Bronx, NY – Aug 07, 2008 On Wednesday night Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing presented two sensational events in New York, one at the world renowned B.B. King’s Blue’s Club in association with DiBella Entertainment, while the other was at Brooklyn’s Aviator Sports and Recreation center with Sal Musumeci’s Final Forum Boxing.

The main event for this week’s ESPN2 “Wednesday Night Fights” telecast saw Star Boxing’s Ali Oubaali (22-3, 18KO’s) take on tough Chris Fernandez (15-5-1, 9KO’s)

Oubaali started the first round by living up to his nickname “The Hurricane” and stormed forward attacking his opponent with a vicious and relentless body attack. Fernandez, while he was eating a lot of punches, fought back gamely and landed a few good body shots of his own. By the end of the second round it was obvious that Oubaali’s body punches, particularly his left hook were taking a toll on his opponent as Fernandez’s movement slowed and his punches weakened.

Each round seemed to get more and more exciting as the two combatants pretty much stood toe to toe in the middle of the ring and exchanged punches. Oubaali was the much quicker, and stronger of the two and continuously would get the better of the exchanges. Fernandez would cover up from time to time and Oubaali would take advantage throwing seven and eight punch combinations both to the head and body. While Fernandez was putting up a spirited effort Oubaali seemed to just have too much fire power for him to handle.

As the rounds progressed Fernandez’s counter attack continued to slow as “The Hurricane” stormed forward. Fernandez fought back gamley making the fight exciting, but the persistent body attack from Oubaali seemed to almost paralyze his opponent at times.

Oubaali would bring his opponents hands down and then land vicious uppercuts and hooks to the head and chin. It looked as though the referee was about to stop the fight a few times, but every time he would lean in, Fernandez somehow found the energy to fight back.

Oubaali opened a cut over the left eye of Fernandez early in the eight round and with blood streaming down his face Fernandez began to try to press forward and smother Oubaali but Oubaali was just too quick and slick for Fernandez. After another six punch combination landed for Oubaali the referee jumped in and called a halt to the contest at 1:39 of the 8th round. Oubaali improves to 22-3, 18KO’s while Fernandez, who was applauded loudly for his game performance, drops to 15-5-1, 9KO’s.

CEO of Star Boxing Joe DeGuardia was extremely happy with his jr. welterweight’s performance. “That’s what boxing is all about. He is like a throw back fighter from the 50’s. He always comes to fight. He throws a lot of punches and puts constant pressure on his opponents. He throws beautiful combinations both to the body and head. He is quick, he is powerful, and he is always coming forward, I have a really good feeling about Ali. I think he is a force in the jr. welterweight division and that he definitely turned a lot of heads with this performance,” stated DeGuardia.

Oubaali was pleased with his performance and is very happy where he is at right now. “This was a great fight for me,” started Oubaali. “Fernandez was extremely tough. He showed great heart and determination. I don’t know any other fighters who could stand up to some of the shots I hit him with. That being said, I am very happy with my performance. The game plan coming in was to work the body and try to break him down. I am very happy with the team that is around me right now. I have full confidence that my manager Ben and Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing are going to take me to the top of the division. I am going to rest for a little while and then get right back in the gym. Where I go from here is up to Ben and Joe, but I feel that I am ready. I hope everyone in attendance and everyone watching at home was pleased with my performance and I look forward to fighting again as soon as possible.”

On another Star Boxing co-promoted show in the same city on the same night at B.B. King’s in NYC, Star Boxing’s Vinny Maddalone took on Joe Stofle in one of the co-feature bouts of the evening. Maddalone who had previously stated he was looking to put on a great showing for his New York fans didn’t disappoint. From the opening bell it was apparent that Maddalone was too much for his opponent as he landed punches at will to both the body and head. Maddalone dropped Stofle three times in the opening round en route to winning a first round TKO. Stofle was quoted after the fight as saying, “I am happy they stopped it. I knew Vinny could punch, but wow he hits hard. I felt like I got kicked by a mule.” With the victory Maddalone improves to 30-4, 21KO’s.

The colorful Maddalone was nothing but all smiles after the fight. “That’s exactly what I had hoped to do. I wanted to go in there, put the pressure on him and try to take him out, and that’s what I did. I am happy that the fans enjoyed my performance and I am just excited to be fighting again. I feel great, and am going to get right back in the gym and get to work again. I know my promoter Joe DeGuardia is working on some things for me and I am really looking forward to my next fight,” said Maddalone.

In the co-feature back in Brooklyn Star Boxing’s Albert Sosnowski was taking on the always tough and dangerous Zuri Lawrence.

