PITTSBURGH (January 12, 2022) – The journey continues this Saturday for Matt “Sweet Child” Conway (20-2, 8 KOs) as he continues to bring boxing’s popularity back to what it was back in the glory days.
Conway headlines “Winter Mayhem,” which will be streamed live on www.facebooklive.com for $19.99 (at Cut ‘N’ Run Productions’ page), versus cross-state rival Avery Sparrow (10-3, 3 KOs), of Philadelphia, in the 12-round main event for the vacant International Boxing Association (IBA) Super Featherweight Championship, at the Pittsburgh Shrine Center in Cheswick, Pennsylvania.
While boxing in Pittsburgh will never be as popular as it once was during the glory years when local heroes Harry Greb (1913-26), Billy Conn 1934-48), and Charlie Burley (1936-50) were household names at the junction of 3 rivers, Conway hopes to make the sweet science more relevant than it has been there in many years.
“Fighting for a world title is a dream come true for me, especially bringing a title back to Pittsburgh,” said Conway, who has never been stopped in 22 pro fights. “Pittsburgh hasn’t been a big boxing town since Paul Spadafora (1995-2014) and Sammy Vasquez fought (2012-2017). I’d like to help bring boxing back here to that level.
“I’m really hoping to win the IBA World title to get my name out there so that this kid from Pittsburgh gets more recognition and title fight opportunities. I want to continue the rich Pittsburgh boxing tradition. It’ll start when I bring the IBA title to Pittsburgh. There are a lot of talented, young fighters in Pittsburgh. We just need to fight and (promoter) Derek Gionta is doing that for me and other fighters. He’s really helping us.”
The 26-year-old Conway is fully prepared to face Sparrow, who’s notable victories have been against fellow Philly fighter 29-2-1 Hank Lundy (WMDEC10) and 19-1-1 Jose Lopez (WUDEC10).
“He’s a tough fighter who uses his jab and is able to move and box,” Conway said about Sparrow. “I’ll try to nullify his left hand and do what I do.” Conway, who has never been stopped in 22 pro fights to date, has successfully bounced back from back-to-back losses in Reno and Las Vegas on the ESPN+ platform to, respectively, to 10-1-1 Francisco Esparza (SDEC8) and 17-0 Gabriel Flores, Jr. (UDEC8).
“It wasn’t difficult,” Conway talked about coming back from two straight losses after winning his first 17 pro fights. “I lost to a 17-0 guy in Las Vegas. I learned more from my two losses than I did in my 17 wins going into those fights. I’ve taken what I’ve learned from those fights and applied it to my last three fights (all wins). I’m hungrier!”
“Matt has done everything asked of him over the last year, going 3-0),” Gionta remarked. “This is a big fight for the region. Having a cross-state rival from Philly in the main event is huge. Sparrow is a very good boxer and anyone that knows anything about boxing knows that and how good of a match-up this is.
“Putting a belt on the line in a 12-rounder is enough to intrigue casual fans aside from our loyal boxing followers. A win against Sparrow will do a lot for Conway. Most importantly, it’ll show how much he developed over the past year or so and will line him up for bigger challenges down the road.”
In the co-featured event, Ohio lightweight Ryizeemmion “The Humble Beast” Ford (6-1, 4 KOs) faces an opponent to be determined in the 6-round co-featured event.
Popular Pittsburgh middleweight prospect Eric Lomax (4-0, 3 KOs) takes on Ohio’s Samuel Wildenhaus (4-1, 1 KO) in a 6-rounder.
Scheduled to fight on the undercard in 4-round bouts are undefeated Portugal super featherweight Milton Jorge Andrade Jeremias (2-0, 2 KO) vs. David Boria (0-4), New York super featherweight Alexander Castellano (5-1, 2 KOs) vs. Shawn Rall (1-4, 1 KO), and New Jersey’s pro-debuting heavyweight Daniel Bean v. Joe Nunez (0-2).
Card is subject to change.
