2019 Philadelphia Boxing Round Up

By Frank Bartolini

The tremendous year of boxing in the “City of Brotherly Love” came to an end on Friday December 6^th at The 2300 Arena.  Washington DC native, junior welterweight, Mykel Fox had his hand raised after winning a ten round unanimous decision over John Arellano of Texas signaling the end of a fabulous year of pro prizefighting. Fittingly the area’s most prolific promoter Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotions delivered the action.

Kauffman once again was the most prolific promoter locally. In October, Kauffman in conjunction with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), brought world class talent to the area showcasing Robert Easter Jr.’s win over Adrian Granados, and top ranked junior middleweight Erickson Lubin in his hometown Reading, PA. Without Kauffman promoting close to a dozen shows in and around the Delaware River Valley, the area’s fight scene would hardly survive, yet alone thrive.

The excitement all started back in February when Michelle Rosado’s Raging Babe kicked the year off promoting her first event in Philly at the 2300 Arena. A solid fight card became mythological when flaming hot prospect, Christian Carto was poleaxed and laid out on the canvas by Mexican tumbler Victor Ruiz in round 2. Leaving the venue on a stretcher, Carto’s future was in doubt, meanwhile Rosado cemented her credentials as a promoter within the municipality.

“A night at the opera” - It appeared that Hard Hitting Promotions was going to a have a phenomenal year when close to 3,500 spectators packed into the newly refurbished Metropolitan Opera House (The Met) on North Broad Street. That night a couple of hometown undefeated participants of Puerto Rican extraction squared off in the main event for more than a victory. On the line for combatants Steven Ortiz and Jeremy Cuevas was neighbor and ethnic bragging rights. Ortiz won easily over eight rounds. Hard Hitting returned to “The Met” a few more times but nothing compared to the virgin experience in the opera house.

TOP RANK BOXING! Bob Arum is committed to bringing world renowned talent to Philadelphia. Checking the temperature of the water, Arum dipped his toe in last march when he promoted Oleksandr Gvozdyk’s successful WBC Light Heavyweight title defense against Doudou Ngumbu. Also seeing action that night, Philly native “the New” Ray Robinson drew with highly rank and touted Lithuanian Egidijus Kavaliauskas. Many of those ringside believed Robinson deserved the nod. Other spectators felt if Robinson turned it up just a notch he would have clearly been victorious. Egidijus went on to give a good account of himself in his next fight, before getting kayoed in nine rounds versus WBO Welterweight King Terence Crawford in December at Madison Square Garden.

The show must go on - A freak accident had Carl Frampton pulling out of his fight at the Liacouras Center in August, less than two weeks beforehand. No one would blame Top Rank for cutting their losses and canceling the festivities altogether. Instead, former junior lightweight champ Jason Sosa was bumped up to main event status and pitted against unheralded Haskell Lydell Rhodes. Sosa kayoed Rhodes in seven. With no time to promote the change in the main event, the show drew poorly.  A few months later, Sosa went on to unsuccessfully challenge WBC Super Featherweight Champion Miguel Berchelt, getting finished off in four rounds.

Now the coup de grace occurred when Top Rank chose to come back to the Liacouras Center to pit two undefeated knockout artists in a light heavyweight unification match between WBC King Oleksandr Gvozdyk and IBF Monarch Artur Beterbiev. This pairing would have sold out major arenas in Las Vegas, Manhattan or Chicago. By choosing Philadelphia, Top Rank made a statement that it plans on being a major part of this city’s professional pugilism. Beterbiev stopped Gvozdyk in the tenth. Quality over quantity is why Top Rank should be considered for The Briscoe Award Promoter of the Year.

