skillful boxer putting on a great exhibition of speed and style. His efforts earned him “Boxer of the Night” honors. Bryant tried as he may and showing decent moments himself, could not stick with the better boxer Fleischer this night. Adrian Marte of Ike’s & Randy’s Gym defeated Charles Dixon from Gladiators Gym by decision in a 152 lb. Sub-novice match. Marte boxed well on the inside and had to go the distance. The winner of this bout had to also box the next night on the Westfield High School card to make it to the Semi-finals. Marte again was a winner the second night in a row. The card was televised by Cablevision to be shown at a later date.The complete results of the March 27th card at JFK H.S. Paterson, NJ;1) Pedro Rodriguez Passaic PAL dec. Corey Beckett Lou Costello BC 141 lb. S/Novice2) Mike Perez Intl’ School BC dec. Alberto Manukin Union City BC 132 lb. Open3) Adrian Marte Ike’s & Randy’s Gym dec. Charles Dixon Gladiators Gym 152 lb. S/Novice4) Mike Hilton Goss&Goss BC dec. Alberto Miguero Unattached 201+ lb. Sub-Novice5) Courtney Knight Renegade BC RSC Karim Aki Gladiator Gym 165 lb. Sub-Novice6) Dustin Fleischer Gladiator Gym dec. Anthony Bryant Joe Grier BC 141 lb. Open7) Glen Tapia Passaic PAL dec. Juan Rodriguez Union City BC 152 lb. OpenThe second consecutive night of NJ Golden Gloves action took place at Westfield High School in Westfield, NJ. This night had eleven bouts with the winners going to the Semi-finals. Adrian Marte, who had to box the night before ended his bout quickly at 1:37 of round two. Going up against unattached Dennis McGill, Marte used a steady body attack to score and hurt his opponent calling for a mandatory eight count by the referee. A second eight-count was given with the referee stopping the contest (RSC) giving Marte another win. Marte from Ike & Randys’ Gym moves onto the semifinal round in his 152 lb. Sub-novice class.Tyrone Lucky of Middletown PAL earned an RSC in his bout at 1:59 of round 3. Lucky boxing in the 141 lb. Open class stopped Don Bernard of Passaic PAL. Lucky looked impressive enough in his efforts to be selected as “Boxer of the Night” by the ringside officials. David Roman of Passaic PAL looked like his old self again boxing beautifully against Abbad Townsend from Dew Drop BC in their 152 lb. Open match-up. Roman, last year nationally ranked in the top ten ripped Townsend repeatedly to the body with quick combinations. Roman was relentless throughout the bout and really looked at the top of his game. The tournament moves into Semifinal round action with the weight classes shaping up to be some major battles for those amateur boxers going for the gold. NJ Golden Gloves action continues this Friday April 4th at the Marriott Hotel Route 10 East, Whippany, NJ. Bouts begin at 8pm. The following shows are April 11th at Linden High School and April 18th at Dunn Sports Center Elizabeth High School. For more info contact Dan Shannon at (908) 380-0829.The complete results of the March 28th card at Westfield H.S. Westfield, NJ:1) Adrian Marte Ike’s & Randy’s Gym RSC Dennis McGill Unattached 152 lb. Sub-Novice2) Gary Mitzner Unattached dec. Chris Libel Union City BC 178 lb. Sub-Novice3) Sean Daniels IBN Ali BC RSC Greg Quarentello Howell PAL 178 lb. Novice4) Esweldo Disla Intl’ School BC dec. John Bowden El Coqui BC 201 lb. Sub-Novice5) Donald Roberts Goss&Goss BC dec. Mike Gizzi Final Rnd. BC 132 lb. Novice6) Juan Nina Elite BC dec. Don Brennan Brick PAL 152 lb. Novice7) Junior Gelin First Class BC dec. German Cambero 201+ lb. Novice8) Deroy Beaton Team Gladiator dec. Dean Spadaveccia Team BC 141 lb. Sub-Novice9) Tyrone Lucky Middletown PAL RSC Don Bernard Passaic PAL 141 lb. Open10) Lisandro Tupete Joe Grier BC dec. IBN Akbar Richardson Gladiators Gym 178 lb. Open11) David Roman Passaic PAL dec. Abbad Townsend Dew Drop BC 152 lb. OpenNote: A check with Henry Hascup, President of the NJ Boxing Hall of Fame, who provided me with the following boxers who hailed from Paterson, NJ. Austin Gibbons, Jimmy Nina Gorman, Tommy Tuohey, Tommy Elm, Paul Cavaliere, Frankie Bauman, Al Diamond, Carl Duva (Lou's older brother), Jackie Shupack, Joey Haddad, Johnny Juliano (Lou Costello was his manager), Roy Lazer, Willie Herman, Al Capone, Benny "Lope" Berman, Georgie Carlo, Don McAteer, Tony Alongi, Vince Martinez, Joe Blackwood, Pat Comiskey are the ones that I can come up with. Some of these go back to the 1890's, such as Gibbons and Gorman.
