Philly Prospects Headline Hard Hitting Promotions Show

By Frank Bartolini, Ringside

Philadelphia: This past Saturday Hard Hitting Promotions delivered a seven bout fight card filled with young Philadelphia prospects. 

Headlining the main event, Avery Sparrow, Philadelphia, dropped a very close eight round decision to William Foster III, New Haven, CT. The tides of momentum changed throughout this battle, due to Sparrow's ability to adapt. 

Foster's four inch height advantage made it hard for the usually counter punching Sparrow,129.1 lbs., to score. Utilizing his natural physical assets, Foster, 128.7 lbs., pumped his left jab while moving forward and snaking in right hands. After three rounds, Foster seemed to be in full control and was able to slip Sparrow’s attempts at counterpunching. Unable to close the gap, Avery did not get frustrated. Instead, Sparrow implored a new fight style by moving his head and being aggressive to get inside. Once Sparrow found himself inside Foster’s wheel house, he was more effective landing overhand rights to the head and blows to the body. Several times, Foster found himself in a corner or back to the ropes and could do nothing but grab his foe. 

Getting caught with punches moving inside, Sparrow did not relent and fought every second of the remainder of the contest, including very strong efforts in rounds six and seven when he snapped back Foster’s head with right hands. 

During the final three minutes, Foster committed to staying away from the shorter Sparrow and moved non-stop. Darting in scoring shots and running away, Foster won the last round and the fight on all three judges' scorecards 77-75. 

Foster remains undefeated 15-0, 9 KOs, while Sparrow drops to 10-4, 4 KOs. 

Sparrow had Foster figured out, but ran out of time. If a rematch was scheduled for ten rounds, this scribe would wager heavily on Sparrow. 

The semi windup matched two junior lightweights, Christain Tapia, Coamo, Puerto Rico, with completely outclassed late replacement Mario Sayal Lozano, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Possessing too much talent and skill, Tapia,131.5 lbs., nearly pitched a shutout. Lozano, 132 lbs., was a tough opponent who never quit trying. 

The final tally favored Tapia 78-73 across the board. Tapia rises to 15-0, 12 KOs. Lozano is now 18-8-1, 9 KOs.

Stepping into the ring for the first time since the start of the COVID pandemic, Jeremy Cuevas, Philadelphia, did not miss a beat. Showing zero effects of being laid off for two years, Cuevas knocked the tar out of Nicolas Pablo Demario, Buenos Aires, Argentina, over six rounds. Punctuating a solid performance, Cuevas, 144 lbs., dropped Demario,143 lbs., with a right to the chin in round five. All scorekeepers saw it 60-53 for Cuevas. Cuevas is now 14-1, 10 KOs. Demario's heads home with a record 16-7, 10 KOs. 

Interestingly, Demario entered the ring to the theme of the movie The Godfather. In all my years around the sport, I have never heard that melody used by a boxer. Veteran cutman and mob historian, Joey Eye, also stated it was also a first for him. 

The event was held at The Fillmore Theater. The Fillmore is a small venue that has a balcony and two bars serving booze ringside. Roughly just over six hundred spectators wet their beaks and enjoyed the night’s festivities.

Card Set for Hard Hitting Promotions Event that will take place This Saturday, March 12th at Live! Event Center at Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia

Press Release

Card Set for Hard Hitting Promotions Event That Takes Place This Saturday, March 12th at Live! Event Center at Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia

Christian Tapia takes on Luis LeBron for WBC Continental Super Featherweight Title in Main Event

Branden Pizarro Takes on Vitor Jones Freitas in Co-Feature

Also Undefeated Dezmond Lucas, Brandon O'Callaghan & Deme Edmonds in Action

Philadelphia (March 8, 2022)--A full eight-bout lineup is set for a big night of action that will take place This Saturday night as Hard Hitting Promotions presents a night of championship boxing at Live! Event Center at Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia.

In the mouth watering main event, undefeated Christian Tapia (13-0, 12 KOs) of Coamo, Puerto Rico takes on Luis Lebron (18-2-1, 11 KOs) of San Juan, Puerto Rico in a 10-round showdown for the WBC Super Featherweight Title.

