The Return of Ray Robinson

By Frank Bartolini, Ringside

Philadelphia, PA: Nearly three years have expired since the last time “The New” Ray Robinson entered a prize ring. On that night, Robinson fought to a draw on the undercard of one the greatest upsets in heavyweight boxing history when a chubby Andy Ruiz Jr dethroned heavyweight king Anthony Joshua at Madison Square Garden. 

Since then, the boxing world saw Joshua regain and lose his crown. As far as welterweights go, during that time period, former Robinson foe, Yordenis Ugas, ended the career of all-time great Manny Pacquiao. Also, in May of 2019, fellow Philly welterweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis was a rising prospect. Today, Ennis is one of the top rated welterweights in the world. 

The long layoff found Robinson, Philadelphia, PA, on the top of a club card show promoted by Philly based, RDR Promotions. Twenty-two year veteran of over sixty matches, Silverio Ortiz, Yucatan, Mexico, was chosen as the opponent for this six round tune up. 

Weighing in at 154 pounds, a bulked up Robinson looked fit and solid at the junior middleweight limit. Wasting no time, Robinson showed no sign of ring rust as he went on the attack from the opening bell. Robinson's blows were snapping Ortiz's,156.3 lbs., head back just moments into the match. This pummeling continued for three rounds due to Ortiz's freakish ability to absorb punishment. As the brutality became ugly, Ortiz’s corner showed compassion by not letting their willing man charge out for round four. 

A crowd of approximately 1,000 fans saw Robinson raise his record to 26-3-2, 14 KOs. Ortiz heads south of the border with a pocket full of change and a record of 37-29, 18 KOs. Promoter Rodney Rice put on a fight card that ran smoothly. Handling the ring announcing was "Discombobulating Jones." Marc Abram took care of the post fight interviews inside the ring. As usual, matchmaker Nick Tiberi put together a solid undercard that consisted of seven bouts. 

Most notable was local favorite Jerome Conquest, Philadelphia, PA, who looked to have done enough to out box Oscar Barajas in a lightweight bout scheduled for six. The judges saw it differently, and Barajas, Zamora, Mexico, took home a majority decision win. Judges Lynne Carter and Rob Rubnitz scored it 78-56, while John McKaie saw it even, 57-57. This scribe had it 58-57 for Conquest. Conquest weighed 138.4 lbs. as his record slid to 11-7, 1 KO. Barajas tipped the scale at 139.6 lbs., and is now 18-8-1, 8 KOs.  

Howard and Conquest Win on Xcite Fight Night 3 Card

By Matt Ward, Ringside

On an explosive, multiple boxing card night in the greater Philadelphia area, professional prizefighting made its triumphant return to the Xcite Center at Parx Casino in Bensalem, PA.

The main event of Joe Hand Promotions Presents Xcite Fight Night III pitted veteran big men, cruiserweights Garrett Wilson (18-16-1, 9 KOs), South Philadelphia, against Brian Howard (14-2, 11 KOs), Philadelphia, in a fight scheduled for eight frames. Unfortunately for Wilson, this fight did not last anywhere near that...

Early in the opening round, Howard landed a big right hand to the side of Wilson's head that sent him crashing to the canvas. Wilson was able to raise from the mat by referee Eric Dali's count of six, but looked like a drunken man trying to keep his balance. Despite still being visibly hurt from the knockdown, the fight continued. The end came at 2:31 of the first round when Howard hit Wilson with a hard straight right hand to the head that caused him to collapse to the canvas. Wilson was counted out on his back. This KO victory was Howard's first win since being knocked out by Russian light heavyweight Umar Salamov last June.