“Around The Ring”
NJ Amateur Boxing March Madness
Bobby Breen
3/21/2008. The NJ amateur boxing scene is quite busy these days. The NJ Golden Gloves kicked off March 7th in Eatontown, NJ. The NJ Golden Gloves run thru April 18th with the next show to be held on Thursday March 27th at JFK High School in Paterson, NJ. The tournament rivals the NY Daily News Golden Gloves with all open class boxers who win their respective GG tournament earning a trip to the National Golden Gloves Championships to be held this year in Grand Rapids, MI., the week of May 5th – 10th.
Last Friday night the third New Jersey Golden Gloves show was held at Plainfield H.S. Ten bouts headlined the card. Lance Goodall from Bergen PAL earned “Boxer of the Night” honors for decisioning Bryant Dimetro of Bayonne PAL in their 152 lb. Sub-novice bout. Also honored on this evening was Mary Glover, First Lady of NJ Amateur Boxing. Glover has served as an amateur boxing official since 2003, and is the only Female amateur referee in NJ USA-Boxing. The City of Plainfield, NJ honored Glover along with Albert “Steel” Mills, another Plainfield resident, who boxed professionally as well as an amateur and continues to coach the city’s youth in the “Sweet Science”.
New Jersey Golden Gloves Schedule: March 27th JFK High School Paterson, NJ 8pm March 28th Westfield High School Westfield, NJ 8pm
April 4th Marriott Hotel Whippany, NJ 8pm
April 11th Linden High School Linden, NJ 8pm
April 18th Dunn Sports Center Elizabeth, NJ 8pm
More Info contact Dan Shannon (908) 558-2031
Saturday March 15th an amateur card was held in North Bergen, NJ. Hosted by Dover Boxing Club of Dover, NJ and headed by Ed Leahy, the card featured amateur boxers from NJ going up against a team from Montreal, Canada. Please note highlights below.
NY Daily News Golden Gloves – The premier tournament of tournaments completed its tenth week of competition with a show on March 20th at the Hempstead Rec. Center in Hempstead, L.I., NY. Boxer’s in the female divisions of 165 lb. 132 lb. and 106 lb. divisions competed. Ruth O’Sullivan of Gleason’s Gym won by decision over Nicole Dean from Team Free Form in a 106 lb. Female bout. O’Sullivan boxed well enough to earn the PC Richards “Boxer of the Night’ honors. O’Sullivan, a two-time NY GG Champion earned a trip to MSG and the finals for a another time. Additionally, one 119 lb. Novice and two 141 lb. Open class bouts were on the card.
In the 141 lb. Open class Livingstone Joseph from Harlem PAL stopped Orland Ortiz of Morris Park BC at 1:26 of round three by a vicious body shot that dropped Ortiz solid. Joseph originally from St. Croix, V.I., looked impressive as he heads to the Finals at the WAMU Theater at MSG. Joseph will face off against a strong Mike Brooks of Freeport PAL, who won his 141 lb. Open bout over a very game and competitive Chris Ventura from Yonkers YMCA. Ventura actually was in the bout the entire time, boxing extremely well in the first two rounds. Brooks came on as the bout progressed, being the active aggressor and landing more effectively, certainly persuading the judges so. The crowd thought otherwise judged by the boos from the crowd when the decision was announced. Frank Garriga from Morris Park BC won by decision over Jose Badillo of Team One BC in their 119 lb. Novice matchup. Garriga goes on to the Golden Finals round as a result. The NY Daily News Golden Gloves has one more week of Semi-finals action with shows scheduled next week for; March 25th Lindenhurst H.S. Lindenhurst, NY 7:30pm
March 26th Poly Prep School Brooklyn, NY 7:30pm
March 27th Msr. Farrell H.S. Staten Island, NY 7:30pm
March 28th Aviator Sports Complex Floyd Bennett Field Brooklyn, NY 7:30pm
Finals - April 17th & 18th WAMU Theater Madison Square Garden, NYC
NJ USA vs. Canada Saturday March 15th – Canada brought a team of amateur boxers to NJ last weekend for a night of International competition. The card, held at Schuetzan Park in North Bergen, NJ featured a six bout preliminary Junior Olympian card followed by twelve bouts between boxers from NJ against Canada. Eighteen bouts in all and well worth the ticket. At the end of the evening each country had six wins apiece. The competition is always fierce between countries, as home town country pride is at stake. Any team traveling that distance to compete usually brings their best. Canada was no exception. The NJ USA team knocked off four straight wins in the first four bouts. Looked like a tough evening was ahead for the Canadians. Then David Gautier won by decision over Victor Montero-Cruz in a 130 lb. Open bout, giving team Canada a “W”. Gautier was chosen as “Boxer of the Night”. Patrick Farrell of Jersey City, NJ stopped Alec Bilodean from Canada at 1:12 in round one of their 201 lb. Heavyweight Novice matchup. Farrell just overpowered the Canadian with multiple punches, dropping him twice along the way. Sebastien Bouchand out boxed David Roman in a 152 lb. Open bout. Quite a feat for Bouchand as Roman was ranked in the top ten nationally last year. This indicates that the Canadian team had some very good boxers. Steve Harvey of Canada won in his 201 lb. Heavyweight Open bout. Harvey faced off against Audeliz Rivera of NJ and earned “Most Courageous Boxer” of the night after an excellent showing of boxing skills.
