From the moment I entered North Bergen’s Schuetzen Park, there was a feeling of disappointment. As reported on Garden State Fight Scene, the main event between Junior Welterweight contender/big time ticket seller “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis and late replacement Ilido Julio was axed at the last minute by the New Jersey State Athletic Commission due to a nine pound weight difference.
Team Arnaoutis was livid because Julio was just half a pound under the minimum weight that would have made the fight good to go. Double quarter pounder with cheese anyone? Even with many of the people involved upset over the Arnaoutis fight and some last minute ticket refunds, the show went on.
In the co-main turned main event, popular Light Heavyweight Bobby Rooney of Bayonne shut out North Charleston, SC’s Toris “The Bull” Brewer over eight rounds. Rooney used his long jab and straight right hand to his advantage, tagging the shorter Brewer to the head consistently. Rooney was also effective with a straight right hand followed by a left hook to the body, dropping Brewer with the aforementioned combination in the sixth round.
The game Brewer took a number of solid shots and spent most of the bout on the defensive, showing little if any offensive firepower during this eight round contest. All three judges had the bout the same way we did, 80-71 for Rooney, who upped his record to 11-2 (6 KO’s). Brewer fell to 16-4 with 7 knockouts. The bout was dedicated to Rooney’s late brother Sean, who passed away in July.
In the co-feature, hard hitting Super Middleweight Jason “Monstruo” Escalera 7-0 (6 KO) of Union City, NJ heard the final bell for the first time as a professional, taking a frustrating unanimous decision over Morristown, NJ’s Andre Espeut 2-1 (1 KO). Espeut spent most of the fight in close quarters but was far more concerned with leaning on than hitting his opponent. Espeut’s style made it difficult for Escalera to connect with the kind of punch that sent his first six opponents home early. Escalara landed a few decent left hooks and right hands but was unable to put together much of a performance since his opponent spent most of the fight in his own version of survival mode.
“I expected him to box but his leaning and holding threw me off”, Escalera said about his awkward opponent. “I did the best I could with his style.”
Scores were 39-37 and 40-36 twice for Escalera. GSFS scored the bout 40-36 Escalera, who tried his hardest to make the bout somewhat interesting.
Jersey City Cruiserweight Patrick “Paddy Boy” Farrell upped his record to 4-0 (3 KO’s) after stopping Independence, MO’s Dustin Schnakenberg 2-2. Farrell controlled the first round but was unable to drop Schnakenberg, who spent most of the stanza on his bicycle. Farrell had little trouble in the second; putting Schnakenberg down thrice before the bout was mercifully called to a halt at 2:18.
Three time New York Golden Gloves champion Steven Martinez of Bronx, NY made his pro debut a successful one, stopping St. Joseph Mo’s Keith Collins 2-3 (2 KO’s) in the opening round. Martinez quickly got on the inside of Collins, stunning him with a volume of solid punches. Collins quickly ended up against on the ropes and Martinez unloaded on him until the bout was stopped at 2:15. Martinez got off to a solid start as a pro and is the nephew of world Junior Flyweight champion Ivan Calderon.
I can’t say it enough; boxing is a funny game. The 2006 bout between Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya was supposed to save the sport but did more damage than good, as the casual fans that forked over $54.95 for this snoozefest most likely gave up on the sport. Even though De La Hoya and Mayweather got the last laugh with $75+ million in combined earnings, the negative impact that the heavily promoted fight had on boxing was invaluable.
Many of boxing’s best fights are not even covered by major news sources. Whether it took place in a third world country or a small club show, countless slug outs went unmentioned. Lucky for me, I was on hand to witness an unforgettable four round war on a non descript fight card.
In arguably the best fight I have ever attended, Sparta’s Chris Murphy 3-0-1 (3 KO’s) and Jersey City’s Abraham Torres 1-3-2 battled to a four round draw. From the opening bell, Torres and Murphy fought as if there were no tomorrow, trading heavy hooks while neglecting even the idea of fighting defensively. Murphy was buzzed late in the round from the high volume of punches he ate but fought valiantly.
The second literary had me out of my seat, as the two continued to trade punches in close quarters with right hands from Torres being the most telling of the many blows that landed. The third stanza was just as good as the previous two, where Murphy was the busier fighter but Torres landed his fair share of clean shots as well. Torres had a solid fourth, nearly dropping an exhausted Murphy in the center of the ring after a barrage of hooks. The gutsy and exhausted Murphy battled back valiantly, leaving it all in the ring.
Scores were 39-37 Torres and 38-38 twice, forcing the draw. Words honestly couldn’t describe this all out war, as I’d have to write a mural to describe this sensational scrap. Luckily, those who weren’t on hand it can view it on gofightlive.tv.
Murphy notified GSFS that a six or eight round rematch would likely happen down the road. I can’t wait!
In the first bout of the night, Chris “Smooth Operator” Green of Asbury Park scored a six round unanimous decision over Luquan Lewis of Wyandach, NY. Green boxed well and dropped the game Lewis in the third with a crisp left hook.
“I got my feet wet again after the tough loss”, Green said in regards to his previous fight, a unanimous decision loss to an underrated Mondre Pope. Scores were 60-53 across the board.
The promoter of record was Pound for Pound Promotions, who are headed by John Lynch. New York Giants star running back Brandon Jacobs was also on hand, as he co-managed a few fighters on the card.
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