Tag Archives: Philadelphia

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Frank De Alba takes on Jesus Lule on Friday, November 20th at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia

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Plus undefeated Antowyan Aikens, Terrence Williams, Hafiz Montgomery and Scott Kelleher
Philadelphia , PA (October 20, 2015)–On Friday night, November 20

, King’s Promotions will present a big night of professional boxing at the
2300 Arena in South Philadelphia.
Highlighting the 10 bout card will be streaking Jr. Lightweight Frank De Alba taking on Jesus Lule in a bout scheduled for 6-rounds.

De Alba of Reading, PA has a record of 16-1-2 with six knockouts and has won 14 straight bouts and is unbeaten in his last 16.

He has wins over Andrew Bentley (1-0), Benjamin Burgos (1-0) and in his last bout when he scored a 6th round stoppage over Benjamin Gomez Uribe (14-3) on May 29th in Philadelphia.

Lule of Fort Myers, Florida has a record of 7-14-1 with 1 knockout.

The 31 year-old Lule turned professional in 2010 and is known for taking on top contenders such as Dodie Boy Penalosa Jr. (9-0), Vic Pasillas (4-0), Oscar Valdez (6-0), Kiun Evans (7-0), Alberto Machado (7-0), Avery Sparrow (2-0), Wang Zhiman (1-0), Dennis Galarza (7-1) and Mason Menard (29-1).

Lule also tangled with undefeated Antonio DuBose twice.  The first fight ended in a spirted draw while Lule’s most recent outing, he dropped a 6-round unanimous decision to DuBose on September 19 in Chester, PA.

A packed undercard of local talent has been assembled.

In a 6-round Super Middleweight bout, Antowyan Aikens (10-0, 1 KO) of Atlantic City, NJ will take on James Johnson  (7-2, 7 KO’s) of VKilleen, Texas.

In 4-round Bouts:

Christopher Brooker (4-1, 4 KO’s) of Philadelphia, PA will fight Mike Rodriguez (0-3) of Springfield, MA in a Super Middleweight bout.

Terrence Williams (4-0, 1 KO) of Harrisburg, PA will take on veteran Edgar Perez(6-16, 3 KO’s) of Chicago, IL in a Super Middleweight bout.

Ryan Bivins (0-1) of Philadelphia battles pro debuting Daryl Bunting of Vineland, NJ in a Super Middleweight bout.

Hafiz Montgomery (1-0) of York, PA will fight Devon Mosley (0-3-1) of Capitol Heights, Maryland in a Cruiserweight affair.

Tyrell Colston of Philadelphia will make his pro debut against Yuwshua Zadok (2-4-1, 2 KO’s) of Atlanta, GA in a Cruiserweight fight.

Ely Mendez (1-1) of Reading, PA will take on Roberto Irrizarry (3-1-1) of Cherry Hill, NJ in a Featherweight contest.

Corey Morley of Philadelphia will make his pro debut against Brian Donahue (3-13-2) of Philadelphia in a Heavyweight fight.

Scott Kelleher (2-0, 1 KO) of Philadelphia will box Kevin Garcia (1-1-1) of Phoenixville, PA in a Lightweight contest.

Tickets can be purchased for $100, $75 and $50 by and be purchased by clicking
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Peltz Boxing Celebrates 46th Year Anniversary

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In the beginning…
While preparing for Friday’s Puerto Rican Boxing Classic at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, promoter J Russell Peltz, International Boxing Hall of Fame, class of 2004, recalls his start in boxing 46 years ago.

Today I celebrate-or perhaps observe-the 46th anniversary of my first fight as a boxing promoter. I could have waited another four years to write this story, but that seems like a long time from now and an even longer bet to reach that milestone.

I saw only a few minutes of my first boxing card. It was Sept. 30, 1969, at the Blue Horizon-not yet legendary-and I was busy in the box office with mom, selling tickets to the last of the 1,606 people we squeezed in there that night to watch middleweight Bennie Briscoe destroy Tito Marshall in their rematch. We actually turned people away that night and that’s something I would never do again. What was I thinking?

There was a miscommunication with the union that supplied the ticket sellers so when they failed to show, I hired mom-gratis, of course-and she helped to sell the tickets.

