On Wednesday night, DiBella Entertainment staged another installment of its popular Broadway Boxing series at New York City’s famed B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in midtown Manhattan in front of a passionate and lively crowd. Headlining the card was undefeated Bronx junior welterweight prospect Louis Cruz in his ring return following a 10-month absence related to a hand injury.
Now fully recovered, the 24-year-old Cruz, 139¾, impressively dispatched of southpaw Ariel Vazquez, 137½, Managua, Nicaragua, in the sixth of a scheduled eight-rounder. Cruz almost ended matters very early as the first jab he threw in the fight dropped Vazquez for a count. Vazquez arose but was soon felled again by a devastating counter right hook to the chin. Surviving the opening round, Vazquez was subsequently more mindful of his defense as the bout ensued. Cruz remained aggressive while getting in some much-needed rounds to shake off his ring rust. Vazquez was floored once more in the fourth frame by a right hand-left hook combination. In the round six, Cruz landed a blistering left hook that immediately bloodied and broke Vazquez’ nose. To his credit, Vazquez stayed on his feet but succumbed to the following attack from Cruz prompting a referee stoppage at 2:41 of the stanza. Cruz is now 11-0 (5 KOs), while Vazquez’ record dropped to 11-10-2 (8 KOs). As an amateur, Cruz was a New York Golden Gloves champion and after a second-place finish at the 2011 National Golden Gloves, he competed in the 2012 US Olympic Trials before turning pro later that same year.
(Photo Credit: Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment)
Moving down to the junior middleweight division, Ukrainian southpaw Ivan Golub, 150½, co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Fight Promotions Inc., now living and training in Brooklyn, battled the experienced and crafty Kendal Mena, 150½, of San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, in a scheduled eight-round affair. Using a stiff jab to set up his powerful straight left, Golub followed up one of his lefts with a right hook upstairs to wobble Mena at the bell ending round one. The right hook continued to be a key weapon for Golub, as that punch felled Mena in the final minute of the second round. Another right hook staggered Mena in round three and a follow-up straight left snapped his head back forcing the referee to jump in to stop the bout at the 1:54 mark. The fast-rising Golub is now 9-0 (7 KOs), while Mena saw his ledger dip to 20-3 (11 KOs). Golub amassed an astonishing record of 270-32 during his amateur career. He became a five-time Ukrainian National champion, won bronze medals at the Junior World Championships in 2006 and at the World Championships in 2009. He also participated in the World Series of Boxing, winning all five of his bouts.
In round three. Golub dropped Mena with a straight left.
Peter Dobson remained undefeated by stopping Tavoris Teague after round three of their scheduled 6-round Super Welterweight bout.
Dobson dominated the action as he laned shits to the head and body and was well on his way to inflicting more damage until Teague’s corner stopped the bout in between round’s three and four.
Dobson, 150.4 lbs of Bronx, NY is 6-0 with 5 knockouts. Teague, 150 lbs of La Habra, CA is 2-6-2.
Shemuel Pagan came off an 18-month layoff to score a 1st round stoppage over David Nelson in a Super Lightweight bout.
In round one, Pagan landed a series of body shots sent Nelson to the canvas. Just seconds later, it was more of the same as Pagan dropped Nelson for a 2nd time and the corner had seen enough and the fight was stopped at 2:42 of round one.
Pagan 140 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is 6-0 with 5 knockouts. Nelson, 139.2 lbs of Bakersfield, CA is 3-5.
Carlos Adames scored a 1st round stoppage over Rudy Lozano in a scheduled 6-round Super Welterweight bout
Adames dropped Lozano in round from a hard combination. Adames continued the assault as he landed heavy blows without Lozano throwing back and the fight was stopped at 2:38 of round one.
Adames, 148 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR is now 4-0 with 3 knockouts. Lozano, 149.6 lbs of Corpus Christi. TX is 2-1-1.
Steve Woodall remained undefeated by stopping Javier Loya in round four of a scheduled 6-round Super Middleweight bout.
In round three, Woodall dropped Loya with a double left hook. Early in round four, Loyá’s corner decided he had suffered enough punishment and the fight was ended at 39 seconds of round four.
Woodall, 162.4 lbs of Houston, TX is now 9-0-1 with 6 knockouts. Loya, 161.2 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is 7-4.