The complete results from Saturday March 15th NJ- USA vs. Canada:
1) George Borges Elite BC NJ dec. Tommy Cote Canada 130 lb. J.O.
2) Juan Rodriguez NJ USA dec. David St. Pierre Canada 141 lb. Open
3) Andrew Bentley NJ USA dec. Chris Plaitis Canada 125 lb. Open
4) Mike Perez NJ USA dec. Dave Reginbald Canada 130 lb. Open
5) David Gauthier Canada dec. Victor Montero-Cruz N. Bruns, NJ 130 lb. Open
6) Patrick Farrell NJ USA RSC Alec Bilodean Canada 201 lb. Novice
7) Sebastien Bouchand Canada dec. David Roman NJ USA 152 lb. Open
8) Antwon Aikens NJ USA dec. Vincenzo Crispo Canada 152 lb. Open
9) Mian Imtiaz Hussain Canada dec. Anthony Gangemi NJ USA 152 lb. Open
10) Schiller Hyppolite Canada RSC Dishan Johnson NJ USA 165 lb. Open
11) Steven Harvey Canada dec. Audeliz Rivera NJ USA 201 lb. Open
12) Dannay Perez Canada dec. IBN. Akbar Richardson 178 lb. Open
BB
“Around The Ring”
NY-NJ Amateur Boxing Scene Busy
By Bobby Breen
2/19/2008. The amateur boxing scene in NY/NJ is busy this time of year. The NY Daily News Golden Gloves enters into its fifth week of a total of eleven. Last week I was able to attend two shows in NY at the greatest amateur boxing tournament in the country, and perhaps the world. Wednesday Feb. 13th the show at Petrides HS on Staten Island had a large crowd, upwards of several hundred, maybe even a thousand on hand. Only problem was, there were very few bouts. Fifteen boxers did not show up this night, very unusual for this well respected and run tournament. Hence, those fifteen boxers are out of the tournament. Six bouts were matched and with one winding up as a walk over, only five bouts went off. The first two were in the 132 lb. novice division. The other three were in the 201 Heavyweight and 201+ Super-Heavyweight divisions. The crowd didn’t seem to mind. Entertainment was still in the air as several former NY GG Champ’s were on hand as well as several former and one World Champion. Gerry Cooney, Mark Breland, Renaldo Snipes, Michael Moorer, Iran Barkley, Paulie Malignaggi, Brian Adams (who coordinates the Golden Gloves for the Daily News) and Johnny Davis, all got into the ring to be recognized. Teddy Atlas’s Foundation put on the show and had a host of celebrities in attendance in addition to those already listed. Lou Duva, Max Kellerman, Bob Papa, Jets Eric Mangini, former Met John Franco, the West Point Boxing Team with Coach Ray Barone also were invited into the ring. This was a nice night out for the boxing fans to enjoy.
The night got started with Jonathon Hernandez of Schwartz PAL in Brooklyn, NY earning a decision over Cesar Francis from Starrett City BC. This contest was in the 132 lb. novice class as was the second bout. Grashine Yancy of Park Hill BC in Staten Island earned a decision over Andres Cerpa of Trinity BC. For Yancy, winning on home turf is special. Nothing like the home town crowd behind you. The next three bouts were the big boys. Dushane Crooks defeated Thomas Kaliszuk of Rhino BC in a 201 lbs. novice bout. Crooks of Starrett City BC looked impressive landing with uppercuts and the stronger punches, not only winning the bout, but also capturing “Fighter of the Night” honors. Another 201 lbs. novice bout had David Sparks of Starrett City BC going up against Elvin Vargas of Church St. BC. This was a competitive bout with Sparks doing the boxing and Vargas trying to get on the inside to do some punching. Sparks landed enough to convince the crowd he was the winner, but not the judges, as Vargas was declared the winner after Sparks was originally announced as the winner. Nothing like confusing the crowd who seemed to be pro-Sparks.
Sparks did box well, but the aggressive style of Vargas won over the judges, and they boxing fans are who count when it comes to the scorecards. The last bout of the evening had Ramadan Abdul-Mateen of Hempstead PAL winning by RSC (referee stops contest) over Adam Helmsley who boxed unattached. Helmsley covered up too much and as a passive boxer, the referee had no choice but to stop the slaughter. This was a 201+ Superheavyweight bout and both boxers looked super-heavy. Both were over the 225 mark. Yeygenly Tsyguley a 201+ boxer of Brighton BC won by walkover and advances in the gloves.
