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Boxing returned Saturday night to the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn, New York for the first time since 2008. The fight card, presented by Havoc Boxing, was headlined by a bout between Brooklyn’s own Mauricio Martinez vs. Reynaldo Lopez.
Mauricio Martinez (35-10-1, 23 KO) vs. Reynaldo Lopez (30-9-2, 22 KO)
It took less than a minute into the initial round for Reynaldo Lopez to send Brooklyn’s Mauricio Martinez to the canvas with a crushing right hook placed perfectly on the Panamanian import’s chin.
The former WBO bantamweight titleholder, Martinez, beat referee Steve Willis’ ten count and although clearly injured, proceeded with the fight.
Just seconds after action resumed, Martinez, standing on clumsy legs, was sent crashing to canvas again courtesy of another right hook from the southpaw, Lopez.
Once again, Martinez, beat the ten count — but as soon as the ten second intermission terminated, Lopez picked right back up where he left off.
Lopez sent the wobbly-legged Martinez across the ring with a flurry of rights and lefts that reached his opponent with hardly any opposition.
Lopez delivered a hard body shot to Martinez that backed him close to the ropes before finishing off the fight in style with one more blistering right hook that sent Martinez violently to the canvas for the final time.
The last punch of the night resulted in Martinez’s head banging hard against the edge of the canvas, underneath the ropes where the apron meets the mat.
And just like that, one minute and twenty-one seconds into the main event, which was scheduled for ten rounds, referee Steve Willis called a halt to the bout and Reynaldo Lopez was crowned the new New York State Jr. Featherweight Champion.
Gary Stark Jr. (23-3, 8 KO) vs. Leopoldo Arrocha (8-12-2, 6 KO)
The very popular Gary Stark Jr. (23-3, 8KO’s, 126lbs) stepped into the ring against the tougher than expected Leopoldo Arrocha (8-12-2, 6KO’s, 127lbs). Chants of “Gary, Gary” accompanied the opening bell, and both fighters wasted no time in getting to know each other. Arrocha worked the clinch and hoped to rough Stark around the ring, while Stark landed the stronger hooks.
The second round got really rough with both fighters exchanging hard hooks. They closed out the round in a vicious and spirited fashion, whaling on each other upstairs while jawing at the same time. The crowd was on their feet and stayed there for the rest of the fight. Early in the third, a left hook by Arrocha followed by a hard clinch opened up an awkward gash over Stark’s right eye. Swelling began to form around Stark’s right eye and that was because Stark was unable to get away from any left hooks. Arrocha opened up the fourth round by changing it up and landing a hard right hook that staggered stark. Arrocha was more wild, but was landing the harder shots. Midway through the round, after a rough clinch, the referee pulled the fighters apart and took a point away from Arrocha for leading with his head. Some at ringside felt that the referee was being too harsh. The fifth saw more even action until Stark closed the round out with a powerful right hand.
In the sixth and final round, Stark was in control with the smarter boxing. As the fight ended, the crowd remained on their feet as they anxiously awaited the decision. The scorecards read 57-57, 58-56, and 58-57 for Gary Stark Jr. – Arben Paloka
Lennox Allen (13-0, 7 KO) vs. Darnell Boone (17-16-12, 7 KO)
New stud, Lennox Allen (13-0, 7KO’s, 167lbs), took on the notorious spoiler, Darnell Boone (17-16-2, 7 KO’s, 164 1/2lbs). Allen started the fight working behind his southpaw jab. Boone managed to slip in a right hand that was heard from afar, but Allen did not seem phased. The fight continued with both fighters taking well calculated risks, and slipping punches gracefully. Allen’s rangy hooks worked well, while Boone’s short counters worked well too. The key was who would land more.
Allen controlled the pace with his higher punch output, so Boone responded by becoming more aggressive himself. This worked well for a bit, but it gave Allen an opportunity to land some hard punches of his own. His body punching is what helped him pull away.
In the sixth round, Allen landed two hard right hooks that somehow made Boone complain to the ref and then to Allen. Boone continued and landed some hard jabs that seemed to bother Allen. The fight continued at the same back and forth pace entering the eighth and final round. Both fighters, very well trained, were hoping to end the fight big. Allen was still the one moving forward, and still landing the cleaner punches. The fight ended with both fighters feeling that they performed well enough to earn a victory. Eventually, it was the judges that sided with both fighters, giving them scores of 78-74, 76-76, and 76-76 for a majority draw. — Arben Paloka
Joe Smith Jr. (6-1, 6 KO) vs. Eric Caminero (7-3, 7 KO)
The popular Joe Smith Jr. (6-1, 6K0’s, 172 1/2lbs) took on the wild swinging Eric Caminero (7-3, 7KO’s, 172lbs) in a fight scheduled for six rounds. Both fighters started out the fight swinging for the fences. Smith, the much bigger fighter, stuck out his jab to keep Caminero out of range, and it quickly worked in his favor, as he was able to outland his opponent with hard punches. A right hand followed by a sneaky left uppercut had Caminero reeling into the ropes and holding on for dear life. He was able to make it out of the round.