Once again the British invaded Philadelphia. Contrary to the American Revolution, this time the City of Brotherly Love welcomed the red coats with open rams as Matchroom USA promoted Tevin Farmer’s homecoming at the Liacouras Center, in what turned out to be the best night of fights for 2019. Jono Carroll of Ireland put forth a spirited and gallant effort in trying to wrest the crown from IBF Super Featherweight king Farmer.  The undercard showcased two potential Briscoe Award Fights of the Year. Philly resident Gabriel Rosado’s late round come back against Polish Maciej Sulecki was epic. Rosado lost a ten round unanimous decision but showed he is still a threat in the middleweight division. Unbelievable, unless you were in the arena early to witness Hank Lundy vs. Avery Sparrow, you missed one of the best pairings of two rival Philly boxers in a long time. DAZN cameras had not started rolling when this fight was occurring. Close to 1,500 of Katie Taylor’s faithful fans flew into Philly from the Emerald Isle to see her easily defend her undisputed lightweight laurels.

I went down to DC metro area to see Philly fighters showcase impressive skills in May where the scraps took place on the abandoned campus of George Mason University. Classes ended the day prior to Julian Williams shocking upset of Jarred Hurd. Not only did Williams ruin Hurd’s homecoming, he walked away with his IBF and WBA Super Welterweights belts. West Philly had proud moments when Stephen Fulton put on a flawless performance on the undercard.

Happy New Year! Keep Punching!

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A RUSSIA-UKRAINE STORY TEN YEARS IN THE MAKING

While Russia Battles Ukraine on the World Stage, Two Boxers Fight Not for Country, But for Legacy Oct. 18 in Philadelphia.

By Emily Pandelakis

PHILADELPHIA -- As Russia and Ukraine dominate the news, both countries have become inextricably linked to the current impeachment inquiry in Washington DC.  Up the road in Philadelphia, two world champion boxers--one Russian, one Ukrainian--are preparing to meet in a light-heavyweight unification bout.

As their home countries wage war against each other, their thoughts are 5,000 miles away, focused not on the opponent’s country, but on the man he will meet in the center of the ring at Temple University’s Liacouras Center on Oct. 18.  The winner will leave the ring as WBC/ IBF Light-Heavyweight Champion of the world.

Oleksandr Gvozdyk (17-0, 14 KOs) is the current WBC Light- Heavyweight Champion, having defeated Adonis Stevenson via knockout in the 11th round of their Dec., 2018, bout in Quebec, Canada. The knockout would end Stevenson’s boxing career.

IBF Light-Heavyweight Champion Artur Beterbiev (14-0, 14 KOs) defeated Gvozdyk when the two met as amateurs--Beterbiev representing Russia, Gvozdyk representing Ukraine.

Ukraine Arrives on the American Stage

In recent weeks, calls for President Donald Trump’s impeachment became deafening after Ukraine released the transcript of a phone call between its President, former comedian Volodymir Zelensky, and Trump, which included an exchange about former Vice President and Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden’s son Hunter.  Trump urged the newly elected leader to investigate the younger Biden.

The impeachment inquiry will examine whether Trump held up $400M in aid to Ukraine with the intention of releasing it when the country began an investigation of Hunter Biden, and one into Ukraine’s role in the 2016 US Presidential election--a conspiracy theory, which Trump and his lawyer, Rudy Guiliani, have repeatedly pushed publicly.  The premise is that Crowdstrike, a California-based company that was brought in to investigate the Russian hack of the Democratic party’s servers that election year, is owned by a Ukrainian.

Zelensky, who played the President of Ukraine in a television show called Servant of the People for four years, was elected in a landslide victory in April and began his term as Ukraine’s sixth president in May. He’s an unwitting participant in American politics, which was made clear during a 10-hour, informal question-and-answer session last week with reporters in Ukraine.   He spoke dismissively about the potential that Ukraine interfered with the 2016 election, saying he would have to be shown a reason to proceed with any joint “theoretical” investigation.

Like the boxers training in Philadelphia, who are focused on their fight and not on war and politics, his mind is elsewhere - working to end the conflict with Russia on Ukraine’s Eastern border.

His constituents, the people of Ukraine, are not focused on American politics and elections.  “The Trump phone call is being covered right now in Ukraine,” said Petro Shugurov, former Ring Magazine Ukraine Writer and Contributing Editor who lives in the country.  “Mostly just that Zelensky was involved. The Ukrainian people have enough to worry about with our own politics.”