I was 22 years old, 15 months after graduating from Temple University and less than 30 days removed from working full-time on the sports staff at The Evening Bulletin. I had coveted the boxing beat at The Bulletin, but I got impatient when Jack Fried, the boxing writer, got an extension on his mandatory retirement at age 65 and I wasn’t about to hang around waiting for him to retire or, as dad would say, kick the bucket.

So I did what every 22-year-old college grad who was raised on the prestigious Main Line would do-I became a boxing promoter.

I had saved about $5,000 in college since I had worked full-time on what they called the Lobster Shift at The Bulletin, starting the summer after my junior year at Temple. I worked from midnight to 8 am, editing stories, writing captions and headlines and doing re-writes. Then I’d drive from 30th & Market Street to North Broad Street for my senior year at Temple, go to class from 9 am to 1 pm, then drive home to Bala Cynwyd to go to sleep.

It was a post-Olympic year in Philly and there was talent on every street corner. I remember the late summer of 1969, driving up Columbia Avenue-now Cecil B. Moore-and turning right after 22d Street where Columbia turns into Ridge. Two buildings from the corner stood the aptly named Roach’s Café. On top of Roach’s Café, up a steep flight of stairs, was Champs Gym, run by Quenzell McCall, who had made his bones training Percy Bassett and Leotis Martin and Kitten Hayward and Briscoe and many other top Philly fighters.

I met Sam Solomon, a friendly round-faced man who owned a Laundromat in West Philadelphia, and he introduced me to his new fighter, a 17-year-old stud who was looking to turn pro. His name was Eugene Hart. Sam nicknamed him Cyclone.

A year earlier, at a gym in the basement of the Annunciation Church at 12th & Norris, just off Temple’s campus, I had interviewed another young amateur boxer for a story I wrote for The Bulletin. His name was Bobby Watts. They called him Boogaloo.

There had not been a pro fight card in Philly since May and local fans were ready for some action.

I had dreamed of having my boyhood idol, Hall-of-Famer Harold Johnson, in the main event but I could not afford the $2,000 he wanted. I had become friendly with Pat Duffy, having written some stories about amateur boxing while I was at The Bulletin. Duffy controlled the amateurs in the tri-state area and he had his hand in the pros as well. He was involved with Leotis Martin and Sammy Goss and Bennie Briscoe and for a guarantee of $1,000 against a percentage of the gate receipts I got Briscoe to fight a rematch with Marshall, who had beaten Bennie four years earlier.

Duffy also had a heavyweight named Jerry Judge, from the Kensington section of Philly, and I added him to the card in his pro debut. On the poster I identified Judge as the Kensington Heavyweight Champion. Really!

George Hill, who was training at Champs Gym, agreed to make his own pro debut against Judge.

Jimmy Toppi, Jr., owned the Blue Horizon. He had promoted fights at various Philly venues in the 1940s and 1950s and as soon as he heard about my main event, he predicted a sellout. Toppi would close his office every day at 2 pm, so I would drive over to the Blue Horizon from my apartment in the Germantown section of the city, park outside and wait to see if any customers would show up to buy tickets. Whenever I saw someone ring the doorbell at the Blue Horizon, I’d get out of my car, call over to them and sell them tickets out of my trunk.

The card came together, although Watts’ original opponent, North Philly neighbor Lloyd Bad News Nelson, canceled out a couple of weeks before the show and it wasn’t until close to Sept. 30 that I found Ron Nesby, who was training at Gil Clancy’s gym in New York.

Dad was in the plumbing, heating and air-conditioning business and he took 100 ringside tickets and gave them out to his business associates. He paid me for all of them-they were $5 apiece. I guess he was worried I wouldn’t make it in boxing. My uncle Bob came to the fight and he got sick after eating a Blue Horizon hotdog.

I was at the gyms every night, Champs and the 23rd PAL in North Philly, Passyunk and the Juniper Gym in South Philly. There were others but those were the Fab Four.

Malcolm “Flash” Gordon, a long-haired New York boxing junkie who had bought a mimeograph machine with his Bar Mitzvah money years earlier, agreed to sell his now-legendary programs at the fight for 25 cents each.

