06.06.05 – By Scoop Malinowski / Boxinginsider.com – Gary Stark Jr. will gun for win number 12 on Thursday’s latest installment of Lou DiBella’s Broadway Boxing series to be held at the Manhattan Center around the corner from Madison Square Garden. The unbeaten super bantam from Staten Island will take on Juan Carlos Santiago (8-5-1 out of Las Vegas) in what will be Stark’s first eight-rounder.
Stark is a three-time NYC Golden Gloves champ with a flashy boxing style. “I like to put on a good show,” says the 25-year-old. “If the knockout comes, the knockout comes. I guess I like to disrupt people’s flows a little bit. Get ’em frustrated. Like (manager) Damon Dash says, (Stablemates) Curtis Stephens and Jaidon Codrington are the KO punchers, I’m the one who bothers the other fighter till they give up [laughs].”
Staten Island has not produced a top level fighter since lightweight Johnny “The Heat” Verderosa in the late 70’s/early 80’s. Stark aspires to change that. “It’s a slow but steady process – getting to the top as a small, east coast boxer. It’s just a matter of getting experience, the right fights, getting the rounds up, to learn a lil bit. Getting the rounds is the most important thing.”
Stark started boxing at five, switched to baseball, then had his first amateur bout at age 17. “Hopefully one day I’ll win a belt. Any belt. Be champion of the world. Just become a good fighter and good role model.”
Here’s the rest of the latest edition of Thursday’s Broadway Boxing card:
Main Event JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS – 10 ROUNDS
Dmitriy Salita vs. Louis Brown
Brooklyn, NY/Odessa, Ukraine Indianapolis, IN
21-0 (12 KO’s) 14-1 (10 KO’s)
JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS – 8 ROUNDS
Edgar Santana vs. Derrick Moon
New York, NY Fort Worth, TX
13-2 (9 KO’s) 10-8-1 (2 KO’s)
SUPER BANTAMWEIGHTS – 8 ROUNDS
Gary Stark, Jr. vs. Juan Carlos Santiago
Staten Island, NY Las Vegas, NV
11-0 (6 KO’s) 8-5-1 (2 KO’s)
JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHTS – 6 ROUNDS
Andre Berto vs. Anthony Little
Winter Haven, FL Akron, OH
5-0 (3 KO’s) 4-1 (1 KO)
SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS – 4 ROUNDS
Peter Quillin vs. Anthony Hunter
New York, NY Brooklyn, NY
Pro Debut Pro Debut
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS – 6 ROUNDS
Aneudi Santos vs. Ray Darden
Freeport, NY Detroit, MI
12-2 (9 KO’s) 8-10 (4 KO’s)
CRUISERWEIGHTS – 6 ROUNDS
Ehinomen “Hino” Ehikhamenor vs. John Douglas
Queens, NY/Nigeria New York, NY
10-0 (7 KO’s) 5-9-3 (3 KO’s)
JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHTS – 4 ROUNDS
Charles Vanderveer vs. TBA
Brooklyn, NY
1-0 (1 KO)