The co-main event of the evening pitted Jerome Conquest (10-3, 1 KO), 135.2 lbs., against Vinnie Denierio (3-6, 1 KO), 135.2 lbs., in a six round contest for the vacant USBF North American Lightweight Title. This bout, which could be described as a battle between awkward fighters, was entertaining from the outset. Denierio, who has a three inch height advantage on Conquest, made "jerky" movements between punches to avoid Conquest's steady counterpunches for much of the first round. In the second round, Denierio threw hammering overhand lefts that pushed Conquest into the ropes and forced him to clinch his gangly opponent. Conquest answered this attack by landing several nice body shots that clearly slowed down Denierio's offense. Conquest continued to control the round by landing big left and right hooks to Denierio's head that visibly hurt the native of Elmira, NY. Denierio appeared to be in survival mode as the bell marking the end of the second rang.

Conquest answered the third round bell by connecting with a hammering right hook to his opponent's head, a shot that sent perspiration flying all over those seated ringside. Denierio tried to press the attack during this round, but Conquest repeatedly backed him up with effective hooks to the head and body. Denierio, clearly frustrated with his opponent, landed the first of many rabbit punches to Conquest's head during this round. In the fourth frame, Conquest popped Denierio with a hard right hand to the jaw. Denierio responded to Conquest's quality punches by landing more rabbit punches out of the clinch. As the round neared its end, Denierio appeared to push more than punch, as he tried to bully his shorter opponent.

In rounds five and six, a clearly frustrated Vinnie Denierio began to lead with his head, and continued to fight dirty. Denierio worked Conquest's body towards the end of the fifth with left and right uppercuts that put the Philadelphian on his heels against the ropes. In the sixth, Denierio, realizing he was behind on the cards, threw rabbit punches at Conquest during multiple wrap ups. Surprisingly, referee Shawn Clark turned a blind eye to these illegal punches. Late in the round, Denierio looking to be gifted a knockdown, connected with a low blow on Conquest, and pushed the fighter down to the ground in the corner. Conquest bounced up from the canvas and the fight continued until the final bell. The judges scored the bout 60-54 and 59-55, twice, for the winner by unanimous decision, Jerome "The Conqueror" Conquest.

Northeast Philadelphia's Tyhler Williams (1-0, 1 KO) in his professional debut scored a second round knockout on fellow Philadelphian Nyrome Lynch (0-4). Williams, a successful amateur fighter, spent much of the first round chasing Lynch around the ring. Lynch, who looked like he was running laps instead of boxing, refused to allow the highly touted rookie junior welterweight land a meaningful punch in the opening frame. In the second round, Lynch's strategy in the first made him look like a brilliant ring tactician, as Williams put his power on display. Williams answered the second round bell firing big body shots that ended Lynch's running for the evening. Williams went on to trap the incapacitated fighter, and land multi-punch combos at will to his head and body. A devastating right upper cut to the head ended Lynch's night at the 1:45 mark of the second. By this point, referee Eric Dali had seen enough of the massacre that unfolded in the second, and waived off the fight.

Omar Kabary Salem (8-0, 4 KOs), Brooklyn, made quick work of Jacob Fox (3-8, 2 KOs), Bismarck, in a super middleweight contest. After connecting to the head and body of his opponent with a big multi-punch combo, Salem sent Fox crashing to the canvas with repeated left hands to the head. Fox valiantly picked himself up from the mat only to be crushed into the ropes with a barrage of punches that left his opponent defenseless and dazed. Referee Shawn Clark saw enough of the one-sided fight at 2:27 of the first round, when he stepped in and stopped the Salem offensive onslaught.

In an all Philadelphia area junior welterweight showdown, Daiyann Butt (3-0, 1 KO) fought Tyree Arnold (DEBUT) in a four round bout. Butt, who stepped into the ring with a clear height and reach advantage, effectively connected with several big right hands to the head. Early in the second round, Arnold let his hands go, and landed a multi-punch combo that forced Butt to wrap him up in order to halt the attack. Butt responded by landing hard left hands to Arnold’s body. As the second round neared its end, Butt unloaded on Arnold with a punishing multi-punch combo to the head and body. Surprisingly, Arnold stayed on his feet, but was clearly damaged as he stumbled back to his corner after the round.

