DiBELLA AND MARGULES, A NOT SO ODD COUPLE

-         Ron Ross   

        Oct. 31,2007     

Maybe it is a marriage of convenience. Maybe it is true love. Whatever, the newly linked couple, Lou DiBella and Leon Margules, were all smiles as they joined together in holy partnership before a quite pleased gathering at the Hard Rock Resort in Hollywood, Florida.  Broadway Boxing and Warriors Boxing Promotions teamed up for what is hoped to be the first of many exciting and successful ventures.

Last night’s show brought back the flavor of the old-time neighborhood fight clubs, only expanding the neighborhood theme to regional competition – North vs South, Florida vs New York. And the crowd loved it. Okay, there were some minor differences. Instead of guys shouting “Hit him in the Kishkes!” or “Inna la bonz!” you now heard “Abajo! Abajo!” Then there was also the extra added attraction of showcasing a couple of Cuban Olympic Gold medalists and Edison Miranda’s return to the wars after his defeat at the hands of Kelly Pavlik.

Edison Miranda made his statement by bouncing enough right hands off the skull of Costa Rican super middleweight Henry Porras to fell a herd of elephants. However, Porras had no ivory tusks and was one tough concrete-chinned brawler. But, finally in the 5^th round of a scheduled 12-rounder, Miranda, 29-2, 25 KO’s,  wobbled him with a huge right and unleashed a furious onslaught with his man on the ropes until referee Frank Santore, Jr. called it off at 2:45 of the 5^th round.

In the 8-round super middleweight co-feature, James “Buddy” McGirt, Jr, a dual resident of Long Island and Vero Beach, FL, was outpunching Canadian Jason Naugler at an almost ten to one clip in the early rounds. But Naugler was the aggressor all the way through, eventually turning the contest into a toe-to-toe trench warfare affair that had the crowd on its feet cheering throughout the final round. However, there was never a question about the outcome with McGirt taking seven of the eight rounds, all three officials turning in 79-73 scorecards for young Buddy, who improved to 17-0, 9 KO’s

The showcase events were two Cuban Olympic Gold medalists from the 2004 Games. Yan Barthelmy improved his professional record to 3-0 by sweeping all four rounds in a featherweight contest against Pensacola’s Ken Hudgins.

Far more impressive and spectacular was former teammate, Yuriorkis Gamboa who, in a junior lightweight 6-rounder, went at his opponent, Brazil’s Adailton DeJesus like an unleashed pit bull. He dropped DeJesus in the opening round with a stunning right to the jaw. Somehow, the Brazilian pulled himself up from a flat on his back position and with a record of 19-2 with 17 knockouts he showed he was not in there just for a payday. Gamboa continued his relentless attack into the 4^th round when he learned that keeping your hands waist-high can lead to all sorts of trouble – for instance, getting tagged by an overhand right from a no-nonsense puncher. Gamboa got tagged alright, but he staggered and stayed upright until a shove from DeJesus deposited him on his rump. Referee Frank Santore, Jr. missed the shove and ruled it a knockdown.  This only served to make the Cuban fight harder. In the 6^th round he cornered DeJesus on the ropes, unleashing a furious attack that had Santore wave him off at 35 seconds of that final round. In only his 5^th pro fight, Gamboa is now 5-0 with 4 KO’s and this one against a far more experienced fighter with solid credentials.

DiBella had two other fighters on the card beside McGirt, both winning handily. Gary Stark, Staten Island, NY, 19-2, 8 KO’s, had too much speed of hand and foot for Robert DaLuz, Proviidence RI, who either wins by a knockout or doesn’t win at all. He did not score is knockout. Instead he was dropped by a straight right in the 8^th and final round.  Stark won by tallies of 79-72 on all cards.

Although having more than just a few nervous moments watching his big heavyweight, Israel Garcia, 18-1, 10 KO’s get clobbered, wobbled and nailed by one wild uppercut after another from Denver’s roundhouse walloper, Kenny Lemos, 9-4-1, 6 KO’s, he was able to breathe a little easier as his fighter’s head did not go flying off like a Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robot. It was a you-hit-me, I-hit-you affair and although each round was a hard-fought see-saw session, Garcia copped a unanimous decision in the 6-rounder, 59-55, 59-55, and 58-56.

Sammy Payne, Hollywood, FL, 7-0, 4 KO’s won a unanimous 4-round decision over Jose L Torres, Puerto Rico4-13 in a junior lightweight contest

DiBella and Margules seem quite compatible and here’s wishing a long, happy and prosperous relationship for future ventures.

A lot of good people in the arena, but none better than Angelo Dundee who was there signing his newly released biography, “MY VIEW FROM THE CORNER” in collaboration with Bert (sometimes sweet as) Sugar.