New Legend Boxing Promotions has attracted fans to the Resorts World Casino for a few years now to witness some of the best up and coming fighters out of the New York City area. Last night was no different as a total of nine bouts were scheduled and completed with dramatic moments, knock downs, knockouts, and toe to toe action that had the crowd on their feet. Headlined by rising contender Frank Galarza, the field of fighters were also from the surrounding area and had fans jammed in before the first bell would sound off. Felipe Gomez put together another great show that entertained everyone in attendance with competitive fights; below are the results of the night’s action.
The main event of the night was between “Notorious” Frank Galarza (14-0-2 9 KO’s) of Brooklyn, NY in an 8 round junior middleweight bout with Dominican import Jhonathan Batista (14-3 7 KO’s) of Santo Domingo. “Brooklyn’s Rocky” Galarza entered the ring with the crowd in full support of the young man of Puerto Rican descent, his confidence is gleaming after back to back TV appearances that have garnered him wins and a fan following along with a stay busy fight that sold out the same venue months earlier. Looking at both men you could see who was the more prepared of the two. Batista however would start and try to push the pace as Galarza wide-eyed and with a tight guard probed with his jab and right hand as he worked the ring and his defense, Batista couldn’t land anything significant for the first couple of rounds. Things would start getting dirty as Batista hit Galarza low on a few occasions prompting the referee to warn him for the illegal blow, Galarza however would begin working the body and stuck to his game plan landing a perfect left hook to the side that forced his foe to take a knee. Batista would survive the round but you could tell his heart was taken. He would be deducted a point for landing a rabbit punch behind Galarza’s head during a clinch and hit on the break causing the crowd to get rowdy and Galarza to hit his man harder. The end would come in the fifth when during an exchange the two men were clinched and during the break Batista struck Galarza forcing the referee to wave his arms calling for a DQ of Batista. It was an anticlimactic ending to a fight where Galarza seemed to be in full control, the Brooklyn native moves his record up to 15-0-2 9 KO’s as Batista is sent back home with another L on his ledger.
The co-main event would be a cross town battle between junior lightweights Angel “Dulzura” Garcia (7-2 2 KO’s) of Brooklyn, NY versus Trevis “Black Mamba” Hall (5-1-1 1 KO) of Far Rockaway, Queens, NY. The crowd was divided between the fans of both fighters and although the six rounder didn’t provide too much action the cheering was always loud and suspense high. Garcia known for his outside boxing style started by using his reach as Hall tried to force him to engage and trade, nothing was really landed in the beginning rounds until the 3rd round when a right hook put Garcia down on the canvas hard. Rising up on unsteady legs, Garcia tried to avoid harm by back pedaling around the ring but Hall was in pursuit and closed the round with his opponent almost back on the canvas again. The rest of the fight would play out with “Dulzura” more interested in running than fighting as the crowd got impatient from the lack of action, but to Hall’s credit he tried his best to KO Garcia and with every hook landed it seemed to wobble Garcia who knew he had no chance on the inside. At the end of six rounds it was obvious who was the winner, all three judges scored the bout 59-54 in favor of Trevis Hall who gets the most important victory of his short career bringing his record up to 6-1-1.
In the fight of the night featherweights Danny Aquino (15-2 10 KO’s) of Meriden, CT and Jhovanny Collado (4-9-2 1 KO) of Queens, NY engaged in six rounds of non-stop brawling that had the crowd so engaged it possibly was the reason behind a fist fight in the audience. The favorite in the fight was obviously Aquino who sported a better record but it didn’t scare Collado who stood toe to toe and found his openings for an overhand right that would play a major factor later in the fight. Using a two fisted attack, the faster Aqunio landed the better punches early on, some were so loud that it seemed to be magic that kept Collado from crumbling, but in the 4th round an upset would nearly occur as Collado landed a single overhand right that put Aquino on his back and almost through the ropes, a follow up right would send him to the canvas again and a leaping straight right had Aqunio on the deck for a third time. Unfortunately for Collado and much to the dismay of the fans, the referee ruled it a slip as he felt that it was more of a push; this would be the chance Aquino needed to survive the rest of the bout. Coming on strong in the next round, Aquino would hurt Collado which forced him to stay out of harm’s way until the sixth and final round when both men spent most of the round trading to the audience’s delight. In the end however it was Aquino’s early work and his comeback after the knockdown that helped him eke out a close decision with scores of 57-55 57-55 and an even 56-56 awarding Aquino his 16th victory by majority decision. The crowd favorite Collado would end the night with another loss but with many fans and pundits asking for a rematch, it remains to be seen if it happens.