Butt aggressively worked his opponent’s body in the third round, by landing left and right shots to Arnold’s abdomen throughout the round. This body work slowed the wheels of the speedy Arnold, and made him an easy target for Butt in the fourth and final round. Arnold desperately went head hunting in the fourth, but was unable to find his mark. Butt went on to punish Arnold’s body as the fourth progressed, and at one point rocked Arnold with a well-placed left hook to the head. Butt went on to score the knockout with a series of big right hands that forced referee Eric Dali to stop the fight at 2:22 of the fourth round.

Sammy Berman (2-0, 1 KO), who fights out of the Manayunk Boxing Club, defeated North Philadelphia’s Corey Weekley (0-2) by unanimous decision in a four round, middleweight matchup. Although only 22-years-old, Berman has not fought professionally since 2014. Berman answered the opening bell by pushing his opponent into the ropes with a hard left hand to the body. Weekley was clearly banged up in the second round after Berman stuck a left hand into his jaw, and proceeded to rock him with multiple shots to the body and head. Weekley looked like he was in trouble later in the round, when Berman trapped him in the neutral corner with a series of hard shots. Fortunately for Weekley, he was able to box his way out of this trap and stop Berman from walking him down.

In the third round, Berman kept moving forward on his inexperienced opponent who was unable to mount any type of meaningful offense. In the fourth round, Weekley, who appeared exhausted and beat up, spit out his mouthpiece twice, which resulted in the deduction of a point by referee Shawn Clark. A hard Berman left hand to the head later sent Weekley’s mouthpiece flying for the third time in the round. Berman and Weekley wrestled for the final ten seconds of the contest as Shawn Clark tried to pull the men apart with no success. The judges scored the bout 39-37 and 40-36, twice, for Berman.

In an all New York junior middleweight bout, Ismael Villareal (5-0, 2 KOs) defeated Lashawn Alcocks (1-5) by third round technical knockout. Villareal unloaded three big right hands on Alcocks in the first frame, but struggled to establish follow up shots. In the second round, Villareal bullied Alcocks with big multi-punch combos, highlighted by heavy straight right hands and hooks to the head and body. Alcocks demonstrated toughness in the second round by absorbing damage, staying on his feet, and battling back before the bell marking the end of the second rang. A vicious Villareal right hand to the head sent Alcocks crashing to the canvas in the third round. This knockdown occurred after referee Eric Dali called a pause to the action, and warned Villareal for rabbit punches in the round. Despite recovering from the knockdown, Arnold was crushed under a series of left hooks to the body that forced Eric Dali to stop the action at 2:36 of the third round.

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Philly Dynamite

By Frank Bartolini

Lighting the fuse to what will be a dynamite schedule of fights in Philly over the next couple of months, Michele Rosado’s Raging Babe Promotions sold out the 2300 Arena early in February. This was Raging Babe's first promotion in Philadelphia. Working tirelessly in the weeks prior, Rosado was able to deliver a good undercard regardless of the Sonny Conto pro debut debacle and the travesty of hometown heavyweight Darmani Rock’s conditioning. The Main Event made it a night to remember when “Can't Miss” prospect Christian Carto was starched by faded Mexican has been Victor Ruiz. Via social media, Rosado stated she had a paid attendance of 1,433 patrons. That figure tallies to approximately $100,000 in gate receipts. A respectable take for the nubile promoter in The City of Brotherly Love.

After refurbishing The Metropolitan Opera and rechristening it as “The Met,” the new owners are committed to a active entertainment schedule. Hard Hitting Promotions host the first professional prize fights at the venue in many years. Featured in the main event, Steve Ortiz squares off against Jeremy Cuevas in a all Philly showdown. These two undefeated battlers will be contesting for the Pennsylvania Lightweight Championship over eight rounds. Most certainly, this heated matchup will combust. Another fight worth mentioning is Samuel Teah of Philly pitted against Tre’sean Wiggins. Pennsylvania Super Lightweight belt will be on the line when Teah and Wiggins trade blows in a scheduled eight. Also, very talented undefeated welterweight Mailk Hawkins of Baltimore, Maryland is slated for eight rounds verses Gledwin Ortiz. The Met is located on North Broad Street and the doors open at 5:30 pm on Saturday night February 23rd.

