Author: Daxx Khan

Undefeated Titans Regis Prograis and Joel Diaz Jr. to Battle for NABF Title on June 9 at Turning Stone Resort Casino during Boxing Hall of Fame Weekend

 Junior Welterweights Regis Prograis and Joel Diaz Jr. headline “ShoBox: The New Generation” title fight where only one will walk away with the NABF title and an unblemished record

 Oneida Nation Homelands (May 8, 2017) – Turning Stone Resort Casino is again hosting another exciting night of nationally-televised boxing as Showtime’s series “ShoBox: The New Generation” returns to the Turning Stone Event Center on Friday, June 9. Undefeated junior welterweights Regis Prograis (19-0, 16 KOs) and Joel Diaz Jr. (23-0, 19 KOs) will battle for Prograis’ NABF title in the 10-round main event where only one fighter will walk away with the title and his undefeated record intact. The clash of these undefeated titans takes place on the Friday night of International Boxing Hall of Fame Induction Weekend in Canastota, NY, only a few miles away from Turning Stone Resort Casino.

Trained by Bobby Benton out of Houston’s Main Street Gym, Regis Prograis (19-0, 16 KOs) is among ESPN’s “Prospects to Watch.” Three consecutive appearances on “ShoBox: The New Generation” included decisive victories over 11-0-1 Amos Cowart and 14-0-2 Abel Ramos, as well as a crushing first-round stoppage of the experienced Aaron Herrera. Prograis made his New York debut at the Barclays Center on June 26, 2016, stopping Luiz Florez in four rounds to capture the NABF belt. Ranked no. 4 by the WBC, Prograis was sidelined for several months due to an injury suffered at the gym, but returned on February 11 of this year to score a first-round knockout versus Wilfrido Buelvas in defense of his NABF belt.

Joel Diaz Jr. (23-0, 19 KOs) turned pro in 2010 following an outstanding 85-10 amateur career. Diaz headlined ShoBox in May 2014, earning a 10-round unanimous decision over 14-1 Canadian prospect Tyler Asselstine. His successful 2014 campaign continued with a 3^rd round knockout against 8-1 Kevin Aguilar and a 4^th round knockout with one body shot over veteran Pedro Navarette that December. In 2016, Diaz scored three wins by stoppage versus former WBC Youth titlist Abraham Gomez, Brazilian champion Joaquim Carneiro and 15-1 Mario Beltre.

The June 9^th ShoBox card at Turning Stone also includes a middleweight bout between Steve Rolls (15-0, 9 KOs) and Demond “D’Bestatit” Nicholson (17-1-1, 16 KOs). A pro since 2011, Rolls, from Toronto, earned the biggest victory of his career in his ShoBox debut on December 11, 2015, stopping 9-0-1 prospect and amateur standout Steed Woodall in four rounds. He has since earned two knockout victories in 2016. Rolls had a very successful amateur career, competing on both the 2009 and 2010 Canadian National boxing team, finishing with an 83-14 record overall.

Nicholson is a 24-year-old middleweight from Laurel, MD, with devastating power, scoring all but one of his wins by knockout, including 10 knockout wins during the first round. He has won seven fights with one draw since his only defeat in 2014. Nicholson has impressive wins over former world title challenger Milton Nunez and former IBF Inter-Continental champion Joshua Okine. He is coming off of a draw against 16-0 Immanuwel Aleem, who recently stopped Ievgen Khytrov in a wild back-and-forth brawl that aired on Showtime, though Nicholson appeared to control the action with his size and consistent jab. As an amateur, Nicholson accumulated a record of 110-15 before turning pro in July 2013.

Spain’s Jon Fernandez (12-0, 10 KOs) will open up the televised tripleheader in his second appearance on the ShoBox series, competing in an eight-round junior lightweight bout.

Robert Helenius’ (24-1, 15 KOs) and Dereck Chisora’s (26-7, 18 KOs) WBC Silver World Heavyweight title fight, which was due to take place on May 27 at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland, will be rescheduled for after the summer.

Helenius and Chisora were set to renew their rivalry following a controversial European title fight in December 2011. However, as promoter Nisse Sauerland explains, boxing fans will now have to wait a little longer before seeing the heavyweight rivals go toe-to-toe in a hotly anticipated rematch.

‘’It is with regret that we have been forced to reschedule this event, but due to a number of contributing factors, this has been a neccesary decision,’’ said Sauerland.