Tom Cushman, the boxing writer for the Daily News, was a major player. I had met Cushman in Oklahoma City a few years earlier. He had stopped there–on his way East from Denver to start his new job at the Daily News-to cover Temple’s basketball team in a Christmas tournament and I was there as a correspondent for The Bulletin.

Cushman knew that boxing writers from other newspapers in town took money under the table from promoters to write pre-fight stories and he told me if he ever caught me doing that I could kiss our friendship goodbye. Not a chance!

The Inquirer headline the day before my card: Is Peltz Ready To Get Skinned?

We sold out. At the time, the 1,606 fans in attendance represented the largest crowd in the Blue Horizon’s history. The gate was $6,010 with tickets priced at $3 and $5. Briscoe’s percentage came to $1,314.58 and Marshall walked out with $788.75.

Middleweight Oscar Coor beat Clarence Finney in an all-local four-rounder to open the card-on time, naturally, at 8 pm-and Cyclone Hart blew away South Philly’s Sheldon Moore, who didn’t answer the bell for round two. Jerry Judge worked hard and stopped George Hill in the fourth round and Boogaloo Watts out-boxed Ron Nesby in a 6. In the main event, Briscoe had a blast. He nailed Marshall below the belt early and when Tito complained to the ref, Bennie went upstairs and it was all over in 60 seconds. Marshall never boxed again.

Columnist Sandy Grady was there from The Bulletin. His story the next day–Crazy Dream Comes True–told about my prediction in college that one day my friends would be coming to my fight cards. He also wrote that my (first) wife and I were living in an apartment in Germantown and the only things in it were a mattress, a TV set and a cat named Ophelia. With the money we made that night ($1,438.83), Grady wrote that perhaps now we would buy some furniture.

A few months earlier, my wife had asked me what made me think I could be successful in this business. I told her that it would take me about six months to blow my savings but I’d have a great scrapbook one day to show our kids about the time their daddy was a boxing promoter.
boxing

Boxing Returns to Harrah’s Philadelphia

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Chester, PA (August 27, 2015)–On Saturday night, September 19, boxing returns to Harrahs Philadelphia with a terrific card promoted by King’s Promotions.

In the main event, it will be a 6-round rematch of Super Lightweights when Antonio DuBose battles Jesus Lule.

DuBose and Lule fought to a 4-round draw on June 27 in Bethlehem, PA.

Dubose, 27 years-old of Philadelphia has a record of 7-0-1 with 2 knockouts.

Lule, 31 years-old of Fort Myers, Florida has a deceiving record of 7-13-1 with 1 knockout.

He has faced 8 undefeated fighters and is coming off a knockout loss to Mason Menard (29-1) on August 8 in Opelousas, Louisiana.

DuBose is ready to emphatically defeat Lule and erase anyone’s doubt’s who is the superior fighter.

“Everything is great and I am feeling good.  I had a lot on my mind heading into the last fight.  I wasn’t myself.  I noticed that I was just running at him and not doing the things that got me to the seven wins.  I was fighting his fight.  This fight, I will be myself and that means being more elusive and throwing more combinations,” said DuBose.

DuBose promises a much better performance and is motivated for his rematch.

“I was upset by the draw and it motivates me.”

He isn’t taking much from the first fight and will look to fight a complete fight.

“I remember a few things from the first fight that I have to correct.  You will see a different Antonio DuBose on Saturday night.”

This bout will be Dubose’s first six round bout and he is eager at the opportunity.

“I feel six rounds will be better  I can relax and box more.  I am ready for Saturday night and I am happy to be headlining a great show.”

In the 6-round co-feature:

Emmanuel Folly (5-0, 4 KO’s) of Philadelphia will battle Sergio Najera (10-20-2, 4 KO’s) KO’s) of New Haven, Connecticut in a Bantamweight bout.

In 4-round bouts:

Carlos Rosario (2-1,1 KO) of Pensauken, NJ will battle Korey Sloan (2-7-2) of Philadelphia in a Lightweight bout.

Dominic Walton of Philadelphia will make his pro debut against fellow debuterRoger Streeter of Atlanta, GA in a Cruiserweight bout.