Friday night Feb. 15th the NY Golden Gloves moved to Yonkers, NY at the old National Guard Amory, now home of the Yonkers PAL. Ten bouts headlined the card for a full night of Friday Night At the Fights, Golden Gloves style. Now here was a good card. Some of the bouts were really great. One in particular had Anthony Fiore, who was listed as Unattached, but had corner men from Newburgh PAL, going up against Matthias Reischi of D’Awesome BC. This bout was in the 201+ novice class. The power is evident in the bigger stronger boxers, but Fiore unleashed a left hook on Reischi that dropped the boxer down pretty hard. Reischi, much to his credit and condition beat the eight count, and continued, only to get nailed with a devastating right cross. This time the taller Reischi went down like a towering timber. Wow, what a knockout, as a loud hush silence filled the armory arena. Reischi was out cold for over two minutes, which in amateur boxing rules translates into a 180 days medical restriction. No boxing, no sparring, no competing. It took EMT’S and Ringside Physicians several minutes to revive Reischi and get him stable, then moved onto a stretcher and brought to a local hospital for proper observation. As much as a KO is the king in boxing, as a home run is to baseball, the slam-dunk to basketball, it is mind shattering to see someone knocked out unconscious for a few minutes of their life. Boxing resumed, life went on, and the show continued. Five of the ten bouts were stoppages this night. The amateur referee’s did a great job, monitoring and assessing the boxer’s condition and stopping the bouts before someone got injured.
Saturday Feb. 16th Seaside Heights, NJ had the first amateur card in NJ for the 2008 year. Put on by Darren “Checkmate” Maciunski, who as a middleweight had wins over Meldrick Taylor and Buddy McGirt, the card was held right on the Boardwalk and Dupont Ave. at the Original Steakhouse. Fifteen bouts, yes 15 bouts folks, Jersey doesn’t play. A full card with some great bouts as NJ gets ready for their own NJ Golden Gloves which commence Feb. 29th at the Eatontown Sheraton Hotel in Eatontown, NJ. The full results are listed below;
1) Salvatore Monaco J.Harris BC dec. Donald Swider So.River BC 70 lb. JO
2) Damien Brown Elite BC dec. C. Spinosa Checkmate BC 160 lb. Open
3) Mahmoud Hafiz Elite BC dec. Joseph Rulli Checkmate BC 130 lb. JO
4) Chris Murphy Dover BC dec. Antoine Akens Pleasantville BC 165 lb. Open
5) Sean Boyle So. River BC RSC Danis Monaco Dover BC 75 lb. JO
6) Edward Ventura So. River BC dec. Ibo Szalsrowski Checkmate BC 135 lb. JO
7) DeCarlo Perez Pleasantville BC dec. Anthony Gangemi Dover BC 152 lb. Novice
8) Joseph Griffin Howell PAL dec. Bryant Romero Bayonne PAL 152 lb. Novice
9) Peter Deyonker Checkmate BC dec. Elizer Pagan So. River BC 152 lb. Novice
10) Michael Nesci Middletown PAL dec. Paolo Francisco Final Rnd. BC 152 lb. Novice
11) Joseph Donovan Middletown PAL Ret. Dante Rossetelli Final Rnd. BC 165 lb. Novice
12) Justin Fleisher Gladiator BC dec. Ryan Mickendrow Dover BC 152 lb. Open
13) Robert Russo Checkmate BC dec. Christopher Rodriguez Final Rnd. BC 178 lb. Novice
14) Robert Beplinski Checkmate BC dec. Edwin Arriaga So. River BC 165 lb. Novice
15) Jason Wilson Middletown PAL dec. Matthew McKinley Checkmate BC 178 lb. Novice
Other Events: Congratulations go out to three boxers from the NY/NJ who recently brought home National Silver Gloves Championships after competing in Independence, MO. the week of Jan. 30th to Feb. 2nd, 2008. Cristino Ceballos 125 lb. from Brooklyn, NY won a title in the 12/13 years old bracket. Ceballos is trained by Robert Pagan, father of Shemuel Pagan who is competing this year in the NY Golden Gloves at 132 lbs. Open Division. Trent Tedesco 147 lbs. of Nutley, NJ won a title in the 12/13 years old bracket. Also bringing home a National Silver Gloves title to New Jersey was, Isiah Casitanon of Hackensack, NJ who competed in the 156 lbs. 14/15 years old division. Both Casitanon and Tedesco are trained by Alex Devia. Making it to the finals were; Julian Rodriguez of NJ, Christian Bermudez of NY. Tremaine Williams 100 lbs. of New Haven, CT., won a title in the 14/15 years old division and also came home with “Outstanding Boxer of the Tournament”. Williams boxed beautifully, winning one bout by RSC (referee stops contest) and two others by decision. Williams’s boxes out of the Ring One BC in New Haven, CT. Don Simpkins of Rochester, NY was honored and inducted into the National Silver Gloves Hall of Fame for his years of sevice. Simpkins serves as Regional Coordinator for the Silver Gloves. Region One covers New York and New Jersey, as well as New England. Feb. 29th a pro card will be held at the Robert Treat Hotel in downtown Newark, NJ. Jerome Ellis headlines against Josh Oyango in a 152 lb. matchup for 8 rounds. Akima Stocks, former nationally ranked Women’s amateur makes her pro-debut. Gold Ringside $75, Reserved Ringside $50, General Admission $25. For info call (973) 364-0500. Doors open 7pm, first bout 7:30pm. C.O.M.B.A.T.T a Newark, NJ based amateur boxing program will hold their 6th annual awards dinner fund raiser, Tuesday March 25th at 5:30 pm at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, NJ. Tommy Hearns, Michael Spinks, are some of the celebrities scheduled to attend. For tickets and information contact (973) 824-4900. See you “around the ring”. BB
"Around The Ring”
National Silver Gloves Semifinals Update
By Bobby Breen
2/1/08. The National Silver Gloves Semi-finals concluded today with over seventy bouts conducted narrowing the field for Saturday’s Championship Finals. Several NY/NJ area boxers competed and won advancing to the finals. This is a premier tournament testing the skills and abilities of young boxer athletes. It is the Silver Gloves that breed tomorrow’s champions in the Junior Olympics, National Golden Gloves and US Championships. The top of these major tournaments are the boxers who win at national and international levels, some of the many but only few chosen to represent the USA in the Olympics as this year’s 2008 boxing team will do during this coming summer in Beijing, China. Heard “around the ring”…there’s no tomorrow…there’s only today!
