NEW YORK CITY — In keeping with recent tradition in New York City, boxing took center stage once again on the weekend of the Puerto Rican Day Parade as a lineup of Puerto Rican fighters were on display at the Roseland Ballroom, just steps from the bright lights of Times Square. The main event and co-feature of the card, which was billed as “Boricua Invasion I”, was broadcast live on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights.”
Kenny Galarza vs. Irving Garcia, Welterweight — 10 Rounds
In the main event of the evening, Kenny Glaraza stole a split decision victory from veteran Irving Garcia — the theft, a Boricua on Boricua crime.
The bout opened up with both fighter’s being relatively cautious. Galarza exported more punches, and was the more aggressive of the two fighter’s but Garcia landing arguably the more convincing shots.
The fourth round began with Garcia landing a big overhand right to Garcia’s face, which began to swell up. The fifth round was all Garcia, who was becoming increasingly confident and began to land a snapping jab with regularity, which contributed to even greater swelling on Galarza’s face.
In the seventh round, Garcia continued to land sharp jabs through Galarza’s questionable defense. Galarza, it should be noted, didn’t look to have come into this bout in peak condition, as he was soft and a little flabby in the middle. To his credit, however, Galarza never stopped throwing punches or coming forward, a combination that evidently influenced the judges scorecards.
Perhaps the most vicious blow of the bout came late in the tenth and final round when Garcia laid a thudding left hand into Galarza’s soft stomach, momentarily wobbling his fellow Puerto Rican.
Unfortunately for Garcia, his efforts went for naught. One judge saw the bout in his favor 96-94, but was overruled by the other two judges who saw the bout in Galarza’s favor, one seeing it 96-94 and another seeing it 97-93.
With the win, Galarza improves his record to 15-1, 14 KO, while Garcia drops to 17-7, 3 KO.
Thomas Dulorme vs. DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley, Welterweight — 10 Rounds
In the opening round, both fighter’s were content with feeling one another out; a jab heavy round. The second round saw more action, with both fighter’s scoring with meaningful punches. Corley went to Dulorme’s body with a thudding left that drew cheers from the crowd, while Dulorme landed a flush right to Corley’s face later that round.
In the third round, Dulorme came out sluggin’ to Chop Chop’s aged body. Towards the end of round three, both fighter’s let their hands go at the same time, only it was Dulorme’s powerful left hand that arrived first. Corley was sent flying to the canvas flat on his back. Corley rose at the count of six and was able to survive the remaining thirty seconds or so of round three.
In the fourth round, Corley regained his legs and put out an admirable effort for a man who’d just been violently floored the previous round. While he Corley did have some bright spots in the fourth round, the ten points still belonged to Dulorme.
The middle rounds played host to a number of solid exchanges, but it was Dulorme who was landing the better shots. As the fight progressed, Dulorme continued to make Chop Chop fight his fight. The Puerto Rican prospect continually whipped a crisp left jab that fended off any would-be attack from Corley.
The final three stanzas all played out similar. Corley tried, but could not inflict damage, nor score meaningful punches against Dulorme.
In the end, all three judges scored the bout 99-90 for Dulorme, who improved his record to 12-0, 10 KOs. The loss for Corley marks his fifth in a row and seventh in his last eight bouts. His record now stands at 37-18, 22 KOs.
Steven Martinez vs. Brad Jackson, Welterweight — 6 Rounds
The Bronx’s Steven Martinez improved his unbeaten record to 10-0, 8 KOs after he stopped Denver, Colorado’s Brad Jackson inside two rounds. Martinez made quick work of his overmatched counterpart, dropping him violently in the first round. In the second round, Martinez sent Jackson back to the canvas. He would return to his feet, but referee Benjy Esteves deemed him unfit to continue.
With the loss, Jackson drops to 13-6-1, 7 KOs.
Alex Perez vs. Manuel Guzman
Newark, New Jersey’s Alex Perez stayed undefeated when he delivered a crippling left hook to Manuel Guzman’s liver twenty-two seconds into the second round. Guzman, who had only been stopped once prior in his eleven losses, immediately collapsed to a knee after Perez’s crushing body shot. He failed to beat the ten count, and when he did try to stand afterward, was forced right back down to the mat. Guzman’s record drops to 7-12-2, 3 KOs.
Jose Pedraza vs. Tomi Archambault, Welterweight — 4 Rounds
Puerto Rico’s Jose Pedraza made quick work against North Dakota’s Tomi Archambault as it took him just 2:21 seconds to grab his third professional victory. Although he was action less than a full round, Pedraza, who is co-promoted by Gary Shaw and Lou DiBella, looked sharp. His punches were quick and crisp, powerful and meaningful; and perhaps, most important, he was patient and intelligent.
Pedraza landed his punches at an alarmingly high rate during the two minutes plus spent in the ring with his counterpart. About a minute into the round, Archambault was forced to take a knee as Pedraza ripped a one-two to the body. Although clearly still hurt, Pedraza was patient and methodical in his approach — slowly stalking his prey, only throwing punches that served a purpose. With one hellish right hand to the gut, Pedraza dropped Archambault again, this time to the fetal position, where he remained until the referee stopped the bout.
With the win, Pedraza improves to 3-0, 3 KOs, while Archambault drops to 1-2, 1 KO.
Boyd Melson vs. Kelvin Kibler, Welterweight — 4 Rounds
West Point graduate Boyd Melson stayed undefeated with a third round stoppage win over South Carolina’s Kelvin Kibler, who stayed winless.
Melson looked sharp against his winless foe, making a conscious commitment to attack Kibler’s body. His onslaught paid off midway through the third stanza. Kibler travled from one end of the ring to another on wobbly legs — Melson had taken the air out Kibler’s tires.
One minutes and thirty seconds into the that round — the third, judge Benjy Esteves, Jr. decided to step in and stop the fight.
The win improves Melson’s record to 4-1, 2 KOs, while Kibler drops to an unenvious 0-7.
Emmanuel Gonzalez vs. Jason Rorie, Super Featherweight — 6 Rounds
In the evening’s opening bout, the Bronx’s Emmanuel Gonzalez earned a unanimous decision over North Carolina’s Jason Rorie. Gonzalez’s potential is evident in the way he unleashes his right uppercut and the way he throws his right cross, but he’s raw. He got too hit much against a professional opponent; and he also ran out of gas in the sixth round, throwing weak combinations as he backpedalled in circles.
Nonetheless, it was a fairly easy day at the office for Manny “The Bronx Bomber” Gonzalez. Judges Frank Lombardi and Luis Rivera scored the bout 60-54, while judge Robert Perez saw it 59-55. With the win Gonzalez improves to 9-0, 7 KOs, while Rorie drops to 6-12, 3 KOs.
(Marc Abrams Contributed to this report)