Robert Irizarry (3-0-1) of Cherry Hill, NJ will box Rafael Vazquez (1-3) of Bayamon, PR  in a Featherweight bout.

Christopher Brooker (3-1, 3 KO’s) of Philadelphia will square off with Juan Fernando Raya (2-2, 1 KO) of Santa Cruz, BOL in a Super Middleweight bout.

Corey Morley of Philadelphia will make his pro debut against an opponent to be name in a Heavyweight bout.

Santario Martin (0-1) of Gainesville, FL will battle Fitzgerald Johnson (3-7, 1 KO) of Newark, NJ in a Middleweight affair.

Nick Valliere (5-0, 2 KO’s) of Forked River, NJ will battle Alshmar Johnson (0-1) of Vineland, NJ in a Middleweight bout.

Pro debuting Daryl Bunting of Forked River, NJ will square off with Ryan Bivins (0-1) of Philadelphia in a Super Middleweight clash.

Tickets for this great night of boxing cost $100, $75 and $50 and can be purchased by calling 610-587-5950 or www.hboxing.eventbrite.com

The 1st bout will start at 7 PM with the doors opening at 6 PM.

boxing

VICTOR VASQUEZ-TYRELL SAMUEL BOUT TOPS OCT. 2 PRELIMS AT PUERTO RICAN CLASSIC IN PHILLY

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For Immediate release

Philadelphia, PA – Popular lightweight Victor Vasquez, of Philadelphia, hopes to extend his modest three-fight winning streak when he takes on Tyrell Samuel, of Baltimore, MD, in the six-round semifinal as part of the Puerto Rican Boxing Classic on Friday evening, Oct. 2, at the 2300 Arena at 2300 South Swanson Street.
Headlining the seven-bout card is an eight-round junior lightweight contest between world-rated Jason Sosa, of Camden, NJ, and Jorge Pazos, of Chumuchil, Mexico. First fight starts at 7pm.
Vasquez (above left), 32, has won three straight at the 2300 Arena, stopping Jose L. Guzman, of The Bronx, and Osnel Charles, of Atlantic City, and earning a six-round decision over Gerald Smith, of Philadelphia.
Vasquez is known as the Fighting Barber since he works in that profession atConsider It Done in North Philadelphia.

A pro boxer since 2006, Vasquez has a record of 19-9-1, 9 K0s.
Samuel (above right), 33, has been fighting as a pro even longer, having turned pro in 2005 and winning his first nine fights. He has beaten Gustavo Dailey, of Philadelphia,Joey Tiberi, of Newark, DE, and Carlos Vinan, of Newark, NJ.

In his most ambitious starts, Samuel dropped decisions to Eric Hunter, of Philadelphia, over eight rounds, and to Dorin Spivey, of Virginia Beach, VA, over 10 rounds.
Junior middleweight Ismael “Tito” Garcia, of Vineland, NJ, considered by boxing insiders to be one of the best prospects in the area, goes against Yusmani Abreu, of Cuba, in a six-round match.
Garcia, 28, has been plagued by inactivity since turning pro in 2010 and has boxed only nine times in more than five years, winning eight-four by knockout-and fighting one No Contest.

In his last fight May 8 at the 2300 Arena, Garcia knocked out Tommy Ayers, of Cincinnati, OH, in the first round.

Abreu, 35 now living in Las Vegas, NV, is a solid fighter with a poor record (4-11-2). The combined record of his 17 opponents is 95-21-5 and he turned pro in 2005 in Mexico against Gilberto Flores Hernandez, who was left-handed and 12-4 at the time. Abreu has boxed nine men who were undefeated.

A third six-rounder features a rematch between junior welterweights David 
Gonzales, of Philadelphia, and Ryan Belasco, of Wilmington, DE. They boxed a six-round draw on May 8 in the same ring.
Gonzales, 25, is 5-0-2,1K0. Belasco, 31, is 18-6-5, 3 K0s.