The American and the Canadian

While the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has a complicated and lengthy history, the roads that led Beterbiev and Gvozdyk to Philadelphia are well-traveled.

“The Boxing Federations of Russia and Ukraine are very similar,” said Shugurov.  “They still operate like they did during the days of the USSR. The Russian Federation is like God Almighty to boxers in Russia--there are a lot of programs to support them and they receive stipends.”

Both boxers were decorated amateurs.  Beterbiev had over 300 amateur fights and won gold and silver in world-level contests in Milan and Chicago.  Gvozdyk had over 250 amateur bouts and won a bronze medal for Ukraine in the 2012 Olympics in London.

Gvozdyk is followed closely by those in his home country of Ukraine and Ukrainians stateside, despite moving to California five years ago to focus on his career:  “One month ago, we went to the Ukrainian Festival. There were a lot of Ukrainian people there and I was surprised that a lot of them knew me. We spent a couple hours there, signing autographs and taking photos.”

Gvozdyk, whose father had a brief career as an amateur boxer in Ukraine, is living out his dream in California. “When I asked my wife to come to California with me, to leave her home, she said the most important thing is that I’m going to go with you,” Gvozdyk said of his wife, Daria.  He acknowledges that it can sometimes be difficult to be away from family as the two raise a family, but the kids--two boys and one girl, ages 3-10--have traveled the world with their parents. “Our kids are the most quiet kids on the plane when they travel. They don’t cry. They know it’s pointless.”  Gvozdyk lost his mother in 2014.

Politics is not a topic that Gvozdyk is anxious to discuss, going so far as to say he doesn’t know what’s happening.  “It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “I’m just an athlete. I don’t want to make any parallels to the fight. I am living in California, he is living in Montreal. I just don’t know anything about it.”

“Teddy Atlas, Gvozdyk’s trainer, runs a tight ship,” said J Russell Peltz, who is co-promoting the championship fight with Top Rank. “It doesn’t surprise me that he’s not focused on what’s happening on the other side of the world.”

His opponent, Beterbiev, shared the sentiment. “Any war is bad for people, but I really don’t want to talk about it,” said the Russian, who relocated to Montreal six years ago to further his career.  “It’s far from me in Canada.”

Shugurov hints at other motives at why the boxers don’t want to talk about life in the former Soviet bloc:  “They are high-profile athletes and they don’t want to upset anyone. They don’t want to have problems like those that have happened with other boxers.

“Ukrainians and Russians are everywhere and they are like a network.  Fighters as a whole don’t want to get involved. They want to make money and not have problems.  Beterbiev, he’s Canadian now. Gvozdyk is American.”

Beterbiev’s family life nearly mirrors that of his opponent.  Married with four children ages 2-8, Beterbiev lost his father to an accident when he was only sixteen. His father was just starting to enjoy his son’s career.  “A couple days before he died, I won a bronze medal in a tournament. He said to me: ‘You won this fight. Now go go go. I believe in you.’”

Raising a family away from home hasn’t been easy for Beterbiev and his wife, Medena, though Beterbiev’s mother has traveled to Canada to help.

Much Can Change in Ten Years

Ten years ago, Ukraine was led by Viktor Yushchenko, who had survived an assassination attempt by poison five years prior.  There was political chaos and a gas dispute with Russia. Putin was not yet President of Russia, but it was understood that he was in charge of the country. There was tension between the two countries, but nothing that matched the war and hostility they are facing today.

“We had beat Germany together,” said Shugurov. “We fought Nazis together. A whole lot of people believed we should be one country.  While Ukraine had a Western-friendly leader, there was a brotherhood between the people of the countries.”

The US had a different president, one not embroiled in an impeachment inquiry permeated by Russian and Ukrainian ties.

Ten years ago, two fighters, one from Ukraine, one from Russia, met in a boxing ring with the Russian besting the Ukrainian.  The two fighters, now husbands and fathers, undefeated world champion professionals, living away from home and seeking the glory that comes with unifying world titles, will meet in the most pivotal fight of their respective careers.  It’s a fight that transcends politics and war, whose winner, at least in the boxing world, will be declared Unified Champion of the World.