On Friday, March 1st, two different venues just miles apart will hold a evening of professional pugilism. In South Philly at the 2300 Arena, Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotions will deliver a nine bout night of fights. Pennsylvania State Super Welterweight laurels are on the line when two seasoned veterans and Philly natives Tyrone Brunson and Jamaal Davis brawl. This donnybrook will be produce mayhem. The first fight starts at 7 pm.

Just outside of the city limits, Joe Hand Promotions' Xcite Fight Night III takes place at the Parx Casino in Bensalem PA. BAM Promotions is working with Hand, and J. Russell Peltz is doing the matchmaking. Two of Philadelphia’s most beloved boxers Garrett Wilson and Jerome Conquest will combat in separate affairs. Heavyweight Wilson takes on Brian Howard over eight heats. Jerome is set to eight sessions against Vinnie Denierio in the lightweight division.

It is a “Smokin” three weeks of action the city... Consider this with Raging Babes receipts already recorded, and there is no doubt these other three events will be held in front of crowds of over one thousand fanatics. That adds up to close to a half a million dollars in gate receipts. No other municipality in America can put up those digits, and it proves Philadelphia is the ultimate club fight scene in the country.

To be continued... Next up, global promoters Matchroom and Top Rank bring world championship boxing into town from one end to another.

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Jerome Conquest Interview

Luis Cortes recently caught up with Philadelphia lightweight, Jerome Conquest (9-2, 1 KO). Conquest recently attended training camp with Vasyl Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs) who is preparing to fight Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs) on December 9, 2017 at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City for the WBO World Super Featherweight Title. During their interview, Conquest discussed what it was like to attend Lomachenko's camp as well as his future boxing plans.

Check out their Bonus Round interview on both SoundCloud and iTunes:

Bonus Round - Jerome Conquest Discusses Vasyl Lomachenko vs, Guillermo Rigondeaux on SoundCloud

Bonus Round - Jerome Conquest Discusses Vasyl Lomachenko vs, Guillermo Rigondeaux on iTunes

-Luis A. Cortes III

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King's Promotions Presents World Class Pro Boxing - September 29th (Philadelphia, PA)

Friday evening's card opened up with a junior lightweight bout between Maynard Allison (9-2, 6 KOs) and Juan Rodriguez (8-7-1, 6 KOs). Philadelphia's Allison appeared to control the bout until the 3:00 minute mark of the second round, when Allison was struck by a straight overhand right, up the middle, to the head. The Virginian, Rodriguez, walked away the winner by technical knockout in the second round of a scheduled six round bout.

Camden's Robert Irizarry (4-1-1) fought Puerto Rico's Bryan Perez (2-8-1, 1 KO) in a four round, featherweight bout. The bout was highlighted by fireworks in the fourth and final round, when Perez answered the bell throwing a flurry of punches. Irizarry appeared unaffected by the barrage, and spent the rest of the round chasing Perez around the ring. All three judges scored the bout 39 to 37 in favor of the fan favorite, Irizarry.

Upper Darby, Pennsylvania's Brandon Robinson (7-1, 6 KOs) squared off against Virginia's George Sheppard (1-3) in a four round, super middleweight contest. Robinson landed a big shot as the bell rang at the end of the first round. Sheppard fought valiantly in the second round against Robinson, who landed a series of viscous hooks and right overhand punches to his head and body. An accidental collision of heads in the third round briefly stopped the action. Soon after the action resumed, Robinson threw an overhand right that connected with Sheppard's face at the 1:20 mark, which sent him stumbling into the ropes. Sheppard never recovered from the blow and referee, Eric Dali, stopped the contest. This was Robinson's second straight victory by technical knockout at the 2300 Arena. 