Three additional four-rounders complete the card: Edgar Cortes, of Vineland, NJ, vs.Antonio Conigliaro, St. Clair, PA, super bantamweights; Scott Kelleher, Philadelphia, vs. Alberto Manuykan, Union City, NJ, junior welterweights; Avery Sparrow, Philadelphia, vs. tba, lightweights.

The seven-bout fight card figures to attract a sold-out crowd.

From bantamweight Sixto Escobar, who became the first Puerto Rican world champion in 1935, to current title-holder Danny Garcia, of Philadelphia, Puerto Ricans have had a long and storied history in boxing.

Among area fighters looking to display their talents on the Oct. 2 card are local Puerto Rican fighters from Philadelphia and New Jersey. Many of them bring a loyal following to their fights.

In addition, invitations to attend and sign autographs will be sent to outstanding Puerto Rican fighters up and down the East Coast.
About Oct. 2

The Inaugural Puerto Rican Boxing Classic, featuring seven bouts, begins at 7pm at the 2300 Arena at 2300 South Swanson Street in South Philadelphia.  Doors open at6 pm.  The Oct. 2 event is being sponsored by Parx Casino, DonQ Rum, The Penthouse Club, Lyrics Lounge, Nationwide Auto Warranties and Cricket Wireless. The card will be streamed live by www.gofightlive.tv   and on a delayed basis by Comcast SportsNet.  Tickets are $50 and $75 and can be purchased by calling Peltz Boxing (215-765-0922) and Wanamaker’s Tickets ( 215-568-2400 ).  Tickets also can be purchased online at www.peltzboxing.com and www.wanatix.com

.  The Oct. 2 card is promoted by Peltz Boxing, Top Rank, Joe Hand Promotions and BAM Boxing.

About Oct. 4
 
 The Puerto Rican Day Parade is the Crown Jewel of the Puerto Rican Festival every year in Philadelphia.  It is a showcase of Puerto Rican and Latin culture.  The Parade begins Sunday morning, Oct. 4, at the Eakins Oval in center city and continues throughout the day along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway with music, concerts and vendors selling their wares.  City officials expect more than 5,000 people to attend.  The Parade, one of the first of its kind to be televised, will be aired on ABC-TV locally and on Univision nationally 
boxing

King’s Promotions to complete 4 shows in 7 days with card at Reading Fightin Phils First Energy Stadium on Thursday, September 24

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Undefeated Erik Spring & Nick Valliere in separate bouts
For Immediate Release

Reading, PA (September 2, 2015)– On Thursday night, September 24, King’s Promotions will present a special night of boxing at Reading Fightin Phils First Energy Stadium.

The show will culminate a busy week for King’s Promotions as the company, founded by Marshall Kauffman, will be promoting its’s fourth event in sieven days.

In 6-round Bouts:

Nick Valliere (5-0, 2 KO’s) of Forked River, NJ will take on Maurice Amaro (2-9, 1 KO) of Philadelphia, PA in a Middleweight bout.

Erik Spring (6-0, 1 KO) of Reading, PA battles James Robinson (3-3-2, 1 KO’s) of York, PA in a Super Welterweight bout.

In 4-round bouts:
Eliezer Mendez (1-1) of Reading, PA will fight Jonathan Acosta (0-1) of Lebanon, PA.

Randy Easton (3-7-1, 3 KO’s) of Sunbury, PA will fight pro debuting Corey Morley of Philadelphia, PA.

Santario Martin (0-1) of Gainesville, FL takes on Fitzgerald Johnson (3-7, 1 KO) of Newark, NJ in a Middleweight bout.

More Bouts will be announced shortly

Tickets cost $50 and $25 and be purchased at 610-375-8469 or www.Fightins.com/boxing

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PHILADELPHIA BOXING LEGEND JOE FRAZIER STATUE TO BE UNVEILED AT XFINITY LIVE! ON SEPTEMBER 12

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TWEET IT: Philadelphia Boxing Legend Joe Frazier statue to be unveiled at @XFINITYlive on

Sept 12 during free open-to-the public ceremony #JoeFrazierDay

 
Philadelphia, PA (September 1, 2015) – XFINITY Live! Philadelphia is set to unveil a new 12-foot bronze statue commemorating Joe Frazier, one of the most iconic Philadelphia athletes in history, during a free, open-to-the-public ceremony at XFINITY Live! on Saturday, September 12 at 1 p.m.  XFINITY Live! and Joe Hand Promotions were the lead contributors for this memorial.