Tapia of Coamo, Puerto Rico, has an impressive record of 13-0 with 12 knockouts. The 27 year-old is a five year veteran who has stopped his last eight adversaries. On July 31, 2021, Tapia won the NABA Super Featherweight title with a 2nd round demolition over former world-ranked contender Mason Menard (36-5). In his last bout, Tapia took out previously undefeated and highly regarded Iron Alvarez (14-0) in the 10th and final round on December 4, 2021 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In that fight, Tapia dominated the previously undefeated Alvarez, as he was up on all cards with Alvarez barely winning a round, before Tapia ended the fight in the 10th.

Lebron of San Juan, Puerto Rico is 18-2-1 with 11 knockouts. The 28 year-old Lebron is a nine-year veteran has wins over Glenford Nickey (2-0-1), Pedro Marquez Medina (1-0), Joshua Santos (2-0-1), Manuel Botis (23-0-1), Alan Guzman (19-3), Luis Ruiz (9-1) and his last bout when he stopped Frank Diaz (9-0) in the 7th round to win the WBA Fedecento Super Featherweight title on November 20, 2021 in Miami, Florida.

In the eight-round welterweight co-feature, Branden Pizarro of Philadelphia takes on Vitor Jones Freitas.

Still just 22 years-old, Pizarro has a record of 16-1-1 with nine knockouts. Pizarro turned pro at age 17 and won his first eight-bouts and is unbeaten in his last nine and is coming off a first-round stoppage over DeWayne Wisdom on February 12, 2021 in Orlando, Florida.

Freitas of Salvador, Brazil, has a record 16-6 with 10 knockouts. The 28 year-old Freitas is a 10 year-professional, is the nephew of former two-division and four-time world champion, Acelino "Popo" Freitas. Vitor won his first 13 bout, and is coming off a loss to undefeated Nestor Bravo on December 4th in Atlantic City.

In six-round bouts:

Dezmond Lucas (5-0, 2 KOs) of Bronx, NY takes on Ryan Pino (10-7-2, 5 KOs) of San Juan, Puerto Rico in a welterweight fight.

Jan Carlos Rivera (4-1, 4 KOs) of Philadelphia fights Michael Ogundo (16-13, 13 KOs) of Quincy, Massachusetts in a super lightweight contest.

In four-round bouts:

Jeffrey Villanueva of Allentown, PA makes his pro debut against Juan Gutierrez of Emallie, Nicaragua in a super flyweight bout.

Brandon O'Callaghan (2-0, 1 KO) of Philadelphia squabbles with pro debuting Derrick Vann of Philadelphia in a middleweight fight.

Anthony Ramirez (0-1) of Philadelphia takes on Cesar Espinel Maldonado of Arecibo, Puerto Rico in a welterweight bout.

Demek Edmonds (4-0, 3 KOs) of Quincy, Massachusetts tangles with Rafael de Souza (0-1) of Salvador, Brazil in a cruiserweight battle.

Tickets are on sale for $150, $100, $75 and $60 and can be purchased at

https://www.axs.com/events/426183/hard-hitting-boxing-tickets?fbclid=IwAR1nYuwIbH0v0Wi4e_WUelHqjbRmK1FZ-nDJdcbRWCQNqji4_jp2F68FD6c&q=Boxing 

The show will be streamed on Facebook Pay-Per-View on the Hard Hitting Promotions Page.

For More Information, Contact:

Marc Abrams at phillyboxing@gmail.com or 856 287 7611

Carmen E. Gonzales: Executive Director, Communications, Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia at carmen.gonzales@livech.com

Hard Hitting Promotions Presents Boxing on Broad: The Successful Return of Prizefighting to the Met

By Matt Ward, Ringside

Professional boxing made its highly successful return to the Metropolitan Opera House (The Met) in Philadelphia last night. For the first time since 1954, Hard Hitting Promotions brought a ten fight card to the beloved and historic venue on North Broad Street.

The main event pitted two Philadelphia fan-favorites against one another for the Pennsylvania State Lightweight Title. Steven Ortiz (10-0, 3 KOs) and Jeremy Cuevas (11-1, 8 KOs) did not just suit up for their first state title shot as professionals, the two gladiators also put their undefeated records on the line in front of a capacity crowd in North Philly.

Both men put their speed on display in the opening round, as they felt one another out during this round. Following this round, Cuevas returned to his corner with blood trickling out of his nose and mouth. Ortiz rocked Cuevas with a nice left hook that slowed Cuevas down in the second round. Ortiz sent Cuevas crashing to the canvas in the second round with a right hand to the body, followed by a left hook to the head. The two fighters exchanged big shots in the third round, which were at time punch-for-punch. The pace of the fight slowed in the fourth and fifth rounds as both men appeared to tire. 