Available tickets are priced at $50.00 (reserved seating, plus tables of 8 ($800) are available to purchase by calling 412.759.0407. Doors open at 6 p.m. ET with the first bout starting at 7 p.m. ET.
MURRYSVILLE, Penn. (September 21, 2021) – Pittsburgh junior lightweight Matt “Sweet Child” Conway, the reigning IBA Intercontinental Junior Lightweight Champion, notched his 20th career victory in this past Saturday night’s “Murrysville Madness” non-title main event against dangerous Colombian puncher Rodolfo “El Tsunami” Puente (20-8-2, 16 KOs).
“Murrysville Madness,” presented by Gionta Management, was held at a nearly sold-out SportsZone Arena in Murrayville (PA).
This was our first time promoting at this venue and things went really well overall,” promoter Derek Gionta said. “We will come back here, hopefully, in the near future. This was our third show this year at two different venues and it’s great to remain consistent despite the difficult times we encountered earlier this year in regard to the pandemic. The plan is to keep moving forward and building up these guys.”
“There were a number of intriguing fights. Matt Conway had a monumental victory for his 20th win as a professional. He will be come back January 15th in a big fight on our show in Cheswick, PA.”
Conway (20-2, 9 KOs) positioned himself for an IBA World title fight in January, which Gionta will promote at The Pittsburgh Shrine Center in Cheswick, PA.
Against Puente, Conway overcame Puente’s early aggression, but after the opening round, the Colombian did little more than hold. A Conway left hook dropped Puente in the second round and that marked the end of the fight and show shortly after from a referee stoppage.
The co-feature was the “Fight of the Night.” Pittsburgh super middleweight Kiante Irving (9-0-1, 9 KOs), a 2018 National Golden Gloves Champion, and Antonio Louis Hernandez (5-11-3, 3 KOs), battled to an exciting 6-round split draw.
Irving won the first three rounds, primarily by using his stiff jab and landing solid rights to Hernandez’ body. Hernandez, however, owned the last three rounds, controlling the action and landing power shots that hurt Irving on multiple occasions. High drama filed the room as Irving proved a chin and heart to go along with his power. Hernandez, sporting a deceiving record and at just 22 years old, has time to turn the corner and make up for early struggles against high quality opposition. Both sides have expressed interest in a rematch.
Ohio lightweight Ryizeemmion “The Humble Beast” Ford (6-1, 4 KOs) dominated Carlos “Jaguar” Jimenez (1-3-1), of Mexico, setting the pace until he landed a hard right that buzzed Jimenez. A follow-up attack prompted the referee to halt the action midway through the opening round.
Pittsburgh super middleweight Eric Lomax kept rollin’, setting the pace and blasting out Jacob Ikaika Martin (1-1) with only 9-seconds left in the fourth and scheduled final round. Lomax passed the test in impressive fashion as he boxed well and fought with explosiveness in spurts.
Kyrgyzstan native Baszybek Baratov (5-1-2, 1 KO), who fights out of Monroeville (PA), defeated Buffalo featherweight debutant Joe Reed, winning a unanimous decision. Scores were 40-36 x 2 and 39-37. “Baz” was slippery on the defense, while picking shots from all angles while Reed stood conventional and had some success of his own at times.
Pittsburgh super lightweight and Matt Conway’s brother, “Maverick” Mike Conway (4-2-1, 1 KO), joined his bro in the winner’s circle, pitching a “shutout” 4-round decision versus Joshua Zimmerman (0-4). Conway worked his way inside to nullify Zimmerman’s height and length advantage and used a double hook several times.
In the first match of the evening, southpaw Paul Palombo won his pro debut when his opponent, middleweight Jabrandon Harris (0-7) of Texas was unable to continue after two rounds. Palombo boxed well out of his southpaw stance and turned it up after a quiet opening round and picked his shots nicely on the inside.