There is no talk here about the Super Bowl. No other subjects here but boxing in its purest living form. Young athletes who train and live to compete in the ring, representing their boxing clubs, their home states, or USA-Boxing Region, neighborhoods and communities. Coaches, trainers, parents, it is quite a sight to see such dedication and determination that makes this tournament and others like it work to help these young athletes perform, and learn about boxing, competing, themselves, and in general learn about life thru sport. Additionally, the USA-Boxing Officials, National Silver Gloves representatives, and Ringside Boxing Equipment, all make this happen. It is amazing to see boxing clubs come from all over this country, by car and plane, some traveling long distances, often on broken shoe-string budgets, so their boxers can compete, win, and earn the title “2008 National Silver Gloves Champion”.
Julian Rodriguez made it to the finals this year in his 90 lbs. 12/13 age class. Rodriguez boxed very well using side-to-side and counter movements to out box Manuel Robles of Region 8. Rodriguez lost in the finals last year and hopes to bring a title back to NJ this time. Pedro Sosa of the Bronx, NY who won the National Silver Gloves last year, lost this time in the semi-finals to Zeddie Adams of Cleveland, OH. Adams must be some boxer because Sosa is one of the best in the nation. Hoshwan Sambolin of Rochester, NY won by a very close margin to make it to the championship round. The team from Rochester, NY under Coach Jiles has 3 boxers in the finals. Trent Tedesco had a good bout winning by decision over Kewin King from Region 2. Tedesco looked strong in his efforts and will face off against Milton Williams from Cheletan, MD Region 3. Toka Rahn boxed very well and appeared to do enough to win but the judges thought otherwise awarding Brian Nichols the decision in their 132 lb. 14/15/ yrs. old bout.
Region 1 results from the 2/1/08 afternoon session;
James Johnson, Jr. R5 dec. Deshawn Cleaves NJ 65 lbs. 10/11 yrs. old
Ernesto Delgadillo R6 dec. Carlen Wright R1 85 lbs. 12/13 yrs. old
Trent Tedesco NJ dec. Kewin King R2 147 lbs. 12/13 yrs. old Tedesco in finals!
Daquan Arnett R3 dec. Ramiel Shelton R1 165 lbs. 14/15 yrs. old
Georgie Nacerio CT. dec. Jamontay Clark R2 100 lbs. 12/13 yrs. old Nacerio in finals!
Eric Flores R8 dec. Shakur Jackson NJ 147 lbs. 14/15/ yrs. old
Adams Zeddie R2 dec. Pedro Sosa Bronx, NY 139 lbs. 14/15 yrs. old
Trewaine Williams CT. dec. Jordan Deieon R5 100 lbs. 14/14/yrs. Old Williams in finals!
Christian Bermudez Brooklyn, NY dec. Alex Barrientos R2 70 lbs. 10/11 yrs. old Bermudez in finals!
Edwin Espinal Providence, RI dec. Kevin Kelly R2 156 lbs. 14/15 yrs. old Espinal in finals!
Rahim Gonzales R8 dec. Yanil Osorio R1 90 lbs. 10/11 yrs. old
Brian Nichols R6 dec. Toka Rahn Providence, RI 132 lbs. 14/15/ yrs. old
Region 1 results from the 2/1/08 evening session;
Hoshwin Sambolin R1 dec. Eduardo Alvarez R8 80 lbs. 10/11 yrs. old Sambolin in finals!
Robert Jiles Rochester, NY dec. Quartvorge Peavey R3 85 lbs. 10/11 yrs. old Jiles in finals!
Julian Rodriguez NJ dec. Emmanuel Nieves R8 90 lbs. 12/13 yrs. Old Rodríguez in finals!
Brian Alvarez R8 dec. Junior Younan Brooklyn, NY 132 lbs. 12/13 yrs. old
Jesus Luna R8 dec. Axel Cruz Bronx, NY 75 lbs. 12/13 yrs. old
Cristino Ceballos Brooklyn, NY dec. Max Diaz R8 125 lbs. 12/13 yrs. old Ceballos in finals!
Tyshon Coker Rochester, NY dec. Blake Flores R8 80 lbs. 14/15 yrs. old Coker in finals!