The fourth bout featured Erik Spring (10-2-2, 1 KO) and Anthony Prescott (7-7-2, 2 KOs) in a six round, super welterweight bout. Prescott controlled the first three rounds of the bout, and there was a good exchange of punches at the end of the second round between the fighters. Despite landing the more effective punches in the first four rounds of the scheduled six round contest, Prescott appeared to tire in the fifth round. This was not enough for Spring to turn the tide of the bout, and he went on to lose the contest by unanimous decision. Two judges scored the bout 59-55, with a third judge scoring the contest 58-56.

Super lightweights, Darius Ervin (4-1) and David Gonzales (8-2-2, 2 KOs) fought in the fifth contest of the evening. An accidental headbutt in the second round resulted in cuts above each fighters' eyes that required examination by the ringside physicians. The ringside physician who examined Gonzalez called an end to the action after examining the cut above the fighter's left eye. The bout was officially stopped at 1:53 of the second round, and declared a no decision due to an accidental headbutt.

Jerome Conquest (9-2, 1 KO) fought Carlos Rosario (9-3, 1 KO) for the WBF North American Junior Lightweight Title. Conquest scored a knockdown with a big, left upper cut in the fifth round of a scheduled eight round bout. Rosario got back up to his feet and delivered a hard low blow to Conquest, the Strawberry Mansion, Philadelphia native. Rosario went on to control the sixth and seventh rounds. Conquest finished the bout with a strong flurry of punches to the head and body of Rosario. After eight rounds of action, Conquest was crowned the new WBF North American Junior Lightweight with a unanimous decision over the Pennsauken, New Jersey native, Rosario. The judges scored the bout 78-73, 77-74, and 77-74.

Christian Carto's (12-0, 11 KOs) knockout streak came to an end this evening in the main event. However, the Philadelphia bantamweight still shined in his first eight round professional bout. Carto faced Mexico's Alonso Melendez (14-2, 12 KOs) in a professional contest that went the distance, despite Carto decisively winning every round of the contest. Carto effectively landed a series of powerful punches to the head and body throughout the affair, but his southpaw opponent courageously absorbed the damage and stayed on his feet. Carto's solid performance in the bout was reflected in all three judges' scores of 80-72.

Following the concluison of the main event, there were two additional four round bouts. The first contest featured Amir Shabazz (4-2, 1 KO) and Alan Lawrence (2-0, 2 KOs) in a light heavyweight contest. In the first round, Shabazz was knocked out by a Lawrence left hook to the head at the 1:24 mark. The Philadelphia native hit his head hard on the canvas, and had to be attended to by a ringside physician. He was able to walk out of the ring under his own strength after being examined by the physician. The second contest featured Philadelphia welterweights, Rasheed Johnson (2-1, 1 KO) and Demetrius Williams (1-4). Johnson scored a knockout at the 0:56 mark of the first round after he connected with an overhand right to the head of his opponent.

MW

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UPDATE and WEIGHTS - King's Promotions Returns to the 2300 Arena in Philly on 9/29

The updated card was announced last night for this evening's King's Promotions show at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. The main event now features an eight round, bantamweight bout between Christian Carto (11-0, 11 KOs) and Alonso Melendez (14-1, 12 KOs).

Below is the updated card with fighter's weights:

Christian Carto (118.1 lbs.) vs. Alonso Melendez (117.1 lbs.), eight rounds, bantamweights

Darius Ervin (141.2 lbs.) vs. David Gonzales (143 lbs.), six rounds, junior welterweights

Jerome Conquest (131.9 lbs.) vs. Carlos Rosario (132 lbs.), eight rounds, lightweights

Erik Spring (152.4 lbs.) vs. Anthony Prescott (151.7 lbs.), six rounds, junior middleweights

Maynard Allison (135.8 lbs.) vs. Juan Rodriguez (140 lbs.), eight rounds, junior lightweights

Robert Irizarry (125.8 lbs.) vs. Bryan Perez (128 lbs.), four rounds, featherweights

Rasheed Johnson (147.1 lbs.) vs. Demetrius Williams (147.2 lbs.), four rounds, welterweights

Amir Shabazz (173.8 lbs.) vs. Alan Lawrence (173.5 lbs.), four rounds, light heavyweights

Brandon Robinson (168.1 lbs.) vs. George Sheppard (168.5 lbs.), four rounds, super middleweights

For more information on this exciting night of boxing and to purchase tickets, please visit the 2300 Arena's official website.