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Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Peltz Boxing, tickets priced at $150, $90, $75 and $50 (not including applicable fees) can be purchased at the Liacouras Center Box Office, www.liacourascenter.com or charge by phone at 800-298-4200.

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ESPN & Eastern European Fighters Invade Philadelphia

By Luis A. Cortes III, Ringside

ESPN hosted a huge night of combat sports from the city of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, PA this past Saturday night.  With the city a buzz with the break out start of the Philadelphia Phillies and their new $330 million-man Bryce Harper, along with the impending play off run by the Sixers, the city was ready to host a great night of action both inside the octagon and the squared circle.  Top Rank Promotions invaded Philadelphia to provide the night's boxing action as they featured a card topped by the first defense of WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk (17-0, 14 Kos).  The card also featured  a fight that was supposed to be a welterweight showcase for Egidijus Kavaliauskas (21-0-1, 17 Kos), who is being groomed to be a challenger for WBO champion Terrance Crawford. 

A host of undercard action also took place (which we will get to later), but a few things became clear while watching the fights ringside.  These sentiments about the nights action were verified once this writer was able to finally watch the televised broadcast.  The first thing that was verified was something that I’ve had a sneaking suspicion about for some time.  That is that for all the hype (and rightly so), surrounding Eastern European fighters due to their extensive amateur pedigrees, outside of Vasyl Lomachenko, most of these Eastern European fighters tend to have trouble when they face fighters that can fight on angles.  They tend to also have problems with fighters that can fight on the inside and match their strength and aggressive nature.  It was something first noticed during the Andre Ward – Sergey Kovalev fights and was confirmed on Saturday night.   

While fighters from this part of the world (Eastern Europe) tend to be fantastic from a fundamental standpoint, many have issues with the types of things that are taught in gyms in Latin America and the United States.  I’m talking about the type of boxing that is predicated on defense by using both the upper body and legs to avoid punches.  Counter-punching boxers that know how to set traps with their small footwork, as well as fighters that know how to avoid pressure and take away their opponents’ aggression and one-two power punching style. 

Oleksandr Gvozdyk vs. Doudou Ngumbu

Some of these points were on display during the main event.  With Gvozdyk defending his crown against the game Doudou Ngumbu (38-9, 14 Kos), a fight that wound up having a bizarre ending when the contest was stopped due to a leg injury in the fifth round.  Up until the point of Ngumbu not being able to finish, the fight and thus losing by technical stoppage, he was having some success against the power punching Gvozdyk.  His constant movement and attack, which consisted of him jumping in and out of range to try and land a punch or two before getting out of range seemed to have the champion a bit frustrated. 

Gvozdyk was beginning to come on and started to land some thudding straight body shots that clearly caused Ngumbu some issues.  It seemed that the tide of the fight was going to start to turn in the favor of the champion, who wasn’t being held at bay by Ngumbu as the fight was starting to near the middle rounds.  Ngumbu couldn’t land anything that made Gvozdyk think twice about charging forward towards his prey.  As a result, the ending that seemed to occur happened a bit prematurely but was most likely going to be the way the fight would have ended regardless, with Gvozdyk winning by stoppage.

It’s a shame to see Ngumbu's opportunity at championship glory and financial stability for his family come to an end the way it did, but so is the nature of the beast that is boxing.  Gvozdyk will continue forward and will stake claims as both the WBC and Lineal Light Heavyweight Champion of the World.  With a large amount of talent invading the division along with the current champions, nothing is clear as to who the best light heavyweight in the world.  Gvozdyk will be competitive against any of the other champions or challengers, which will make watching this division clear itself out over the next couple of years a fun thing to witness.  One fighter of note that was in the ring after the fight was former super middleweight contender and Philadelphia native Jesse Hart.  Hart has told TWI on several occasions that he is also thinking about moving up to light heavyweight to fight the big names.   