Miguel Cartagena Phil. PA dec. Jessie Noble R1 106 lbs. 14/15 yrs. old
Isaiah Casitanon Hackensack, NJ dec. Ernesto Hernandez R6 156 lbs. 12/13 yrs. old Casitanon in finals!
Marcio Figueroa R3 dec. Malik Gary NJ 178 lbs. 14/15 yrs. old
Gervonta Davis Baltimore, MD dec. D’Andris Hockerson R1 80 lbs. 12/13 yrs. old
Carlos Osorio Syracuse, NY also will box in the finals Saturday 2/2/08 at 120 lbs in the 10/11 yrs. old age class.
There were 260 amateur boxers entered in this year’s National Silver Gloves. With the three (3) age categories, 10&11, 12&13, and 14&15, there are the standard twelve weight classes, plus the 60 lbs. up to 100 lbs. divisions, so there will be 46 Championship bouts in the finals. The boxers and other participants will attend a banquet and awards ceremony at the end of the National Silver Gloves tournament.
BB
“Around The Ring”
National Silver Gloves Kickoff @ Independence MO
By Bobby Breen
2/1/08. The National Silver Gloves Tournament kicked off last night in Independence, MO. Some 300 boxers between the ages of 10-15 yrs. of age will compete over the next two more days for a National Silver Gloves title and national ranking points. With three boxing rings going, each having some 26-28 bouts last night, the ballroom at the Hilton Gardens hotel was busy. The nationals are broken up into eight regions. Region 1 Northeast covers, NJ, NY Metro, Adirondack (upstate NY) Niagara (way upstate NY), CT, New England (including Maine). I’ve been trying to follow the Region 1 boxers from NY & NJ. So far, most have faired well in this very competitive tournament. The National Silver Gloves is the premier tournament for young boxers at this stage of their careers as athletes. The kids have to train hard, win to make it to this level, and fight their hearts out. The coaches, officials, family and friends who support these young athletes deserve some credit. Boxing may be an individual competitive sport but the boxers need a team behind them. We get to see at this level some of the best boxers prior to them moving up to the larger more visible and recognized tournaments as they grow and mature.
Coming up winners in the opening rounds; R= Region #
Deshawn Cleaves NJ dec. Cody Waslager R7 65 lbs. 10-11 yr. old
Pedro Sosa NY dec. Alantz Fox R3 139 lbs. 14-15 yr.
OldGeorgie Nacerio CT. dec. Dusty Harrison 100 lbs. 12-13 yr. old
Cymear Prescott Albany, NY dec. Shannon McCray R5 125 lb. 14-15 y/o
Toka Kahn N.E. dec. Anthony Lane R5 125 lbs. 14-15 yr. old
Shakur Jackson NJ dec. Edward Davis R2 147 lbs. 14-15 yr. old
Julian Rodriguez NJ dec. Janeil Foy R5 90 lbs. 12-13 yr. Old
Trewaine Williams CT. RSC-H Nathan Sainz R7 100 lbs. 14-15 yr. old
This is not an inclusive list of all the boxers from NY/NJ. A few boxers drew byes and will box today. One is Cristino Ceballo 125 lb. 13 yr. old from
Brooklyn, NY. Ceballo is trained by Shem Pagan father of NY Golden Glove Champion, US Champion and 2008 Olympic finalist Shemuel Pagan. Look for the younger Pagan in this year’s NY GG’s before he turns professional later this year. Marcos Suarez highly regarded and ranked 112 lbs. 15 yr. old from the Bronx, NY lost in his first bout. Word was Suarez struggled to make weight. This is a setback as Suarez has won in many national tournaments and was a favorite here to win again in his weight and age class.Shakur Jackson won a very close decision in his contest with Edward Davis in a 147 lb. 14-15 yr. old class. I spoke with
Jackson this morning at breakfast. The 15 yr. old Jackson trains at Elite BC in Newark, NJ under coach Rob Griffith. Trewaine “Midget” Williams of Ring One BC in CT. looked impressive with a KO at 1:08 in round one over Nathaniel Sainz from Region7. Actually there are no KO’s in amateur boxing; the correct term is RSC, or Referee Stops Contest. In this case it was an RSC-H. RSC Headshot. Sainz receives a 30 day restriction from sparring and competing as a precautionary safety measure. Toka Kahn did well in his bout with Anthony Lane of Region 5. Kahn a southpaw used good movement to land his punches and gain advancement to today’s round of boxing. The crowd was roaring at Ring #1 when Pedro Sosa and Alantz Fox were going at it in a 139 lb. 14-15 yr. old match up. Sosa of the Bronx PAL looked strong with good inside punching that is his trademark. Ring #2 was the scene of a tremendous bout late in the evening between Christopher Picas of Region 8 (California) and Kevin Kelly of Region 2 (Pennsylvania, parts of VA and DE). Picos of East L.A. was stopped with a devastating body shot, a left to the ribs. This was in the final round after it appeared Picos was wining the bout. This was only one example of the exciting and well matched bouts that took place on opening night. Boxing resumes today at 1pm Kansas City time with a day session and at 6pm tonight for another evening session. The Championship rounds take place Saturday February 2nd at 3pm More updates and results will follow. Until then this is Bobby Breen reporting from the National Silver Gloves and I’ll see you “around the ring”.BB
“Around The Ring”
Staten Island, NY Amateur Card a Success
By Bobby Breen
1/22/2008. A NY Metro USA-Boxing amateur card was held Saturday night at the Universal Boxing Gym on Staten Island, NY. Eleven bouts in all entertained a lively heavily local crowd, with several boxers from Staten Island competing against each other. Nothing like local titles on the line, even if in the form of bragging rights or titled Staten Island Championships. Some fine boxers performed with teams from New Jersey and Connecticut competing as well as some local NY Metro USA-Boxing clubs. Seen in the corner for the Hamden, CT. team, Gaspar Ortega, a decent professional boxer himself, circa 1950/60’s and father of famed current pro-referee Mike Ortega. The younger Ortega recently refereed the Calzaghe/Kessler Super-Middleweight Championship bout in Wales back in November ’07. The older Ortega, known as “El Indio” campaigned as a welterweight and fought such notables as, Tony Demarco, Kid Gavilan, Emile Griffith, Benny Paret, and Carmine Basilio. With a professional record of 131 wins, 39 loses, 6 draws with 69 wins by KO, I’m sure he had some great advice for the young boxers he trains. It did, as the Hamden Team looked strong and well coached.
