On Thursday night, DiBella Entertainment (DBE) hosted an action-packed Broadway Boxing card in front of a raucous sold-out crowd at NYC’s famed B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, sponsored by Manfredi Auto Group and Everlast, headlined by the always-exciting world-ranked super bantamweight contender Rafael Vazquez, who put on an impressive display of punching power.
In the evening’s main event, Vazquez, 122, scored an impressive TKO after four rounds over San Antonio’s Joseph Rios. Following a tame first frame, Vazquez twice dropped Rios in round two with left hooks. In the third, Vazquez was hurting Rios, 120¼, with every punch, particularly his straight rights. A jab-straight right combination to the ear brought a downtrodden Rios to his knees at the end of the fourth round. Rios did not continue on into the fifth. Vazquez improved to 13-1 (11 KOs), while Rios saw his record fall to 13-12-2 (4 KOs).
Luis “KO King” Rosa Jr. lived up to his nickname demolishing the normally durable Noel Echevarria inside the opening round. Echevarria, 122¾, of Raleigh, NC, made the poor choice of electing to trade with the heavy-handed Rosa, to which the New Haven-resident obliged. Trapping Echevarria in a neutral corner, Rosa, 123¾, blasted him with a right hook followed by a combination to drop his foe to his knees. Echevarria arose, but Rosa, now 18-0 (8 KOs), swarmed all over him until he had him backed into another corner to deliver the finishing blows. A smashing left hook began a demoralizing barrage of punches to fell Echevarria, now 11-5 (6 KOs), for good at the 2:32 mark.
“Luis Rosa is a beast!” exclaimed promoter Lou DiBella afterward.
In an eight-round cruiserweight contest, Brownsville southpaw Travis Peterkin, 180½, pounded on late-replacement from Boston, Julio Garcia, 182, for three minutes, leaving him bruised and battered. In between rounds, with Garcia on his stool, the referee stopped the bout on the advice of the ringside doctor. Peterkin’s record increased to 14-0 (6 KOs), with Garcia dropping to 6-8 (3 KOs).
Brooklyn junior middleweight southpaw Shawn “Killa” Cameron, 154, backed up Daniel Calzada, 153¾, with a consistent jab to set up his straight left hand. Whenever he had Calzada against the ropes, Cameron would dig hard hooks downstairs. A game Calzada stood his ground on occasion, determined to trade. When fatigued, Calzada looked to smother Cameron’s attack, but Cameron dished out the leather on the inside as well, standing shoulder-to-shoulder. All three judges deemed Cameron the victor on unanimous scores of 58-56, upping his record to 8-0 (4 KOs). The hard-nosed Calzada fell to 10-13-2 (2KOs).
Bronx middleweight southpaw Chris “Golden” Galeano, 155¾, remained unbeaten, upping his record to 6-0, with a dominant six-round unanimous decision victory over Alex Mancera. Galeano kept Mancera, 156, at bay with a stiff jab while using it to set up popping straight lefts. As the fight wore on, Galeano began hooking off the jab. One of those right hooks cut Mancera over his left eye in round six. The judges tallied 59-55 twice and 58-56, all for Galeano. Mancera’s record fell to 7-6-1 (5 KOs).
Brooklyn’s Wesley Ferrer, 134¼, earned a six-round unanimous shutout over the tough Hilario Ramirez-Medina, 134½, in a lightweight affair. Ferrer focused his attack downstairs and remained the busier and more aggressive fighter throughout. The Brooklynite was on the verge of a knockout in the sixth round, but the bell saved Medina. All three scorecards read 60-54. Ferrer improved to 7-0 (4 KOs), while Medina fell to 2-5.
Super middleweights Steed Woodall, 161, and Jas Phipps, 160½, battled to a six-round draw. Early on, Woodall, now 6-0-1 (4 KOs), used proper footwork and an excellent jab to control the action. Phipps, now 4-5-1 (1 KO), of Tucson, AZ, picked up steam over the second half, finding success with his straight left. In the final stanza, the English/Irish Woodall, now living and training in Miami, FL, emptied the tank, unloading his full arsenal. Scorecards read 58-56 for Phipps and 57-57 twice, though most in attendance felt Woodall deserved to win.
Ukrainian dynamite power-puncher Ivan Golub, co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Fight Promotions Inc., now living and training in Brooklyn, stood toe-to-toe with Rashawn McCain for nearly the entire first frame, thrilling the crowd, in a middleweight contest scheduled for six rounds. In the midst of an exchange, Golub, 156½, landed a monstrous left hook to the temple to floor McCain, 155½, hard. The referee immediately waved the contest over at the 2:58 mark, leaving McCain with a 2-3 record, while Golub improved to 6-0 (5 KOs).
Light heavyweight Lennox “2 Sharpe” Allen, 173, of Brooklyn, ended a 17-month layoff to impressively knock out Kojo Issah, 173, of Frederick, MD, at 1:51 of round two. Following an action-packed opening round, Allen wrestled the awkward Issah out of a clinch to land two right hooks to the body dropping his adversary in a heap. Cringing in pain, Issah was unable to beat the count. Allen improved to 18-0-1 (11 KOs), with Issah’s record falling to 14-2 (7 KOs).
Belarus-native Ivan “Beast” Baranchyk, 138½, also now living and training in Brooklyn and co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Fight Promotions Inc., halted Ian James, 137½, at 1:55 of round one. After stalking James around the ring and pounding him with a vicious body attack, Baranchyk staggered his foe with a straight right. Looking to finish him off, Baranchyk landed a huge left hook to knock James out cold. Baranchyk is now 4-0 (3 KOs), leaving James at 3-12-1 (1 KO).