November 25th at the Huntington Hilton had a good card for an even better cause. Final Forum and matchmaker Eric Bentley put together a night of boxing, where a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Friends of Amanda Malloy for Education (FAME). This program will fund scholarships for underprivileged children. Amanda was a very good friend of Chris Algieri, who was fighting in her memory and will be donating a portion of his purse to the cause.
The main event saw heavyweight local favorite Derric Rossy (20-2, 11 KO’s) make short work of Bill Shahan (7-1, 6 KO’s). Right from the opening bell you saw that Shahan was in over his head. Rossy had every advantage on his opponent it seemed. Speed, power and overall boxing technique was on his side. Rossy dominated the first round using his hand speed to find the easy target of his lumbering opponent. A game, but out gunned Shahan made it to the second round. That is where he met his utter demise, when a big right hand from Rossy found its mark. Before the ref, Wayne Kelly, could step in, Rossy unloaded another two punches on his dazed foe. Kelly waved off the fight at 2:02 of the second round. Afterwards Rossy was his usual friendly self with the fans that were ringside.
Middleweight Tarvis Simms (23-0-1, 11 KO’s) won a painful to watch UD over Sam Hill (17-10-1, 10 KO’s) by the scores of 80-71 twice, while the third judge somehow gave Hill a round at 79-72. Simms and Hill was an interesting fight for perhaps a round and a half. After that, the superior body punching of Simms took control of the fight. After the first two rounds it seemed as if Hill didn’t have any willingness to be in the fight. The last half of the fight was dreadful with Hill doing nothing more than moving and blocking, and perhaps throwing 5 jabs a round. Granted this was a win for Simms, but the fight did nothing besides that. I can’t see how he increased his fan base or gained some experience with this fight. Not to fault of his own, as Simms tried to make some action in the fight. It’s just that his opponent wasn’t as willing.
The fighter with the most fan support tonight was junior welterweight Chris Algieri (5-0, 3 KO’s), who didn’t disappoint as he went on to defeat Jason Jordan (6-28-4, 0 KO’s) by a UD. The scores were 40-35 twice and the final judge had it 39-36. Jordan was a game fighter for the first two rounds, until the power and skill set of Algieri took over. Algieri was close to a stoppage in the last round, but the bell came just in time for Jordan.
The New York State Heavyweight champ was on the card as well. Current belt holder Darrel “King David” Madison (12-1, 3 KO’s) took on perhaps the toughest opponent on paper for the night, Jermell Barnes (18-18-2, 4 KO’s). The Crowd wouldn’t be disappointed as Madison went on to coast for a UD, even doing a little show boating here and there. All three judges saw the fight the same way at 60-54. Madison had the quicker hands and got to the mark first for most of the night. Barnes looked to be wearing down by the 6th round to the more accurate Madison. There are possible talks of a Madison/Rossy fight sometime next year, which would be big for the state of New York.
Featherweight Eddie Irizarry (5-0, 2 KO’s) seemed to have more trouble than expected from Vinesh Rungea (2-12-3, 0 KO’s). Even though he was out classed, and comical to watch at times, Rungea put up a decent fight. Rungea at times even mocked his opponent with hand gestures in the ring. This however did not help him win the fight, as Irizarry won a UD by the scores of 59-54, 58-55, and 57-56. Rungea lost a point in the third due to hitting with the shoulder. Not factoring in the point deduction, you can see how close this fight really was. I’m sure it wasn’t the ending result Irizarry was looking for.
In the most exciting fight of the night, Super Middleweight Patrick Majewski (9-0, 7 KO’s) defeated Danny Rivera (6-4, 3 KO’s) at the end of 5 rounds. The doctor thought it was best for Rivera to stay in his corner, having a problem with his eye. Add on the total amount of hits he absorbed, and I can see why the ringside physician made the call. Majewski was the most impressive fighter on the night, while Rivera was definitely the game fighter. No matter what Rivera got hit with, he kept coming back with an answer. An odd moment came near the end of the 3rd round, when Majewski had Rivera out on his feet. The ref stepped in and separated the two men, with most thinking that the fight was going to be stopped. However, the ref let the action continue, buying Rivera enough time to gather himself and barely make it out of the round.
Overall it was a good night of boxing. Sal Musumeci of Final Forum and matchmaker Eric Bentley did a good job putting on an entertaining card. It was also nice to see people in the sport giving something back. Congrats go to Final Forum for their “Fighting For a Cause” idea and to Chris Algieri as well for donating some of his purse to the FAME foundation. If you know of a charity, family, community, or person that you think Final Forum should promote a “Fighting For a Cause” event for, please email fightingforacause@finalforumboxing.com.
15round would like to send their condolences and prayers to the family and friends of Amanda Jean Malloy.