Universal Boxing Gym opened in May 2007. They are located at 101 Ellis St. This was their first amateur boxing show. Hopefully more will follow. Owner Rommel Malabanan told me he hopes to do one show a quarter. There was a sad note for the evening. Wachey Hartley, a 20 yr. old boxer from the Park Hill Boxing Club on Staten Island, NY was hit by a car last week and was fatally injured. Hartley was trained by Gary Starks at Park Hill BC for the last four years and was to enter this year’s NY Daily News Golden Gloves. The evenings matches were dedicated in his memory and the boxing tradition of the bell ringing ten-count was conducted by an official ringside. Our sincerest condolences go out to the family and friends of Wachey Hartley.
All of the bouts were exciting in their own right, but a couple really stood out. A female bout turned “Girls Gone Wild” as Amanda Serrano battled with Lenore Nieto in a 125 lb. matchup. Serrano of En-V-Us BC got the upper hand after some fair trading by Nieto of Rudy’s Gym. The referee had to stop the contest (RSC) at 1:45 of the second round as Nieto had taken the maximum number eight counts. In USA-Boxing 3 standing eights in a round or 4 standing eights in a bout automatically call for the referee to stop the contest(RSC). Quite a display of physical endurance as both female boxers were very well conditioned. Marcos Suarez of Webster PAL squared off with Luis Rosa from Hamden, CT. in a 115 lb. JO bout. Both of these boxers are nationally ranked. This was a bout of two highly skilled, trained, and coached amateurs going against each other at a young stage in both of their careers. Rosa was awarded the decision of what was a closely scored bout.
Anthony Cusamano of Park Hill BC got a decision over Andy Ramawwa of the PBA Boxing Team in their 112 lb. novice contest. This was the first of four Staten Island rivalry bouts as it was a mainly Staten Island cheering crowd for both corners. Park Hill BC and Universal BC are both on Staten Island. So, a little territory rivalry and bragging rights were at stake. The next bout was the only Super-Hvy + bout as Anthony Negron from Park Hill BC stopped Will Martin of Universal BC at 1:40 of the second round. Both boxers started off well but Negron started to land the heavier leather on Martin causing a couple of standing eight counts. Again the referee was forced to stop the bout with RSC, Referee Stops Contest. This is the equivalent to a TKO in professional boxing. An amateur boxer is not supposed to absorb the punishment as in the pro ranks, hence you see amateur referee’s stopping bouts earlier, much to the disagreement of the crowd, but the safety of the amateur boxer is of the utmost concern.
So, Park Hill BC had two up on the other Staten Island clubs up to this point of the evening but not for long. Tony DeFeo from Universal BC fought a very good bout against Odago Benson of Park Hill BC in a 178 lb. novice bout. This bout looked close to this writer, as both boxers did well enough to make it competitive. DeFeo was awarded the decision. Kenny Robles of Universal BC evened it up with an RSC at 0:40 seconds of the second round over Chad Trabuschio from Park Hill BC in a 132 lb. novice matchup. The bouts, crowd and energy was incredible. In fact, announcer Pat Russo of the NYC PAL and NYPD Boxing Team said after the DeFeo/Benson bout, you could pay $20 for this show or $50 for the HBO Trinidad vs. Jones, Jr. Pay for view, and get a better deal on Staten Island. How right he was!