Egidijus Kavaliauskas vs. Ray Robinson

In the opening bout of the telecast and the co-feature, Kavaliauskas was matched against Philadelphia native and veteran welterweight Ray Robinson (24-3-1, 12 Kos).  It was supposed to be a test for Kavaliauskas to see how he would fair against a southpaw that could box and that can do the things mentioned above.  What the fans in attendance and watching from home saw was yet another example of that style being an Achilles heel to Eastern European aggression.  Robinson was able to use his jab and move on angles creating traps that Kavaliauskas seemed to always walk into.  Once Robinson had Kavaliauskas where he wanted, he was able to land lefts to the body or use a check right hook that allowed him to get out of the way from any power counter shots. 

Kavaliauskas looked confused and frustrated that he couldn’t come forward and cut off the ring on the taller and lengthier Robinson.  He did have his fair share of moments in the fight and landed some good clean punches that allowed him to win some of the rounds when Robinson was not being active enough to win the round based off of his boxing.  These times and lapses of activity from Robinson allowed for some of the close rounds to be awarded to Kavaliauskas based solely on his aggression.  After the ten rounds, one of the judges scored the fight 97-93 in favor of Robinson, while the other two scored the fight even at 95-95.  For the record TWI scored the fight 96-94 in favor of Robinson. 

While neither fighter was satisfied with the outcome,  Robinson rightly denied answering a question in the post-fight interview geared towards trying to prop Kavaliauskas as a possible opponent for Crawford by stating he deserves that fight.  It was a clear indication that Kavaliauskas may not be ready for that type of challenge and has lots of things to work on if he is going to challenge the best fighter in the world.  As for Robinson, the best thing going for him after he wasn’t awarded this victory is the fact that he is available to fight any of the top names at welterweight.  At the age of 33, hopefully he is not penalized for putting forth a game effort and is able to get his chance at glory before it is too late.

Undercard:

Several fights on the undercard were of note:

In an IBF welterweight title eliminator, Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (16-0, 9 Kos) defeated Keita Obara (20-4-1, 18 Kos) by unanimous decision.  With his victory, he is now in line to face IBF welterweight king Errol Spence Jr.  While Kudratillo was effective with his pressure and landed the power shots against Obara to become the mandatory challenger, once again his style doesn’t seem like it would fair well against the much more polished professional Spence.  It’s likely that he will wait for his moment of championship glory when Spence vacates the IBF title to face bigger named opposition for bigger pay checks.    

Philadelphia heavyweight prospect Sonny Conto (2-0, 2 Kos) notched his second victory with a first round stoppage.  Conto looks solid and his punches are serious, he is still getting his feet under him as a professional and will continue to be showcased around the country by his handlers at Top Rank before the level of competition increases.  Next up for him is a trip to Las Vegas to fight on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s fight in June. 

Reading native Joshafat Ortiz (6-0, 4 KOs) once again looked impressive with a first-round stoppage over James Thomas (6-5, 6 Kos).  He blasted Thomas with a powerful right that hurt him, and continued to mug Thomas with power shots before the fight was stopped.   

Newly signed to Top Rank, welterweight contender Fredrick Lawson (27-2, 21 Kos) was stunned and stopped by Juan Ruiz (22-4, 14 Kos) in the fourth round at the 1:17 mark.  Lawson had an opportunity to make a statement and claim his place as a legitimate contender at the world class level, but he was out gunned by the determination of Ruiz. 

Philadelphia super featherweight Donald Smith (9-0, 6 KOs) was impressive with his fourth round one punch knockout of Jose Martinez (11-18, 6 KOs).  Smith was stunned in the first round when he was gunning for the early knockout.  He wisely adjusted his game plan and started to box and set up his shots.  In the fourth, he set a trap that Martinez walked straight into and blasted him with a powerful straight left that knocked Martinez out cold. 

Jeremy Adorno (1-0) won a four round unanimous decision over Sebastian Baltazar (1-4).  Adorno faced live competition in his first fight as Baltazar came to Philadelphia to win.  Adorno was cracked by Baltazar on several occasions, but showed a good chin for an 18 year old and stormed back with power shots of his own to take the decision. 