Junior lightweight Floriano Pagliara (15-6-2 7KO’s) of Brooklyn, NY by way of Italy took on Jose Del Valle (3-7-3) of Corozal, PR in a six round bout where both men had to dig deep. The more experienced Pagliara would begin the fight scoring a knockdown over his towering opponent just halfway in to the first round, but Del Valle known for his toughness got up and was able to survive. Although seemingly outclassed early on, Del Valle dug deep and found a way to use his 6’2” stature as he clobbered Pagliara around the guard with hooks and use his jab to create distance which left Pagliara desperately trying to get inside. The fight would be a see-saw battle with Del Valle out punching his shorter foe and the judges took note of that. Judges scored the bout 57-56 57-56 and 59-54 all in favor of the Puerto Rico native Jose Del Valle who is now on a two fight win streak.
In a quick ending, up and coming cruiserweight Jay Rodriguez (2-0-1 2KO’s) of Queens, NY ended matters in just :50 of the very first round when he landed a perfect left hook to the jaw of Atlanta, GA’s James Jenkins (1-1-1 1KO) that put him out on his back and unable to beat the count well enough to the referee’s liking. A wobbly legged Jenkins returns home with his second loss while Rodriguez notches an easy victory.
The fourth bout of the night featured local middleweight DeVaun “Unique” Lee (2-0 1KO) of Queens’ NY looking for his third win against Troy “KO” Artis (3-4-1 2KO’s) of Bronx, NY. Artis; the taller fighter, tried to impose his will early and landed a clean right hand but for the most part Lee used his legs and his defense to avoid any real damage and started to fire back with a jab. As the fight progressed; “Unique” started to open up more as he countered off the ropes and was the aggressor, Artis seemed to tire a bit after trying to unload at the end of the third round. With the fight still very close Lee started to pile up on the punches switching stances and getting his opponent in the corner where he landed a hook downstairs and a overhand right that put Artis down, Artis would get up and hold on stopping Lee from getting the KO victory he wanted. At the end of the bout judges scored the fight 39-36 39-36 and 38-37 all In favor of DeVaun “Unique” Lee who raises his ledger to 3-0.
Newly signed New Legend Boxing/ DiBella co-promoted prospect Alantez “SlyAza” Fox (12-0-1 4KO’s) went six pedestrian rounds with unheralded Jonathan Garcia (4-8 1KO) of Cerro Gordo, PR in a middleweight bout. Having been off for about a year, Fox was back to where he left off as he used his tremendous 6’5” stature and subsequent reach to keep Garcia at bay who was hard charging but too slow and wild to do anything significant. “SlyAza” was sly-as-a-fox with fluid movement and great defense as he was barely touched; he cruised over the six rounds with slick boxing. Fox was awarded a unanimous decision with scores of 60-54 60-54 and 59-55 all in his favor maintaining his undefeated record.
In what was nearly an upset loss, Dimash Niyazov (6-0-2 4KO’s) of Brooklyn, NY overcame a knockdown courtesy of a straight left from southpaw Jamell “Lionheart” Tyson (3-11-2 1KO) of Rochester, NY to earn a draw in a thrilling four round welterweight bout. It was Niyazov who pressed the action early on and landed powerful shots, but Tyson would keep going forward and took one punch to land three of his own, after having Niyazov hurt badly after the knockdown; Tyson would get over anxious and touch the canvas from a right hand that caused a flash knockdown in the 3rd round. The knockdown would be the deciding factor in the bout’s scoring as Niyazov who seemingly had Tyson out on his feet in the final round, just didn’t have enough time to finish him off. Niyazov finished the bout with a bad gash over his right eye and a draw on his record bringing it to 6-0-3 4KO’s; it should be noted that this was a fight scheduled for Thursday night that was cancelled on a Star of David Promotions card that was supposed to take place in Brooklyn.
The card’s opening bout featured the pro debut of popular amateur “Pistol” Peter Dobson of the Bronx,NY facing off against fellow junior middleweight Mack “Truck” Babb (0-4) of Queens, NY in a four rounder that was also from the cancelled card this past Thursday. The fight started quickly but it was evident that Dobson was the more highly skilled boxer and used his greater defense to block the wide shots from Babb. Dobson fought well behind a head snapping jab as Babb tried to land one punch at a time, it was like this most of the fight as Dobson was able to find a home for his overhand right over Babb’s lazy left hook and jab. Judges all were in agreement with a 40-36 verdict across the boards giving Dobson his first win as the unlucky Babb goes back to the drawing board.