Statue artist Stephen Layne recreated Frazier in mid-punch, depicting the moment after Frazier landed the punch that knocked down Muhammad Ali in the 15th round, on March 8, 1971. Frazier was the first fighter to defeat Ali.

“I found my inspiration in a photo of Frazier flooring Ali with his powerful left hook,” Layne said. “The moment captured in the sculpture reflects the work ethic of Frazier and the city he called home.”

Frazier won the 1964 Olympic gold medal in Tokyo and later finished with a professional record of 32-4-1, with 27 knockouts. Two of the losses were epic rematches with Ali, including the “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975. Frazier also participated in the first sporting event ever at the Spectrum, on October 17, 1967, winning with a knockout over Tony Doyle.

The City of Philadelphia commissioned Layne as the sculptor of the Joe Frazier Memorial Statue.  He began with a 12-foot tall clay model, and upon approval, constructed a silicone mold. He then began the highly skilled bronze foundry work, finishing the over 1,200-pound bronze monument in 14-months. The process was proudly produced, created and constructed in the United States by Stratton Sculpture Studios of Philadelphia.

The new Frazier statue joins five other iconic Philadelphia sports moments, including Philadelphia Flyers’ Gary Dornhoefer’s overtime playoff goal against the Minnesota North Stars in 1973; longtime Flyers’ good luck charm Kate Smith singing her iconic version of God Bless America; 76ers legend Julius Erving taking a signature shot, Flyers’ greats Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent hosting the Stanley Cup commemorating of the team’s 1974 and 1975 championships, and Flyers all-time winningest coach Fred Shero.

XFINITY Live! Philadelphia
XFINITY Live! Philadelphia is a dining and entertainment district centered in the heart of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The one-of-a-kind venue features over a dozen restaurant and entertainment choices, including:  Broad Street Bullies Pub, PBR Bar & Grill (Professional Bull Riders), Philly MarketPlace, Victory Beer Hall and the first-ever NBC Sports Arena. XFINITY Live! is a joint partnership between Philadelphia-based Comcast Spectacor and Baltimore-based The Cordish Companies.

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Antonio DuBose to rematch Jesus Lule to headline on Saturday, September 19 at Harrahs Philadelphia 

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Plus undefeated Emmnauel Folly, Hafiz Montgomery & Robert Irizarry

Chester, PA (August 27, 2015)–On Saturday night, September 19, boxing returns to Harrahs Philadelphia with a terrific card promoted by King’s Promotions.

In the main event, it will be a 6-round rematch of Super Lightweights when Antonio DuBose battles Jesus Lule.

DuBose and Lule fought to a 4-round draw on June 27 in Bethlehem, PA.

Dubose, 27 years-old of Philadelphia has a record of 7-0-1 with 2 knockouts.

Lule, 31 years-old of Fort Myers, Florida has a deceiving record of 7-13-1 with 1 knockout.

He has faced 8 undefeated fighters and is coming off a knockout loss to Mason Menard (29-1) on August 8 in Opelousas, Louisiana.

The rest of the card will made up with 4-round bouts.

Emmanuel Folly (5-0, 4 KO’s) of Philadelphia will battle Joshua Crespo (4-2-3, 2 KO’s) of New Haven, Connecticut in a Bantamweight bout.

Carlos Rosario (2-1,1 KO) of Pensauken, NJ will battle Korey Sloan (2-7-2) of Philadelphia in a Lightweight bout.

Hafiz Montgomery (1-0) of York, PA will fight Marvin Jones (2-5, 2 KO) of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico in a Cruiserweight tilt.

Robert Irizarry (3-0-1) of Cherry Hill, NJ will box Stephon McIntyre (2-11-2) of Jonesboro, GA in a Featherweight bout.

Christopher Brooker (3-1, 3 KO’s) of Philadelphia will square off with Daryl Fenton (1-1-1) of Washington, DC in a Super Middleweight bout.

More Bouts will be announced shortly.