Main Events Promotions heavyweight Cassius Chaney improved to (15-0, 9 Kos) with a stay busy first round stoppage over Christian Mariscal (12-3, 5 Kos).  

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2019 Philadelphia Boxing Schedule Starts with a “Philly Special”

By Luis A. Cortes III

Already a month into the New Year, most likely by now, most fans of the sweet science in the Philadelphia area would have had at least one local show they could have attended. Despite the slow start to the local pugilistic schedule, starting on February 8th fight fans will have seven shows to get excited about. The shows that will take place in the months of February and March have just about everything a fight fan could ask for.  

Local promoters, who are always active in the area, will be joined by two of the major promotional outfits. This means that before the summer months hit, sports fans just getting over the disappointing end to the Eagles Super Bowl defense that await the start of the Sixers play-off run, will have something to be excited about. Along with the hopeful addition of a mega star to the Phillies starting lineup this summer, there will be plenty of fist fights to enjoy before heading “down the shore” starting Memorial Day.

Below is a look at all seven shows. (NOTE: As each show gets closer be sure to stay tuned for continued coverage of each event.  Coverage will include fighter interviews, featured articles, and more.) 

February 8: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, PA (Raging Babe)

Christian Carto (17-0)(11) vs. Victor Ruiz (22-10)(15)

Marcel Rivers (6-0)(4) vs. Derrick Whitley Jr. (4-0-1)

Heavyweight prospects: Darmani Rock (13-0)(8) & Sonny Conto (DEBUT)

The show that kicks-off the year is being dubbed the “Philly Special” by its promoter Michelle Rosado, the head of Raging Babe. Rosado has been a main stay on the local boxing scene for years now as the understudy of Hall-of-Fame promoter Russell Peltz. This time, it is Rosado that is the promoter in charge of the event. While this is her first show in Philadelphia, she is no stranger to putting on successful shows in North Carolina and Arizona.  From the looks of the lineup of fights scheduled, “Philly Special” looks to be no different from her other successes of providing fans with entertainment.

Bantamweight prospect and South Philadelphia native Christian Carto begins to make the transition from highly touted prospect into serious contender. This fight against the veteran and always game Victor Ruiz is the perfect match up to begin that transition. Carto continues to forge a bond with his new trainer the respected Billy Briscoe, whom Carto has been with already for a couple fights. It tends to take a few training camps and in fight situations for a fighter and trainer to click, so against Ruiz we will look to see if this relationship is indeed on course to make the bright future for Carto a reality. Ruiz can fight and always likes to be in a fight, don’t let his ten-loss record fool you. He is no easy fight for any prospect or contender and has been in with some of the best in the world, even if that was three pounds south of bantamweight at super flyweight.

Also, on the card will be the heavyweight prospects both fighting out of Philadelphia, Darmani Rock and Sonny Conto.  While they will both be fighting in separate bouts, Rock, like Carto, is looking to turn the corner from prospect to contender, while Conto will be taking part in his first professional fight.  Conto, like the headliner Carto, hails from south Philly and when you couple his amateur success along with his optional draw power at the box office, it’s clear why Top Rank signed him to their stable.

February 23: The Met, Philadelphia, PA (Hard Hitting Promotions)

Jeremy Cuevas (11-0)(8) vs. Steve Ortiz (9-0)(3)

Samuel Teah (15-2-1)(7) vs. Tre’Sean Wiggins (10-4-1)(6)

Featuring: Brenden Pizzaro (13-1)(6) & Malik Hawkins (13-0)(9)

In the tradition of Philadelphia vs. Philadelphia fights, The Met Opera House will host its first boxing event for the first time since 1954. Of course, the Met recently reopened after $56 million was spent on restoring the venue which opened over a hundred years ago. This card, presented by local powerhouse Hard Hitting Promotions, looks to be the first in a series of cards to be held at this historic venue.  Along with help from Live Nation, Hard Hitting may have found the right partner to help take their young stable into new markets.