Also appearing on this card was Marcus Browne a 165 lb. novice boxer from Park Hill BC. Browne faced Charles Foster of Hamden, CT. Folks, if you haven’t seen Marcus Browne box check out this year’s NY Golden Gloves. I was able to witness Browne last summer at the Ringside Tournament in Kansas City, MO. He handled everybody he boxed there with a domination and determination I haven’t seen in an amateur boxer since Mark Breland. Browne is a key prospect in the amateur ranks with all the potential to achieve success at every level of competition. Browne won by decision over Foster fairly easily, but Foster was game, he just did not have the skills to counter Browne. Tyshawn Jones of Elite BC out of Newark, NJ also boxed and won over Hector Torres of Park Hill BC in a 106 lb. JO bout. Jones won the 2007 National Junior Olympian Championship last year as a 90 lb.’er and was ranked #1 in the nation. The new rankings for 2008 are not out yet for J.O.’s. So, there you have it, boxing at its best on Staten Island on a Saturday night. Who needs the Garden and PPV when you have some of the best amateurs and future Champions right in the neighborhood. See you “around the ring”. BB
The complete results from the Jan. 19th Staten Island amateur show;
1) Julian Sosa Red Hook PAL dec. Axel Cruz Webster PAL 80 lbs. JO
2) Hector Colon Rhode Is. dec. Christian Rodriguez Hempstead, NY 112 JO
3) Armanda Serrano En-V-Us BC RSC Elenore Nieto Rudy’s Gym 125 lbs. F
4) Luis Rosa Hamden, CT. dec. Marcos Suarez Webster PAL 115 lbs. JO
5) Tyshawn Jones Elite BC NJ dec. Hector Torres Hamden, CT 106 lbs. JO
6) Marcus Browne Park Hill BC dec. Charles Foster Hamden, CT 165 lbs Nov.
7) Chris Murphy Dover BC NJ dec. Olsen Naranjo Elmcore BC 165 lbs. Nov
8) Anthony Cusamano Park Hill BC dec. Andy Ramawwa PBA BC 112 lbs. Nov
9) Anthony Negron Park Hill BC RSC Will Martin Universal BC 201+ S/H Nov
10) Kenny Robles Universal BC RSC Chad Trabuschio Park Hill BC 132 lbs. Nov
11) Tony Defeo Universal BC dec. Odago Benson Park Hill BC 178 lbs. Novice
Around The Ring”
Silver Gloves Northeast Regional’s Conclude
By Bobby Breen
The Northeast Region USA-Boxing Silver Gloves were held this past weekend at the Oneonta Boys and Girls Club in Oneonta, NY. Several areas were represented at the tournament including, NY Metro, NJ, CT., Niagara NY, and New England. Sixteen bouts were held Saturday Jan. 5th, with seven bouts held on Sunday Jan. 6th. The winners advance to the National Silver Gloves tournament scheduled for January 30th thru February 2nd in Independence, MO.
The Silver Gloves is the breeding ground in amateur boxing for the Golden Gloves. The Silver Gloves is a tournament for J.O.’s (Junior Olympians) in the 10-15 years old category. The ages are divided into three divisions, 10-11 yrs. old junior, 12-13 yrs. old Intermediate, and 14-15 yrs. old Senior. In each of these divisions are the individual weight classes. All of these amateur boxers had to win in their respective area’s (known as LBC’s, or Local Boxing Committee) to make it to the Regional in Oneonta, NY. For example New Jersey held their NJ Silver Gloves tournament on Saturday Dec. 8th at the Lou Costello Gym in Paterson, NJ. The National Silver Gloves Champions earn points to be ranked nationally in their age and weight category by the National USA-Boxing.
Many of the bouts were very good, but some were extraordinary. Marcos Suarez of NY Metro boxed very well earning a decision to advance in the 112 lb. senior class. Suarez decisioned Hector Colon of New England. Suarez’ stable mate at the South Bronx PAL, Pedro Sosa won over Joe Goss of CT. in a 139 lb. senior class bout. Jermaine Williams of CT. looked very impressive in a 106 lb. Intermediate bout winning over Jessie Nogha of Niagara, NY. Cymear Prescott of Albany, NY boxed great using his reach and range over Billy Cosgrove of New England who won impressively just the day before. Toka Kahn of New England won an exciting bout over Melvin Lopez of Albany, NY on day two of the tournament. The level of competition and the skill some of these young boxers have at this stage of their development is remarkable to say the least. We will see some of them come back from the National Silver Gloves as Champions and go on to other titles in the older age bracket tournaments. Let’s wish them the best when they travel to Missouri the end of January.
The complete results of the NE Regional Silver Gloves Oneonta, NY Jan. 5th;
1) Deshawn Cleaves NJ dec. Jevonte Noble Niagara, NY 65 lbs. Jr.
2) Laquar Washington Niagara, NY dec. Salvatore Monaco NJ 80 lbs. Jr.
3) Hoshawn Sambuto Niagara, NY dec. Ernest Harold CT. 80 lbs. Jr.
4) Bittany Delgado NY Metro RSC Rachel Hagton Ros, NY 112 lbs. Female
5) Julian Rodriguez NJ dec. Amoda Cole CT. 90 lbs. Jr.
6) Christian Chavez NY Metro dec. Dante Monaco NJ 95 lbs. Jr.
7) George Naclerio CT. dec. Daryll Lynch NY 100 lbs. Jr.
8) Jesse Noble Niagara, NY dec. Devnon Shelton N.E. 106 lbs. Int.
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