In the sixth round, Cuevas got caught with a left hand to the jaw that reminded him he was still in a fight. Ortiz scored a second knockdown with a right hand to the side of Cuevas' head as time expired in the seventh round. In the eighth round, Cuevas, knowing he was behind on the cards, desperately tried to apply pressure on his opponent. Half way through the eighth round, Cuevas cracked Ortiz with a big left hand to the head. Unfortunately for Cuevas, that was too little, too late as he lost on all three judges scorecards by scores of 78-72, twice, and 79-71. 

Welterweights, Malik Hawkins (14-0, 9 KOs), Baltimore, and Gledwin Ortiz (6-3, 5 KOs), the Bronx, fought in an eight round contest. Both men engaged in a nice opening frame in which they exchanged big shots in the center of the ring. Hawkins utilized his strong defense and body work in the second round to effectively control the tempo of the round. The pro-Hawkins' crowd were on their feet in the third round as Hawkins put pressure on Ortiz by moving forward, and letting his hands go on his game opponent. During this offensive onslaught, Hawkins snapped Ortiz's head back with a straight right. Ortiz responded to this attack with a big combination of his own that caught the attention of Hawkins. 

The fourth round was a real crowd-pleaser, filled with outstanding action. Ortiz connected with a solid left-right hand combo during this round. Hawkins, not wanting to be outdone by the Bronx native, responded with a series of hard body shots that pushed Ortiz into the ropes. The tempo of the fifth and sixth rounds slowed down, understandably so, after what both men had gone through in earlier frames. Heated exchanges in the seventh round led to both men wrapping one another up. The intensity of the battle could not be contained by this clinch, as both men went crashing to the canvas. Ortiz landed a big right hand to the head that pushed Hawkins into the neutral corner. Ortiz followed up on this shot with several hard shots to the head and body. This abuse continued until Hawkins was able to squirm out of the neutral corner. Ortiz again snapped Hawkins' head back with a straight left in the final round. Hawkins landed a big left hook to Ortiz's jaw as time expired. All three judges scored the bout in favor of Malik Hawkins, 77-75, 78-74, and 79-73. 

Philadelphia's Samuel Teah (15-3-1, 7 KOs) fought Tre'Sean Wiggins (11-4-1, 6 KOs) in an eight round contest for the Pennsylvania State Super Lightweight Title. The first two rounds of the contest were evenly matched, until Teah's head was snapped back as the final bell in the second round rang. Wiggins put his foot on the gas in round three as he landed several nice right and left straights to Teah's head and body. The crowd became energized in the fifth round as both men exchanged big, clean shots. Wiggins snapped Teah's head back in the seventh with a hard left hand. Teah entered round eight a man down on the cards. He fought valiantly, looking for a knockout, but in the end lost by unanimous decision by scores of 78-74, 79-73, and 80-72. 

Philadelphia super lightweight boxing prospect, Brandon Pizarro (14-1, 7 KOs) continued his return to his winning ways last night as he stopped Springfield, Massachusetts's Zack Ramsey (8-6, 4 KOs) in the opening frame of a scheduled six round contest. Pizarro's sole career blemish was on December 1, 2017 against Christian Rivera at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia. Pizarro dropped Ramsey with a left to the body in the first round. Ramsey pulled himself up from the canvas only to be finished off by a Pizarro left uppercut. The end came at the 1:15 mark of the first round. 

Gadwin Rosa (10-0, 8 KOs) won his fourth straight victory in front of a Philadelphia crowd over Jorge Luis Santos (5-3-1, 2 KOs). Rosa, the NBA Intercontinental Super Featherweight Champion, controlled the opening round of the contest by repeatedly backing Santos into the ropes with straight right and left hands to the head and body. Santos, looking to catch Rosa with a knockout punch in the first, missed his mark on several big shots. Rosa dropped Santos with a left hook to the body in the second round. Santos recovered from the knockdown only to be be beaten down with viscous shots to the head and body. Referee Eric Dali saw enough of the massacre at the 1:28 mark of the second round of a scheduled six, and waived off the fight. 

Christian Tapia (8-0, 7 KOs) continued his winning ways against David Veras Pena (0-2-1). Despite punching upwards at his taller opponent for a bulk of the first round, Tapia, a Puerto Rican super featherweight, pummeled his opponent with hard lefts and rights to the head and body. In the second round, Tapia punished Pena with multi-punch combos, highlighted by consecutive straight right hands to the head. Referee David Franciosi saw enough of the beat down in the second round of four when he stopped the fight at the 1:28 mark. 