Tickets for this great night of boxing cost $100, $75 and $50 and can be purchased by calling 610-587-5950 or www.hboxing.eventbrite.com

The 1st bout will start at 7 PM with the doors opening at 6 PM.

boxing, ShoBox, Showtime Boxing

After 31 second knockout, Dawejko looks forward to ShoBox date with Visinia on August 28 

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Philadelphia, PA (August 18, 2015)– On August 7 at Ballys in Atlantic City, Joey Dawejko made quick work of Robert Dunton to the tune of 31 second-1 punch stoppage and now the Philadelphia Heavyweight looks to an August 28 showdown with good friend Natu Visinia in a bout scheduled for 8-rounds at The D Las Vegas.  The bout will be televised live on ShoBox: The New Generation.
Just days after the win over Dunton, Dawejko boarded a plane with trainer Buddy McGirt and assistant trainer Greg Hackett and went right back to work to begin preparations for the fight with Visinia.
“We took that fight just to get Joey back in a winning frame of mind.  After the fight with Amir Mansour, Buddy began correcting went wrong in that fight.  The Mansour fight was the first fight with Buddy and by the time August 28 comes around, Joey and Buddy will basically been working for 10 straight weeks.  I believe that the familiarity will produce the results that we are looking for,” said Dawejko’s manager Mark Cipparone of Club 1957 Management.
“This is a very important fight for Joey.  He knows that this is the next opportunity to prove that he is a top Heavyweight contender on national television.  It is also important because he is a promotional free agent and we have a couple of nice deals already presented to us and a good win over a tough opponent in Natu is another way to showcase himself to all those who are interested.”
Joey Dawejko
Joey Dawejko
Global Proving Ground, mixed martial arts

GLOBAL PROVING GROUND ANNOUNCES 22ND LIVE MMA EVENT STACKED WITH PHILADELPHIA AREA’S FINEST FIGHTING TALENT ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24

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GPG 22 MARKS PROMOTION’S DEBUT AT NEW SPORTS COMPLEX IN MOUNT LAUREL, N.J.

PHILADELPHIA, PA. (August 18, 2015) –Global Proving Ground (GPG) announced today its 22nd live Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event, featuring a collection of the Philadelphia area’s top professional fighting prospects, on Saturday, October 24, live on Go Fight Live (www.GFL.tv), from the promotion’s all-new venue, the GPG Sports Complex, in Mount Laurel, N.J.

Tickets for GPG 22, which will be headlined by a flyweight (125 pounds) matchup between rising star Sean “Shorty Rock” Santella (13-5-1, 1 NC) of Whippany, N.J. and an opponent to be announced soon, are priced from $40 and are available for purchase at LocalMMATickets.com.

“We are excited to begin the next chapter in Global Proving Ground’s growth, in a new venue that can comfortably accommodate our rapidly expanding fanbase, and give spectators the exciting experience they look for when they attend a fight,” said Global Proving Ground President James J. Jefferson.

In the co-main event and first Global Proving Ground middleweight (185 pounds) championship bout in history, aggressive-minded, four-time Bellator veteran Jesus “Chavo” Martinez (9-6) of Philadelphia will square off with Tony Parker (11-11) of Fairfield, Ohio.  To date, all but 1 of Parker’s 11 career victories have come by way of submission.

Battle-tested veteran Dante Rivera (16-7) of Jackson, N.J. will battle an opponent to be determined in a 190-pound catchweight fight.

Local fan favorites Alec Hooben (2-2) of Pompton Lakes, N.J. and Tim Dooling (1-2) of Ewing, N.J. will also see action against opponents to be determined.

Additional main card matchups will be announced soon.

In preliminary bout action, unbeaten Peter “The Joker” Petties (2-0) of Columbia, Md. will lock horns with Matt “The Cat” DiMarcantonio (8-5) of Welland Ontario, Canada.  The 24-year-old Petties soared to internet fame when a video of his Aug. 23, 2014 amateur bout with Jeff Melvin, in which Petties unleashed a series of strikes that forced Melvin to vomit, went viral.

Josh Key (6-11) of Perth Amboy, N.J. will battle Eric “Atomic” Attard (4-6) of Welland, Ontario in a welterweight scrap.