It was a very exciting first round as both fighters came out throwing a lot of punches and setting a very fast pace. Sosnowski pressed the action while Lawrence looked to counter from the outside. The next few rounds saw more of the same as both fighters continuously looked to engage and slug it out, rather then box. Lawrence seemed to be landing the cleaner punches but Sosnowski was the busier of the two.

Round five saw the Sosnowski come out a bit more determined as he began opening up on Lawrence while Lawrence laid on the ropes and looked to catch Sosnowski coming in. Sosnowski landed some big combinations to the head and body and it seemed his pressure was starting to take a toll on Lawrence. Lawrence turned it up a notch in the next few rounds, and going into the eighth and final round it seemed it was anyone’s fight.

Lawrence briefly stunned Sosnowski to start the round and then the war was back on as both fighters threw bombs hoping to catch the other and prevent this close fight from going to the scorecards. The fight ended just as it began with both fighters trading shots and bringing the fans in attendance to a standing ovation. In the end Lawrence was the one who came out on top, but Sosnowski seemed to gain even more fans with his warrior like effort and non stop punching style.

The first fight of the night saw Star Boxing’s Yathomas Riley take on the Bronx’s Phil Hannah, in Hannah’s professional debut. Riley, who recently signed with DeGuardia after having a storybook amateur career, came out firing from the opening bell. Riley began shooting out a stiff jab that kept his opponent off balance. When Riley got in close enough he began ripping devastating body shots that visibly were hurting Hannah. A big straight left hand from the southpaw Riley wobbled Hannah and Hannah began retreating. Riley calmly moved in and landed a beautiful straight left hand followed by a left hook that dropped Hannah. Hannah got back up at the count of eight but the end was near as Riley began unloading on the overmatched Hannah. Another vicious left hand from Riley landed right on the button and Hannah took a knee to avoid further punishment. Hannah’s corner had seen enough and decided to throw in the towel. Official stoppage time was 2:30 of the very first round. With the victory Riley improves to 2-0, 2KO’s while Hannah falls to 0- 1.

Riley looked sensational again and although it was only his second professional fight, his skills go far beyond that. “I felt great tonight,” said Yathomas following the fight. “The game plan coming in was to work the body and work off my jab to set up my bigger shots. I hit him with a big body shot and I could see that he wouldn’t be able to handle my power and it was only a matter of time till I put him away. I want to thank my promoter Joe DeGuardia at Star Boxing and the rest of my team that has been working with me. I also want to thank my fans that have come here to support me. I look forward to fighting again very soon, and look to continue winning, and continuing to impress and excite my fans and the rest of the boxing world.”

Derrick Rossy W8 Jermell Barnes – Heavyweights

Tarvis Simms W6 Carl Daniels – Super Middleweights

Carlos Zambrano W4 Soumana Abdoulaya – Featherweights

Edward Smith KO 1 of 4 Simeon Trigueno – Middleweights

Bronze Medals Awarded, Final Pairs Set

(KANSAS CITY, MO)—The semifinals were contested today during the Under 19 National Championships at the KCI Expo Center in Kansas City, Mo., with bronze medals being awarded to those boxers failing to advance. The winners of tomorrow’s finals will travel to Guadalajara, Mexico to compete in the Under 19 Worlds.

The first light flyweight bout of the competition pitted Oscar Cantu (Kingsville, Texas) against Thomas Huitt-Johnson (St. Joseph, Md.). Cantu came prepared and had a big first round, scoring seven points and holding Huitt-Johnson scoreless. Huitt-Johnson managed only one point in the third which was no match against Cantu who doubled his score, making it 14-1. Cantu went on to win 16-3.

Johnny Determan (Omaha, Neb.) met Adam Lopez (San Antonio, Texas) in the only flyweight bout of the day. The bout was evenly matched and no points were scored in the first round. Lopez had a slight, 3-2 lead at the end of two and he increased his lead to 6-3 by the end of the third. Lopez scored another six in the fourth round and was victorious by a score of 12-5.

Light welterweights Jonathan Escoto (Sunfish Lake, Minn.) and Jordan Jones (Garland, Texas) battled it out to see who would make it to tomorrow’s finals. It was another close bout with Jones winning 2-1 after one, but Escoto came back in the second and took a 5-2 lead. Escoto increased his lead to a five-point margin going into the fourth, and went on to win 9-5.