In an all Philadelphia light heavyweight contest, Benny "The Jewish Bulldog" Sinakin (3-0, 2 KOs) made quick work of his opponent Ronald Lawrence (0-4). Both men answered the bell swinging for the fences. Sinakin landed crushing right and left hooks to the head and body in the opening frame. The end came at the 2:42 mark of the first round when Sinakin brutally beat his opponent into the ropes with a right-left hand combo.

Female featherweights, Karen Dulin (3-16-1, 1 KO) and Tamar Israeli (2-0-1, 2 KOs) competed in a four round bout. Israeli struggled to land clean punches on her 43-year-old opponent throughout the contest. Israeli, who became more and more frustrated as the bout went on, looked sloppy against Dulin, and allowed her to dodge clubbing right and left hands throughout the contest. The judges scored the bout 39-37 for Israeli, and 38-38, twice, a majority draw.

Philadelphia bantamweight, Josue Rosa (1-0, 1 KO), making his professional debut, fought and defeated his win less opponent, Willie Anderson (0-4). Anderson, who had a clear height and reach advantage over his opponent, cracked Rosa with a straight right hand to the head that sent his opponent stumbling backwards in the first round. Rosa, despite appearing to be hurt, stayed on his feet. Despite winning the first round, and not appearing to be hurt by his inexperienced and unpolished opponent, Anderson quit on the stool after the first round of a scheduled four rounds.

Emanuel Rodriguez (4-0), Newark, NJ, defeated Jose Lopez (0-1-1), New York, by unanimous decision in a four round, bantamweight contest. The judges scored the bout 38-37, 39-37, and 39-36.

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!

Hard Hitting Promotions Fight Night Recap

Hard Hitting Promotions returned to the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia with a nine fight card that featured a number of fighters who are no strangers to the Philly fight scene.

In the main event, South Jersey super middleweight, Derrick Webster (27-1, 14 KOs) defeated Australia's Les Sherrington (37-11, 21 KOs). The ten round bout for the vacant NBA Intercontinental Super Middleweight Title started off slow. Both fighters spent the better part of the first three rounds feeling each other out. Despite the lack of action, Webster did enough through the first five rounds to win them on the judges' scorecards. In the fifth round, Webster was far more active than in previous rounds. He attacked Sherrington with a nice multi-punch combo that sent his opponent backpedaling into the ropes. In the sixth round, Webster landed two clean right hand shots to the head of Sherrington that the Australian laughed off. Webster had an offensive outburst in the eighth round that led to the right hand to the head that sent Sherrington to the canvas. Sherrington recovered from this knockdown, but by this point Webster smelt blood in the water. He finished off Sherrington with a multi-punch combo that pinned his opponent up against the ropes. The punch that sent Sherrington to the canvas for the knockout was a right hand to the head. Referee Gary Rosato waived off the bout at the 1:32 mark of the eighth round.

Branden Pizarro (11-1, 5 KOs) fought Hector Marengo (7-13-4, 4 KOs) in a lightweight bout. Pizarro, a native of Philadelphia, knocked his Puerto Rican opponent down in the first round with a left hand to the jaw. Marengo was down again in the second round from a Pizarro right hand to the head. Marengo recovered from the knockdown but his corner appeared to throw in the towel when they saw the condition of their hurt fighter. The fight ended at the 1:32 mark of the second round of a scheduled six round bout for the winner by TKO, Branden Pizarro.

In lightweight action, Samuel Teah (14-2-1, 7 KOs) ensured that Zack Ramsey (8-4, 4 KOs) would not make it out of the first round of a scheduled six round fight. The Philadelphia fighter answered the bell looking for an early kayoe. The knockout came at the 2:49 mark of the opening frame when Teah connected on a multi-punch combo that was highlighted by a right uppercut. This shot sent Ramsey crashing to the canvas.

Jeremy Cuevas (10-0, 8 KOs) fought and defeated Deo Kizito (3-4, 2 KOs) in a lightweight bout that was scheduled for six rounds. Cuevas, who entered the ring to the roar of the crowd, hurt Kizito with a right hook to the head in the first round. Cuevas landed a right hook to the ribs of Kizito in the final minute of the first round that made Kizito cringe and backpedal away from the Philadelphian. In the second round, Cuevas staggered Kizito with a big right hook to the head, but he could not finish off his opponent. Cuevas ended the second round by nailing Kizito with a hard right hand that sent his opponent staggering back to his corner. Cuevas appeared to have Kizito finished off in the third round after landing a crushing multi-punch combo to the head and body of his opponent, but Cuevas backed off when he thought referee Steve Smoger was going to waive off the fight. Kizito managed to survive the onslaught, and later unleashed a barrage of quality punched to the head and body of Cuevas as the round came to an end.