As the fight progressed, the pace slowed, but smith still remained in command of the action. By the third round, Caminero began to viciously work the body, and it started working wonders as Smith looked visibly gassed. Smith still worked hard upstairs, but his jab was nonexistent.
By the fourth, it seemed obvious that something was wrong with Smith. Eventually, he signaled to his corner and pointed to his jaw. The ref broke the fighters soon afterwards and after a quick exchange, and blood flowing down Smith’s chin, the referee waved the fight off at the 2:58 point of the fourth round giving Caminero a victory. Afterwards, it turned out that Smith had broken his jaw which made him unable to close his mouth and eventually made him bite through his tongue. The look of pain and distress during the third and fourth rounds turned out to be Smith’s injury. Later on, we learned that Smith had also forgotten to remove his tongue ring prior to the fight and that it might have been an issue as well. — Arben Paloka
Joselito Collado (11-0, 3 KO) vs. Andres Ledezma (15-18-1, 10 KO)
Queen’s New York’s Joselito Collado (11-0, 3 KO) took on Miami’s Andres Ledezma in a six round bout at the junior lightweight division.
Good action marked the first round as both fighters were able to find success with various punches. Collado, with quick combinations, backed Ledezma to the ropes multiple times in the opening round. Even as Ledezma covered up, Collado was able to punch around the earmuffs to score points and win the first round.
Round two opened with Collado lunging forward to land a beautiful left that sent Ledezma into the corner, where Collado proceeded to work his opponent’s body. Ledezma spent most of round two on his bicycle forcing Collado to cut the ring off, which he did successfully and ultimately caught Ledezma with one more big left hand before the bell rang to end round two.
Round three was a successful round for Ledezma, who appeared to have a different game plan, as he stood his ground and used his height advantage to keep Collado on the outside as best he could.
The fourth round was back and forth as both fighters landed harsh punches. Ledezma started the round off by landing a big left uppercut, but Collado came right back with a right hand had Ledezma with his back on the ropes once again. Midway through the fourth round, Collado began experimenting fighting southpaw, but ultimately switched back to orthodox, where he was having most of his success.
Rounds five and six saw entertaining exchanges from the fighters, both finding success, but Collado getting the better of Ledezma.
When the bell rang to conclude the final round, two judges scored the bout a shutout, 60-54, while the third judge saw it, 59-55 — all in favor of Collado.
Mike Ruiz (9-4, 5 KO) vs. Noel Garcia (2-5-1, 1 KO)
In an entertaining bout at the junior middleweight division, Puerto Rican, Mike Ruiz (9-4, 5 KO) took on Springfield, Massachusetts’ Noel Garcia (2-5-1, 1 KO).
The first round opened up with Ruiz making a statement in the form a flush right hand that landed clean on Garcia’s face. Ruiz, who established ring generalship early in the four round bout, immediately found more success throwing his right over Garcia’s weak jab, as he continued to hit Garcia. Towards the closing seconds of round one, Ruiz rocked Garcia, but was unable to finish off his opponent before the bell sounded.
In round two, Ruiz, who now makes his home in Merrick, New York, continued his success by landing more right hands over Garcia’s jab. Garcia hardly threw any power punches at all in round two, as he spent most of it backpedaling away from Ruiz, constantly extending his left, but rarely throwing a purposeful jab.
Garcia awoke in round three as the fight saw more inside fighting, as well as more success for Garcia. Ruiz also had a solid round, as he started to land his left more frequently.
Round four was Garcia’s best round — one he arguably won. After eating a solid left hand by Ruiz, Garcia stood toe-to-toe with his opponent, getting the better of Ruiz in a series of exchanges that resulted in Garcia’s back against the ropes. In the closing seconds of the fight, Garcia landed a nice left hook on the chin of Ruiz, his best punch of the night.
When it was all said and done, however, all three judges were in agreement scoring the bout 40-36 in favor of Ruiz.
Andrew Mejias (8-0, 4 KO) vs. Juan Zapata (1-4, 1 KO)
In the night’s first bout, Utica, New York’s Andrew Mejias (8-0, 4 KO) took on the Bronx’s Juan Zapata (1-4, 1 KO) in a scheduled four round fight at the Super Middleweight division.
Along with the opening bell came a flurry a punches provided by both fighters as it was clear neither boxer planned on fighting the full twelve minutes.
Within the first 1:30 into round one, both fights had touched the canvas, but both times the referee ruled that the fighter’s had slipped. The action packed fight saw Zapata throw wild and wide punches in round one, but hardly connecting. The better boxer, Mejias, didn’t back down, however, as he stood in the pocket and was willing to bang with Zapata.
Round two featured more of the same from Zapata, who felt it necessary to throw wild and wide punches again, leaving himself vulnerable to Mejias’ counterpunches. Midway through the second round, as Zapata was loading up, Mejias caught his opponent with a left hook that sent the Boogie Down’s own to the canvas. Shortly after, deja vu occurred as Zapata was caught with another left as he loaded up for a big punch. This time Mejias’ left was enough to end the bout as Zapata was unable to continue the fight.
With the victory Mejias improved his perfect record to 8-0 with 4 KO, while Zapata fell to 1-4 with 1 KO.
