East Rutherford, NJ- Staging their first boxing show in four years, Darwish Brothers Knockout Promotions returned to the sport in a big way Tuesday night at the Meadowlands Sheraton Hotel in East Rutherford, NJ. The show was streamed live across the world online at GoFightLive.tv and featured some of New Jersey’s hottest rising talent, as well the return of DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley.
“The atmosphere was electric,” says Wally Darwish, who promoted the show alongside his brother Hani. “The bouts were evenly matched and none of the fights were walk-overs. There wasn’t a single fan that left unsatisfied. Our next show is going to be bigger and better.” The next event will take place at the same venue in March with a date to be announced shortly.
In the ten-round main event, former junior-welterweight world champion DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley of Washington DC and former title challenger Wilson “El Topadora” Enrique Galli of Long Island by way of Salto Uruguayo, Uruguay both knew they needed a win to get back into world title contention. In a classic boxer versus brawler matchup, DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley scored a seventh round TKO over his tough adversary. Official time was 1:23.
Corley, 140.5, established his speed of hand and foot over Galli, 141.5, early in the first round. A Corley left cross on Galli’s nose sent the three-time South American champion. Galli showed a ton of grit as he survived the assault and began to come forward, applying sustained pressure to the former WBO 140 pound champion. The two traded blows throughout, Galli finding most of his success with the right hand while Corley preferred to uppercut with both hands.
In the seventh round Corley sensed that his opponent was beginning to fade as he pushed him back. Corley landed a huge straight left cross on Galli’s chin that sent him sprawling to the floor a second time. Galli bravely rose to his feet but his corner wisely threw in the towel. The time was 1:23.
“I felt my performance was great,” said Corley, now 33-10-1 (19 KO). “On a scale of one to ten, I give myself a nine. I’m not back where I should be but I’m getting there. I’ll be back in the gym on Thursday and I’m going to stay busy. Look forward to me continue fighting great fights and becoming world champion again soon. I want to thank the Darwish Brothers for having me on their card and I hope to do it again soon.” Galli drops to 31-9 (13 KO).
In a stunning upset, Hector Rivera of Passaic, NJ defeated previously unbeaten Omar Brito of Pleasantville, NJ by a four-round unanimous decision. Brito, 135, suffered the first knockdown of his young career in the first round when a southpaw right hook from Rivera, 134, crashed into him. Brito survived the round but once again a right hook would be his bane as a second knockdown followed. Realizing that he had to catch up in a big way, Brito uncorked a huge right hand in the third round that put Sanchez on the canvas and turned the tide. Brito pulled out all of the stops in the fourth round but it was too little, too late. Scores were 37-36 across the board.
Rivera improves to 2-4 (1 KO) while Brito drops to 1-1 (1 KO).
Cruiserweight prospect Elvin Sanchez of Paterson, NJ wasted little time disposing of Charles Presnell, 198.5, of Fernley, NV by way of Masan City, South Korea. Fifty-six seconds into the first round Sanchez, 198, blasted a southpaw right hook to Presnell’s liver that momentarily left him paralyzed. Sanchez, who is managed by Lou Duva, was a class above his opponent. Sanchez raises his record to 2-0 (2 KO) while Presnell drops to 0-3.
Despite giving away 21 pounds to his opponent, New Jersey tough guy William “Big Will” Gill of Newark, NJ, 183, pitched an eight-round shutout over Chuck Berry, 204, of Philadelphia, NJ. Gill, who has a deceptive record despite his propensity to pull off upset wins, showed his class against his much bigger opponent. Gill frequently used his speed and power advantage while hitting his opponent seemingly at will. Berry showed plenty of heart and never stopped trying but it was Gill’s night.
Scores were 78-75, 77-76, and 79-72, all in favor of Gill, now 9-21 (7 KO) over Berry, now 4-8 (3 KO).
Unbeaten welterweight prospect Rashad Bogar, 147, of Newark, NJ picked up his second win in as many fights but it wasn’t easy. Rami Ibrahim, 145, of Philadelphia used every trick in the book and even a few some have never seen before to ruffle the 2007 Golden Gloves champ. It was Bogar who held the decisive edge in power, speed and technique and that was the difference. Ibrahim, a superstar in the Muay Thai community ranked number 3 in the world, drops to 2-8 while Bogar moves to 2-0 (1 KO).
The scores were identical at 39-37.