In the fourth round, Kizito slipped while throwing a punch at his opponent. Cuevas, who thought he knocked his opponent down, began to celebrate by climbing up on the turnbuckle in the neutral corner. Referee Steve Smoger managed to get Cuevas down, and alerted him that the bout was still going on. Cuevas, clearly frustrated by not knocking his opponent out, threw a left hand at Kizito's head when he tried to touch gloves at the beginning of the fifth round. During this round, both men appeared to be exhausted from the hard fought bout. To Cuevas' relief, the contest came to an end in the sixth round, when he knocked out Kizito with a multi-punch combo at the 2:02 mark of the final round.

Super featherweights, Gadwin Rosa (7-0, 6 KOs) and Angel Albelo (4-10-3, 1 KO) squared off in a bout scheduled for six rounds. The Florida fighters had a slow first two rounds. Rosa, who came into the fight with a four fight kayoe streak, appeared to fight down to the competition through the first four rounds. Rosa scored a knockdown in the fifth round with a multi-punch combo, that was highlighted by a hard right to the Albelo's head. Referee Gary Rosato waived off the bout at 2:05 of the fifth round.

Romuel Cruz (2-0-1, 1 KO) and Jose Lopez (0-0-1) fought to a draw after four rounds of action. In the second round, both men beat the crap out of one another as they exchanged big shots. In the third round, Lopez landed two big right uppercuts to the head of Cruz. Cruz appeared hurt by these shots and spit out his mouthpiece. As the third round came to an end, Cruz was struck with big hooks to the head from his opponent. Cruz staggered his opponent in the fourth and final round with a big right hook to the head. He was unable to capitalize on this big shot because seconds later both men fell to the ground in a clinch. After the two men had gotten back up to their feet, time expired. Cruz threw his hands up in disgust just before he hugged the still hurt Lopez. The judges scored the bout 39-37 for Cruz and 38-38, twice.

Christian Tapia (5-0, 4 KOs) won a decisive unanimous decision victory over Israel Suarez (4-6-2, 1 KO) in a four round contest in the super featherweight division. In the opening round, Tapia landed big right hands to the body and head of his opponent. Tapia swung wildly at Suarez in the second round looking for a knockout. In the third round, Tapia, with a second wind, tried to bully his opponent. Suarez, seeking to slow down his opponent, began to excessively clinch Tapia. Tapia replied to his tactic by throwing more punches and fighting harder. Round four of the bout was more of the same as round three, as Suarez countered Tapia's aggressive style with clinch after clinch. Suarez took a beating in the final round, but managed to stay on his feet. The judges scored the bout 40-36 and 39-37, twice for Tapia.

The opening bout of the card featured a six round bout in the cruiserweight division between former contender and regional belt holder, Prince Badi Ajamu (29-5-1, 15 KOs) and Kenny Cruz  Carasquillo (3-2-1, 2 KOs). Carasquillo landed a big shot to the body of Ajamu in the opening round. Carasquillo hammered Ajamu later in the round with with a multi-punch combo that got the crowd on their feet. Ajamu, who is 46-years-old, looked overwhelmed by his younger opponent for much of the first round. Ajamu looked hurt from a Carasquillo body shot in the second round that forced him to clinch his opponent in the first minute of the round. Both men fought on the inside during the opening minute of the fourth round. Ajamu landed nice upper cuts from the guard during this round. Carasquillo, who appeared exhausted during this round, dropped his guard. Carasquillo managed to gather enough energy to land a big multi-punch combo on his opponent as the round neared its end. Ajamu's head was popped back with a left-right hand combo as the round ended. Carasquillo pushed Ajamu into the ropes with straight left and right hands as the fifth round neared its end. Carasquillo peppered the veteran fighter with shots throughout the sixth round. The judges scored the bout 59-55, twice and 58-56 for Carasquillo.

Eric Hunter's bout was cancelled because Hunter's opponent, Fatiou Fassinou, injured his shoulder. The bout scheduled between Benny Sinakin and Alex Lora was cancelled for undisclosed reasons.

MW

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!