Cuevas taking on Ortiz tops the bill in a battle between two lightweight prospects that regardless of the outcome of this fight are poised to eventually become contenders. Kudos to each fighter for not waiting to fight each other and deciding to take on the challenge the other presents at this point in their young careers. These are the types of fights that once made Philadelphia a great fight town and helped to propel each fighter’s career. From a stylistic standpoint, Cuevas and Ortiz should not disappoint. Both fighters have boxing skills but have the internal makeup of a warrior and don’t shy away from a firefight.  With the PA state lightweight title on the line and bragging rights in the city at stake, this should be a fun one, while it lasts. 

Hard Hitting’s stable will also be featured on this card. Super lightweights Teah and Wiggins will battle for the PA Super Lightweight Title, and lightweight prospect Brenden Pizzaro continues to try and improve his winning streak since his lone defeat. This time, Pizzaro will be in a better match-up as the fights begin to increase in difficulty. Baltimore native Malik Hawkins returns for the first time in close to a year. Since his victory over former prospect and fringe contender Ray Serrano, Hawkins has been on the shelf, but he looks to return with a statement victory. 

March 1: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, PA (Kings Promotions)

Tyrone Brunson (27-7-2)(24) vs. Jamaal Davis (18-13-1)(7)

Tyrone Crawley (7-1-1)(1) vs. Victor Vazquez (10-5)(4) 

Do not, I repeat, do not let the records of the fighters mentioned above on this card give you pause. If there is one thing that the always enjoyable Kings Promotions knows how to do, it’s match up their fighters in exciting fights regardless of records. These two fights that headline this show are no different.  Brunson is coming off his appearance on the Contender and is looking to make one last push towards title contention. With the type of power he packs in his punches he will always have a chance to win fights, and against Davis he looks to start his path towards bigger fights at 154, which he hopes lands him in championship opportunities. Vazquez was last seen in a brawl with Anthony Mercado late last year. He has a fun style to watch and always presses the action, which should blend well with Crawley, the constant moving boxer.       

March 1: Parx Casino, Bensalem, PA (Joe Hand Promotions)

Garrett Wilson (18-15-1)(9) vs. Brian Howard (13-2)(10)

Isiah Wise (7-2-1)(4) vs. Monreco Goldston (5-1-1)(3)

Return of Jerome Conquest (9-3)(1)

Two fights in the Philadelphia area on the same night can be a tough thing, especially when fight fans must be split on which show to purchase tickets for. This night will be no different, but at times that is one of the setbacks when booking dates in advance. Promoters are forced to take dates from certain venues they have relationships with, regardless of what other promoters may be planning. With that said, Joe Hand Promotions will return to the Xcite Center at Parx Casino on Street Road in Bensalem.  Parx is located right outside of the Northeast city limits and is a great venue to watch fights. 

As for the fights, Wilson and Howard should produce excitement while the fight lasts. Both fighters enjoy a good fight and taking a backward step is not something they either plan on doing. If you’re looking for fighters that like to exchange punches (sometimes to their detriment), this fight is one you shouldn’t miss.

Isiah Wise is always looking for a good scrap in his own right. He has improved on utilizing his jab to setup power punches more and has improved on moving his head. This is of course until he gets hit and decides to return power shots, which is always fun for the fans watching. Add the fact that he always brings a good crowd out and its always a fun night out to watch one of his fights. For the fan that enjoys a slick boxer that likes making his opponents miss and counter, Jerome Conquest makes his long-awaited return to the ring after suffering some foot and leg injuries that kept him on the shelf for a large part of last year. Conquest looks to be more active this year as he defends his WBF lightweight strap.   

March 15: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (Matchroom USA, DAZN)

Tevin Farmer (28-4-1)(6) vs. Jono Carroll (16-0)(3) (IBF Jr. Lightweight Championship)

Katie Taylor (12-0)(5) vs. Rose Volante (14-0)(8) (WBA/IBF/WBO Female Lightweight Championship)

Gabriel Rosado (24-11-1)(14) vs. Maciej Sulecki (27-1)(11)

Hank Lundy (29-7-1)(14) vs. Avery Sparrow (9-1)(3)

This is a huge fight card that will be coming to Philadelphia’s Temple campus. Since Matchroom Boxing USA has burst onto the scene last year with their streaming partners DAZN, they have provided consistent content, while continuing to bolster their stable of world class fighters. This St. Patrick’s Day weekend show just from the look of it, along with the kick-off press conference this week, proved that this should be nothing but a successful night of entertainment for fight fans. 

