The 2015 Boxcino Tournament continues to the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, PA on Friday, April 10th. The show is promoted by Arthur Pelullo’s Banner Promotions and will be broadcast live on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The first round featured four-six round bouts in the Jr. Middleweight and Heavyweight divisions, which will now increase to two-eight round bouts in each division. The winners will advance to the 2015 Boxcino Finals on May 22, 2015 – at a time and place to be determined.
In the Jr. Middleweight division:
Brandon Adams (16-1, 11 KO) vs. Vito Gasparyan (15-3-5, 8 KO)
Brandon Adams – Los Angeles, CA
Age 25, orthodox
Last bout before tournament – 1/16/2015, defeated Lekan Byfield (6-6-2, 1 KO) by TKO in round 2
2015 Boxcino – defeated Alex Perez (18-2, 10 KO) by TKO in round 5
Vito Gasparyan – Yerevan, Armenia
Age 28, orthodox
Last bout before tournament – 12/7/2012, lost to Jessie Vargas (26-0, 9 KO) by unanimous decision
2015 Boxcino – defeated Simeon Hardy (13-1, 10 KO) by unanimous decision
Stanyslav Skorokhod (9-0, 7 KO) vs. John Thompson (15-1, 5 KO)
Stanyslav Skorokhod – Slavutich, Ukraine
Age 25, orthodox
Last bout before tournament – 10/30/2014, defeated David Lopez (4-11-3, 1 KO) by TKO in round 2
2015 Boxcino – defeated Michael Moore (13-1, 6 KO) by TKO in round 4
John Thompson – Newark, NJ
Age 26, orthodox
Last bout before tournament – 1/17/2014, lost to Frank Galarza (16-0-2, 10 KO) by KO in round 2
2015 Boxcino – defeated Ricardo Pinell (10-2-1, 6 KO) by unanimous decision
The Jr. Middleweight bouts feature two boxers that are coming off knockouts, while their opponents advanced by way of unanimous decision. Brandon Adams looks to be the favorite in this tournament since he went to, and lost, in the finals of the 2014 Boxcino Middleweight Tournament. The loss was the first defeat of his professional career and he has followed up that loss with two TKO victories since. Adams will take on Vito Gasparyan, who flourished in the later rounds of his first bout of the tournament, ultimately giving Simeon Hardy the first loss of his professional career. John Thompson was a last minute entry into the tournament as Cleotis Pendarvis did not make weight. Thompson made the most of his opportunity by defeating Ricardo Pinell, a victory which the three judges scored in favor of Thompson for all six rounds. The Newark, NJ native will take on undefeated Stanyslav Skorokhod, who showed impressive power giving Michael Moore his first loss in a fourth round TKO. Skorokhod’s last five bouts have all been stoppages, and he also looks to be a clear favorite to advance in the tournament.
In the Heavyweight division:
Andrey Fedosov (26-3, 21 KO) vs. Lenroy Thomas (19-3, 9 KO)
Andrey Fedesov – Hollywood, CA
Age 28, orthodox
Last bout before tournament – 4/18/2014, defeated Maurice Harris (26-19-2, 11 KO) by KO in round 2
2015 Boxcino – defeated Nat Heaven (9-2, 7 KO) by TKO in round 1
Lenroy Thomas – Saint Petersburg, FL
Age 29, southpaw
Last bout before tournament – 5/3/2014, defeated Jason Pauley (5-9, 1 KO) by TKO in round 4
2015 Boxcino – defeated Jason Estrada (20-6, 6 KO) by unanimous decision
Razvan Cojanu (13-1, 7 KO) vs. Donovan Dennis (11-1, 9 KO)
Razvan Cojanu – Las Vegas, NV
Age 27, orthodox
Last bout before tournament – 11/20/2014, defeated Darius Shorter (2-10, 2 KO) by TKO in round 1
2015 Boxcino – defeated Ed Fountain (10-1, 4 KO) by unanimous decision
Donovon Dennis – Davenport, IA
Age 27, southpaw
Last bout before tournament – 8/2/2014, defeated Jamal Woods (6-15-3, 6 KO) by unanimous decision
2015 Boxcino – defeated Steve Vukosa (10-1, 4 KO) by TKO in round 4
The Heavyweight division follows the same trend as the Jr. Middleweights as we have two boxers advancing with TKO victories while their opponents advanced by unanimous decision. Not only did Thomas and Cojanu go the distance in their bouts, but they were each forced to go an extra round to settle the tiebreaker scored by the judges. Fedesov looks to be the favorite, coming off a dominating TKO in round one. The Russian’s last four victories have all been stoppages. Donovan Dennis (6’5″, 226 lb) will match up with another giant in Razvan Cojanu (6’6″, 270 lbs) in a bout that should be very competitive, and could induce another tie-breaking round.
The event starts at 7pm. Ticket prices are $100, $75, $50 and can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com, 1-800-745-3000 and at the box office at the Sands Event Center. If you can’t make the event be sure to catch all the action on ESPN2 at 9pm. Be sure to check out BrickCityBoxing.com for complete coverage of the first round and all tournament coverage.