Complete results below:
OFFICIAL RESULTS
MAIN EVENT – JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHTS Matt Conway (20-2, 9 KOs), Pittsburgh, PA WTKO2 (1:39) Rodolfo Puente (20-8-2, 16 KOs), Barranquilla, Colombia
CO-FEATURE – SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS Kiante Irving (9-0-1, 9 KOs), Pittsburgh, PA D6 (58-56, 56-58, 57-57) Antonio Louis Hernandez (5-11-2, 4 KOs), Kansas City, KS
SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS Eric Lomax (4-0, 3 KOs), Pittsburgh, PA WTKO4 (2:51) Jacob Ibaika Martin (1-1, 1 KO), Tacoma, WA
MIDDLEWEIGHTS Paul Palombo (1-0, 1 KO), Buffalo, NY WTKO2 (3:00) Jabrandon Harris (0-7), Bryan, TX
SUPER LIGHTWEIGHTS Mike Conway (4-2-1, 1 KO), Pittsburgh, PA WDEC4 (40-36, 40-36, 40-36) Joshua Zimmerman (0-4), Baltimore, MD
LIGHTWEIGHTS Ryizeemmion Ford (6-1, 4 KOs), Alliance, OH WTKO1 (2:01) Carlos Jimenez (1-3-1 (0 KOs), Saltillo, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico
FEATHERWEIGHTS Baszybek Baratov (5-1-2, 1 KO), Monroeville, PA WDEC4 (40-36, 40-36, 39-37) Joe Reed (0-1, 0 KOs), Buffalo, NY
PITTSBURGH (September 8, 2021) – Professional boxing returns to the Greater Pittsburgh area Saturday night, September 18, as Gionta Management presents “Murrysville Madness” at Murrysville SportZone in Murrysville, Pennsylvania.
An amateur show, co-promoted by Gionta Management and Kastle Boxing of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, will take center stage during the afternoon, starting at 12 p.m. with a separate admission of $20.00
“I hope to continue promoting shows here (30-minute drive from downtown Pittsburgh) in this region moving forward,” promoter Derek Gionta said. “With another friend of mine promoting here, we can keep these guys busy, and look forward to moving them into bigger opportunities.”
Pittsburgh junior lightweight Matt “Sweet Child” Conway (19-2, 8 KOs), the reigning IBA Intercontinental Junior Lightweight Champion, will headline “Murrysville Madness” in the 8-round main event against an opponent to be finalized.
In the 6-round co-featured event, Pittsburgh super middleweight Kiante Irving (9-0, 9 KOs), a 2018 National Golden Gloves Champion, plans to keep his perfect pro record intact against Antonio Louis Hernandez (5-11-3, 3 KOs).
Ohio lightweight Ryizeemmion “The Humble Beast” Ford (5-1-0, 3 KOs) steps up in his first scheduled 6-rounder versus an opponent to be determined.
A 4-round featherweight match between Buffalo’s pro-debuting Joe Reed and Kyrgyzstan-native Baszybek Baratov (4-1-2, 1 KO), fighting out of Monroeville, PA, has the potential to steal the show.
2019 National Golden Gloves Champion Chatiqua “Tika” Hemingway (1-0), managed by Split-T Management, is slated to be in action against a female super middleweight to be determined.
Also scheduled to fight on the undercard in 4-round matches is Pittsburgh super middleweight Eric Lomax (3-0, 2 KOs) vs, Taurean Bogguess (0-2), Pennsylvania’s pro-debuting middleweight Paul Palombo vs. Jereiah Yeager (1-1, 1 KO), and Pittsburgh super lightweight and Matt Conway’s brother, “Maverick” Mike Conway (3-2-1, 1 KO), vs. Joshua Zimmerman (0-3).
Card is subject to change.
Tickets are priced at $125.00 ringside, $60.00 and $40.00 floor seating, and $50.00 reserved seating, and available to purchase by calling 412.759.0407.
Doors open at 6 p.m. ET with the first bout starting at 7 p.m. ET.
