Former world title challenger and crowd favorite Dmitry “Star of David” Salita brutalized game veteran James Wayka en route to a third round stoppage Thursday evening before a packed house at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, NY.
Led into the ring by reggae sensation Matisyahu’s hit single “King Without A Crown”, Salita overcame a minor cut above his left eye to score two knockdowns in the second round following vicious body shots. The Brooklyn, NY based Ukrainian sliced open Wayka’s eye moments into round three before finishing him off.
Shortly thereafter, Salita scored a third knockdown with a hulatious left hook to his counterpart’s body. Wayka, who came all the way from Shawano, WI on short notice, made it back to his feet before hitting the canvas for a fourth time, forcing Referee David Fields to halt the contest at 1:53.
Salita, 32-1-1 (17 KO’s), claimed the New York State Welterweight crown, making him a king with a crown for what it’s worth. Wayka, who has fought excellent opposition and defeated former champion Frank Toledo, falls to 16-10-1 with 8 wins by kayo.
In the co-feature, exciting Bronx based light heavyweight Joel “El Ray” Castillo notched his second consecutive win following a 3 year hiatus, stopping fellow Empire State pugilist Angel “Latin Stallion” Gonzalez of Yonkers inside of two rounds. Castillo made it known that he was going to bring the heat from the opening bell and quickly found success.
Castillo landed a number of crisp shots in the first three minutes of the bout and relentlessly teed off on Gonzalez after hurting in the very next round until the bout was stopped at 1:46.
Castillo, an exciting prospect who sticks out like a sore thumb due to his overzealous ring entrance which includes a gaudy ring jacket and shiny crown atop his head, improves to 7-0 with 4 KO’s. Gonzalez slips to 2-3 (2 KO’s.
In perhaps the most unique ending to a fight in the history of Western Civilization, debuting lightweight Scott “Bang Bang” Burrell of Brooklyn by way of the UK scored a vicious second knockout over fellow newcomer Jonathan Caban of the Bronx. After a solid opening round for the Brooklynite, Burrell and Caban simultaneously connected with good punches, causing both men to hit the canvas ala Cornelius Bundrage-Sechew Powell.
Unlike the Bundrage-Powell fight, Burrell quickly popped up while Caban lay motionless on the canvas. Time of stoppage was 2:20.
Brooklyn based junior lightweight Rafael “Dinamita” Vazquez moved to 3-0 (2 KO’s) by stopping Paterson, NJ’s Hector Rivera, 2-7 (1). Vazquez scored a knockdown in the first round and managed to get out of some trouble in the second before decking his opponent again in the third with as perfect of a left hook that a fighter can throw. The game Rivera made it back to his feet in bad shape and his night was cut short moments later after a follow up barrage convinced Steve Smoger to call an end to the bout at 1:52.
Popular junior middleweight Frank Galarza of Brooklyn outworked Bronx based Felix Rangel over four rounds. Galarza had the superior offensive ability, but Rangel was tougher than advertised and fought well in the final round.
Scores were 39-37 twice, matching our scorecard, and 40-36.
Galarza improves to 2-0 with 1 KO. Rangel remains winless at 0-5-2.
George Santiago vs. John Passantino
In a fight where somebody’s “O” had to go, Brooklyn’s George Santiago stopped Selden, New York’s John Passantino to score his first win as a professional prizefighter.
The first thirty seconds of the bout were perhaps Passantino’s best, as he came out aggressively, landing three solid left hooks early.
Later in the first round, Santiago, who began to impose his will on his counterpart, caught Passantino with a straight right hand that left him momentarily dazed.
The second round was all Santiago, whose relentless aggression forced Passantino to try to fight with his back against the ropes for the entire three minutes. The key word being ‘try’. Santiago had his way against Passantino, battering him with a nice mix of head and body shots.
Finally, in the third round, after being battered, while being pinned against the ropes, referee Benjy Esteves stopped the bout at the 1:20 mark in round two.
With the win, Santiago erases his “O” and improves to 1-2, 1 KO, while Passantino drops to 0-2. —-Kyle Kinder
Jose Peralta vs. Henry Northan
In a bout that was entertaining while it lasted, Brooklyn’s Jose Peralta was able to stop Philly’s Henry Northan to win his professional debut.
Immediately after the bell sounded to signal the start of the fight both fighter’s were trading big punches, out to land a big KO punch. It would eventually come, but not in round one.
During the exchanges in the inaugural round, Peralta got the better of Northan. While they both found their targets on occasion, Northan’s punches were wider and wilder than Peralta’s and therefore the Brooklynite’s punches were doing more damage in the opening round.
In the second round, Northan finally landed the big overhand right, hurting Peralta who immediately went into survival mode. With a cut lip and blood dribbling slowly out of his mouth, Peralta took the next minute off, trying to avoid Northan, while regaining his legs.
Late in round two, with Peralta back at full strength, he landed a left hook to the body-straight right on the button combination that send Northan crashing to the canvas where he was counted out by referee Steve Smoger. The stoppage came at the very end of round two, the three minute mark exact.
With the win, Peralta starts his career off 1-0, 1 KO, while Northan falls to 0-3.–Kyle Kinder
Jon Bolden vs. Richard Mason
Jon Bolden overcame a first round knockdown to stop Richard Mason in round two and improve his record to 2-1, 1 KO.
Less than ten seconds into the first round, Bolden found himself with his back on the canvas after being hit with a sweeping right body shot. Fortunately for Bolden, the knockdown probably occurred due to more of a lack of balance, than the effectiveness of Mason’s punch.
Being that the bout was scheduled for four, Bolden knew he had no more room for error. He immediately kicked it into another gear, working effectively behind a crisp jab, he began peppering Mason with bullet-like straight rights and crackling body shots.
In the second half of round one, Bolden made a to earn his point back after being floored.
But I still scored it 10-8, Mason.
It didn’t matter anyway, however. In the second round, Bolden continued to dominate Mason the way he did for the last minute and a half of the first round, and finally caught Mason with a huge straight right that sent him to a knee. Referee Earl Brown began the ten count before realizing that Mason was in no shape to continue. He called a halt to the bout at the 1:31 mark in round two.–Kyle Kinder
Jonathan Cuba vs. Artie Bembury
In a bout that looked to be going the distance, Queens New York’s Jonathan Cuba scored a scary fourth round KO over the Bronx’s — and Reggie Cleveland All-Stars candidate — Artie Bembury.
The bout didn’t get heated until the second round, when Cuba started to press the action, continuously walking forward, challenging Bembury to try and ward him off. He had to be questioning this strategy when Bembury scored with a big left hook while his back were against the ropes, opening up a cut over Cuba’s right eye.
He stuck to his game plan, however, and it paid off. In round three, Cuba battered Bembury while he was against the ropes. During this time, Bembury didn’t throw a single punch for over forty seconds.
The fourth and final round saw the knockout of the night, when Cuba landing an electric right hand, that resulting in Bembury doing his best Paul William’s impression — using his face to break his fall. It was scary and unfortunate for Bembury. Thankfully he was able to collect himself after a few minutes and walk out of the ring under his own power.
The KO came at the 1:54 mark of round four.
Cuba improves to 5-2, 4 KOs, while Bembury falls to 2-4.–Kyle Kinder