Since joining Matchroom USA, Farmer has become the most active fighter in recent memory. This will be his third title defense since winning the championship back in August. Most current champions wouldn’t have had their first defense at this point. To Farmers credit, he is not waiting around to fight the bigger names in his division; instead he is properly focused on his own career and is fighting top level contenders to stay sharp as he awaits the bigger names. Carroll, as he showed at the presser, is game for this challenge and since he hails from Ireland, looks to fulfill his dream. 

Katie Taylor looks to unify the lightweight division in her fight with Brazil native Rose Volante. Taylor like Farmer continues to be an active champion and a victory to unify the division gets her one step closer to undisputed status at lightweight. Also, with bigger names out there like Amanda Serrano (Taylor beat Amanda Serrano’s sister Cindy) and Heather Hardy, a victory for Taylor will continue her march towards the top of the pound-for-pound list.     

Philadelphia fighters will be the theme for the rest of this card. Lundy vs. Sparrow is a classic fight between the seasoned veteran, Lundy, and the upstart looking to make a name for himself, Sparrow.  Both fighters love to talk and believe that their opponent is a step towards bigger and better things in the future. Gabriel Rosado, Philly’s real life Rocky, as always, is fighting a tough fighter in Sulecki.  Sulecki’s only loss came against current IBF Middleweight Champion Daniel Jacobs. This will be a great fight full of action. A victory for either man puts them a stone’s throw away from the champions in the middleweight division, which are for the most part fighters in the DAZN atmosphere and shouldn’t be hard fights to make.  

March 29: Sugar House Casino, Philadelphia, PA (Kings Promotions)

Anvar Yunusov (6-0)(3) vs. TBA

Anthony Mercado (12-4)(10) vs. Andres Navarro (11-7-1)(7)

Featuring Brendan Robinson (11-2)(8) & Erik Spring (11-2-2)(1) in separate fights

Okay so like it was mentioned earlier, Kings Promotions will deliver yet another solid local show in Philadelphia, this time it will take place from the ballroom at Sugar House Casino. Yunusov is a former three-time Olympian from Tajikistan that has proved so far that making the transition into the paid ranks has not been an issue for him. He is a southpaw that has a powerful straight left and fights in a similar style to another former decorated Olympian also in the lightweight divisions. At the age of 31, Yunusov will need to make a quick move from prospect to contender.     

 

Mercado, Robinson, and Spring are all fighters that bring out good fan support for their fights. Mercado holds a recent victory over Victor Vazquez in a fight that was a pure war, while Robinson is coming back from a war himself, in the fight of the year for Philadelphia, although he was on the losing end of things. Spring is a solid boxer that likes to frustrate his opponents with his jab and movement.  

March 30: TBD, Philadelphia, PA (Top Rank, ESPN)

Oleksandr Gvozdyk (16-0)(13) vs. TBA (WBC and Lineal Light Heavyweight Championship)

While the site has yet to be officially determined or announced by Top Rank, sources have told TWI that this card will land at the 2300 Arena. “The Nail” Gvozdyk will be the headliner of this card in his first defense of the WBC and Lineal Light Heavyweight Championship that he won by knocking out Adonis Stevenson last December. This will most likely be a mandatory defense with the rest of the card featuring most of the local Top Rank talent signed to their stable. Allentown natives the Adorno brothers, super middleweight contender Jesse Hart could return, along with the Sonny Conto.      

 For questions or comments feel free to contact me on Twitter @LC3Boxing or on my E-mail: Luisacortes83@gmail.com

*Tickets are available for all these shows (except the Top Rank 3/30 Show).  They can be purchased on the website of all the venues that will be hosting the shows.   

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