Heavyweights Hasim Rahman (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Justin Lynch (Albermade, N.C.) battled it out in the ring during one of the last bouts of the afternoon. Rahman dominated the first round and led 8-0 going into the second. At the conclusion of round two, Rahman outscored Lynch and recorded the victory.

In the super heavyweight division, it was Joey Montoya (Colorado Springs, Colo.) versus Justin Novaria (Zanesville, Ohio). Novaria scored only one point to Montoya’s seven in the first round and in the second, Montoya increased his lead to 12-3. He went on to stop Novaria one minute 29 seconds into the third round.

The Under 19 National Championship finals will begin tomorrow at 11 a.m. CDT at the KCI Expo Center in Kansas City, Mo. Below is a complete list of results and tomorrow’s bout sheet.

Friday, August 8 – Semifinal Bouts
106 lbs/48 kg: Oscar Cantu, Kingsville, Texas dec. Thomas Huitt-Johnson, St. Joseph, Md. 16-3
112 lbs/51 kg: Adam Lopez, San Antonio, Texas, dec. Johnny Determan, Omaha, Neb., 12-5
119 lbs/54 kg: Joshua Berrelleza, Riverside, Calif. dec. Alexis Santiago, Phoenix, Ariz., 7-6
119 lbs/54 kg: Joe Perez, East Moline, Ill. stopped Gino Ramos, Honolulu, Hawaii, RSC-4 (:21)
125 lbs/57 kg: Kevin Rivers, Palmer Park, Md. stopped Daniel Guerrero, Bryan, Texas, RSCH-1 (:34)
125 lbs/57 kg: Ronny Rios, Santa Ana, Calif. dec. Robert Rodriguez, Evans, Colo., 27-17
132 lbs/60 kg: Arlo Argueta, Phoenix, Ariz. dec. Rockne Harris, Garland, Texas, 17-9
132 lbs/60 kg: Traon Bynum, Washington, D.C. dec. Robert Easter, Toledo, Ohio, 23-16
141 lbs/64 kg: Jonathan Escoto, Sunfish Lake, Minn. dec. Jordan Jones, Garland, Texas, 9-5
141 lbs/64 kg: Roscoe Hill, Spring, Texas won on walkover over Gary Russell III, Capitol Heights, Md., w/o
152 lbs/69 kg: Juan Heraldez, Las Vegas, Nev. dec. Manuel Contreras, St. Paul Park, Minn. 11-2
152 lbs/69 kg: Errol Spence, Desoto, Texas stopped Daniel Thomas, Concord, Calif. RET-2 (2:00)
165 lbs/75 kg: Luis Arias, Milwaukee, Wisc. stopped Marcus Chapman, Indianapolis, Ind., RSC-2 (1:11)
165 lbs/75 kg: Marcus Browne, Staten Island, N.Y., dec. Joe Strong, Midwest City, Oak., 10-2
178 lbs/81 kg: Robert Brant, Oakdale, Minn. dec. Antwon Herndon, Austell, Ga., 15-7
201 lbs/91 kg: Hasim Rahman, Las Vegas, Nev. stopped Justin Lynch, Albermade, N.C., RSCOS-2 (2:00)
201+ lbs/91+ kg: Joseph Dawejko, Philadelphia, Pa. dec. Jeffrey Page, Andover, Kan., 20-11
201+ lbs/91+ kg: Joey Montoya, Colorado Springs, Colo. stopped Justin Novaria, Zanesville, Ohio, RSC-3 (1:29)

Saturday, August 9
11 a.m. CDT
KCI Expo Center

RED BLUE

Daniel Ybarra 106 lbs Oscar Cantu
Houston, TX Kingsville, TX

Michael Herrera 112 lbs Adam Lopez
Arroyo Seco, NM San Antonio, TX

Joshua Berrelleza 119 lbs Joe Perez
Riverside, CA East Moline, IL

Kevin Rivers 125 lbs Ronny Rios
Palmer Park, MD Santa Ana, CA

Arlo Argueta 132 lbs Traon Bynum
Phoenix, AZ Washington, D.C.

Jonathan Escoto 141 lbs Roscoe Hill
Sunfish Lake, MN Spring, TX

Juan Heraldez 152 lbs Errol Spence
Las Vegas, NV Desoto, TX

Luis Arias 165 lbs Marcus Browne
Milwaukee, WI Staten Island, NY

Erick Hernandez 178 lbs Robert Bryant
Garland, TX Oakdale, MN

Nicholas Kisner 201 lbs Hasim Rahman
Glen Burme, MD Las Vegas, NV
Joseph Dawejko 201+ lbs Joey Montoya
Philadelphia, PA Colorado Springs, CO