In a meeting between two flyweights (125 pounds) making their respective, professional debuts, Gabe Ruiz (0-0) of Woodland Park, N.J. will take on Vladimir Kazbekov (0-0) of Welland, Ontario.

Doors at the venue will open for GPG 22 at 6 p.m. on October 24, and the first preliminary bout and live GFL.tv stream will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT.
boxing, Premier Boxing Champions, Spike TV

HEAVYWEIGHTS ANTONIO TARVER  AND STEVE CUNNINGHAM FIGHT TO SPLIT DECISION DRAW;   POLAND’S KRZYSTOF GLOWACKI SCORES 11TH ROUND TKO OVER MARCO HUCK FOR THE CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE IN A SOLID NIGHT OF PREMIER BOXING CHAMPIONS ON SPIKE BOXING ACTION AT PRUDENTIAL CENTER IN NEWARK, NEW JERSEY

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Click HERE For Photos From Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment
 
NEWARK, NJ (August 15, 2015) – Heavyweights Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver (31-6, 22 KOs) and Steve “U.S.S.” Cunningham (28-7, 13 KOs) fought to a split decision draw in the main event of tonight’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Both Tarver and Cunningham fought at a consistent pace throughout the bout, exchanging punches evenly in the early rounds. Tarver caught Cunningham in the fourth round with a sneaky right cross that wobbled the younger fighter who quickly regained his composure and finished out the round.  The back and forth action, which left Cunningham bruised and swollen around the eyes, lead to the draw with judges scores of 115-113 Cunningham, 115-114 Tarver and 114-114.
In the opening bout of the telecast, Poland’s Krzystof Glowacki (24-0, 15 KOs) scored an 11th round technical knockout victory over Germany’s Marco Huck (38-2-1, 26 KOs) in a huge upset that saw Glowacki capture Huck’s cruiserweight title. Huck was hoping to set a new record for most cruiserweight title defenses with a 14th successful defense tonight. Both fighters were making their US debut in front of a crowd of 5,843, many of which were their Polish and German countrymen living stateside.
In the give and take cruiserweight bout, Glowacki came out strong in the early rounds beating Huck with his power and speed on the inside. Huck started to find his rhythm in the middle rounds and out of nowhere put Glowacki on the canvas in the sixth with a punishing left hook to the temple.  Glowacki recovered quickly and was able to finish the round. Both men stayed busy for the remainder of the later rounds with the judges heeding favor to Huck by the end of the 10th. However, Glowacki came out in the 11th and late in the round put Huck on the canvas with a hard left right combination. Huck beat the count only to have Glowacki jump on him immediately, throwing a series of punches that forced the referee to stop the fight at 2:39 in the round.  Glowacki shocked the boxing world with a devastating 11th technical knockout of the 8-1 favored Huck in what will surely be a fight considered for upset of the year.
ANTONIO TARVER
“I knew they weren’t educated on my defense and ring generalship. I threw the harder punches and wasn’t tired. I controlled the tempo, kept my jab busy and feel like I outboxed him too.
“He didn’t hurt me and couldn’t get to my body. I did what I had to do but didn’t get the win. We got a draw and I’m not satisfied with it at all.”
STEVE CUNNINGHAM
“I’m the man I’ve always been before and after the fight, and this decision, you won’t find me kicking and screaming.
“I have nothing to be ashamed of and I’ll get together with my team and family and talk about what we do next.”
KRYSZTOF GLOWACKI
“The US market is now open to me, and fans around the world are going to have to respect the cruiserweight division now.
“When I was knocked down in the sixth round I didn’t know where I was and it took me a whole round to regain myself. I still cannot hear well. I was listening to my corner though and when I heard that there was only one minute left in the eleventh round I knew I had to come on strong.
“I’ve always had a thing against bullies and Huck was trying to bully me in there. So I brought it to him. I want to thank all my fans in Poland and from around the world for supporting me. We kept “believing” and that’s how we won this world title. This is the biggest night of my life.”
MARCO HUCK
Was unavailable for quotes. Both Glowacki and Huck were taken to Rutgers University Hospital for pre-cautionary observation.