MW 

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King's Promotions Returns to the 2300 Arena in Philly on 9/29

King's Promotions returns to the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on Friday, September 29th. The card features a number of competitive match ups that are highlighted with the presence of several popular Philly area fighters. The main event features welterweights, Mykal Fox (14-0, 4 KOs) and Marlon Aguas (9-1, 6 KOs) in an eight round bout. Fox, a Maryland native, last fought Daniel Sostre (13-14-1, 5 KOs) in Fort Washington where he won by unanimous decision. Aguas' most recent bout was against Ukrainian prospect, Ivan Golub (13-1, 11 KOs), who defeated the Ecuadorian by technical knockout. The co-feature is a ten round, super middleweight bout between Junior Castillo (14-1, 10 KOs) of the Dominican Republic and Gabriel Pham (9-1, 4 KOs) of Atlantic City. Castillo is coming off of a victory over Elvin Ayala (29-9-1, 13 KOs) for the vacant World Boxing Foundation World Middleweight Title. Pham last fought and defeated Edgar Perez (7-22, 3 KOs) in his hometown this past June.

The eleven bout, card also features lightweight, Jerome Conquest (8-2, 1 KO), and bantamweight, Christian Carto (11-0, 11 KOs). Conquest will face Carlos Rosario (7-2, 4 KOs) in an eight round contest. Conquest, a Philly boxing fan favorite, most recently defeated South Korea's Jae Ho Kim (6-5-1, 2 KOs) at the 2300 Arena in June. South Jersey's Carlos Rosario last fought on May 19th at the 2300 Arena, where he was defeated by Joshua Davis (11-1, 5 KOs) via technical knockout. Carto looks for his twelfth straight victory by knockout against Mexico's Alonso Melendez (14-1, 12 KOs), in his first eight round fight of his professional career. Carto is coming off a second round TKO victory over Philip Adyaka (7-10, 4 KOs) on August 11th. His opponent has not fought for just over two years, when he captured a technical knockout victory over Jesus Limones (11-17-1, 4 KOs) in Mexico.

The card also features the following bouts:

Erik Spring vs. Anthony Prescott, six rounds, junior middleweights

Maynard Allison vs. Juan Rodriguez, eight rounds, junior lightweights

David Gonzales vs. Darius Ervin, six rounds, junior welterweights

Robert Irizarry vs. Bryan Perez, four rounds, featherweights

Rasheed Johnson vs. Demetrius Williams, four rounds, welterweights

Amir Shabazz vs. Alan Lawrence, four rounds, light heavyweights

Sultan Zamir Ululu vs. Christopher Burgos, four rounds, junior lightweights

For more information on this exciting night of boxing and to purchase tickets, please visit the 2300 Arena's official website.

MW

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Jerome Conquest Interview

I recently met with Philadelphia lightweight boxer, Jerome Conquest (7-2-0, 1 KO) in South Philadelphia. Jerome and I discussed his June 24th fight against South Korea's Jae Ho Kim (6-3-0, 2 KOs) at the 2300 Arena, as well as the upcoming "mega fight" between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor on August 26th in Las Vegas.

You can listen to our interview on both SoundCloud and iTunes:

Bonus Round - Boxer Jerome Conquest Discusses his Upcoming 6/24 Bout and the "Mega Fight" between Mayweather and McGregor on SoundCloud

Bonus Round - Boxer Jerome Conquest Discusses his Upcoming 6/24 Bout and the "Mega Fight" between Mayweather and McGregor on iTunes 

Jerome's upcoming bout will be featured on the undercard of the June 24th King's Promotions card featuring Kermit Cintron vs. Tyrone Brunson.

Tickets for this great card can be purchased via the following link:

2300 Arena Tickets

MW