‘’I would like to apologise to all the fans who were looking forward to a great spectacle on May 27, but we will deliver an even bigger and better event after the summer.’’

Thursday night, Star boxing presented a full card streamed on the “Fight Night LIVE” Facebook page, from the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. As action took place inside the ring, commentators Ray Flores and Michael Woods, interacted with Facebook viewers who shared their opinion of the event. This new series, can be pivotal for upcoming young fighters in terms of exposure and provides viewing opportunities, for fans across the globe who might normally, not have access to a live event, be it in person or on television.

The main event, was a junior middleweight contest between multi-time world title challenger Delvin Rodriguez and rising prospect Courtney Pennington.This was a critical bout for both men, Rodriguez hoping for an opportunity at one more high profile fight, entered on a ten month layoff and was 1-2-1 in his previous four. In order to get that opportunity, he needed to not just win but look sensational doing so. His opponent, Courtney Pennington entering on a two fight win streak, needed a convincing win to position himself for a bout against another top prospect and heighten his career to the next level.

It was obvious after the first two rounds, Rodriguez always the warrior, just didn’t have it in him. At 37yrs old, with forty two tough bouts behind him, Rodriguez battled both Pennington and time. He did start out pressing the action, yet was unable to cut the ring off and inflict any meaningful punishment. The younger fresher Pennington, incorporated double and triple jabs with movement, never in any danger or in need of adjusting his style, cruised to a comfortable unanimous decision by scores of 98-92 twice and 97-93.

The co-feature and most closely contested bout of the evening, was a female Super Welterweight contest between former world title holder, Kali Reis and Ashleigh Curry. In an interview, prior to the bout Reis gave Curry very little respect and implied it was nothing more than a “Stay Busy” fight.

Either Reis was over confident, or she and her team had not done their homework on Curry. While Ashleigh Curry, cannot be described as a technical fighter, her movement, counter punching off the ropes and awkward angles troubled Reis for every minute of every round. The official scores read 57-57 from Judge Tom Carusone, 58-56 in favor of Reis from Steve Weisfeld and 59-55 in favor of Reis from Judge Peter Harry. My own unofficial score was 58-56 in favor of Ashley, I can see an argument for the 58-56 in favor of Reis handed in by Steve Weisfeld. A score of 59-55 from Peter Harry was pure “Home Cooking” as broadcaster Ray Flores stated.

Super Welterweight Jose Rivera, scored a highlight reel stoppage over the tall, lanky, Marcus Beckford. At the start, Beckford had some success, using his reach and jab but after some adjustments by Rivera, a counter punch over a lazy Beckford jab ended the affair in round four. Jose Rivera improved to 3-1 (3), Marcus Beckford drops to 3-7-3 (1).

Welterweight Daniel Gonzalez, won a hard fought six round decision over veteran Samuel Amoako. This was a solid learning experience for Gonzalez, despite Amoako losing ten straight prior, he has been a stern test for many top prospects. In his career, Amoako has only been stopped twice, once against then top ten ranked Gavin Rees, the other against hard hitting Miguel Roman. All three scorecards, read 60-54 in favor of Gonzalez who improved to 14-0-1(5), Samuel Amoako now stands at 21-15 (15).

Super Lightweight Anthony Laureano, scored a six round decision over Sidney Maccow after a back and forth battle. Early Maccow, controlled the pace, using his jab keeping Laureano at a distance. After making a slight adjustment, Laureano applied pressure used head movement and combination punching to gain a well deserved points decision. The official scores read 58-56 on all three scorecards. Anthony Laureano improved to 4-0 (2), Sidney Maccow now stands at 4-6 (3).

Cruiserweight Richard Rivera, scored a fourth round TKO over Marco Parente, using combinations and pressure to continuously keep Parente on the back-foot. Despite a game effort by Marco Parente, he was never able to adjust and needed saving by referee Danny Schiavone at 2:27 of the round. Richard Rivera improved to 2-0 (2), Marco Parente coming up short in his debut is 0-1.

In a lightweight contest, between two fighters making their professional debuts, Omar Bordoy defeated Jonathon Rojas by unanimous decision. There was not a dull moment of the contest, both fighters gave it their all, Bordoy and his pressure style, won over the judges who all scored it the same 40-36 in favor of Omar Bordoy.

It was a bout, as I stated earlier because of this exposure through live streaming and the efforts of both fighters, fans who watched, will want to see them in action again sooner than later.

According to Joe DeGuardia, head of Star Boxing, fans can look forward to more events like these coming soon.