Hard Hitting Promotions – Will Ruiz, Matchmaker Manny Rivera and PR man Kurt Wolfheimer who are known for competitive shows will have unbeaten Philly heavyweight Darmani Rock on top. The co-feature will have one of the area’s top southpaw boxers Light Heavyweight Derrick “Take it to the Bank” Webster in the co-feature.
Rock, 16-0 (11), meets Maurenzo Smith, 21-11-4 (14), of Dallas, TX, coming off a first round KO win. The event is billed as “PHILLY VS DALLAS”, Webster, 28-2 (14), of Glassboro, NJ, meets Panama’s Israel “Bumaye” Duffus, 19-6, of L.A. both fights 8’s.
Hard Hitting is loaded with locals as usual and the Puerto Rican fans go wild in supporting their favorites. In 6’s southpaw Jeremy Cuevas, 11-1 (8), meets Rondale Hubbert, 13-9 (8), of Minneapolis, MN, and Super Feather Gadwin “Abayavde” Rosa, 10-1 (8), of Ocala, FL, meets Danny “Venado” Flores, 15-17-1 (8), of Mexico City, MEX, while Christian “Tapia, 9-0 (8), of Coamo, PR, meets Jorge Luis Guzman, 7-8-1 (2), of Monterrey, MEX.
In 4’s South Philly’s Light Heavy Benjamin “Jewish Bulldog” Sinakin, 4-0 (2), meets Ferris Golden, 1-0 (0), of Findlay, OH, Welter southpaw Jan Carlos Rivera, 3-0 (3), of PR trained by top Philly’s “Bozy” Ennis (gave Hank Lundy hell in sparring) meets Ricardo “Verdugo” Escajeda, 4-16-1 (2), of Monterrey, MEX, Bantam Mexico’s Alexandro “Alexander the Great” Jimenez, 4-0-1 (1), out of New Hope, PA, meets Jerrod Minor, 1-7 (0), of Philly, Super Welter Saleem Kelly, 1-0 (1), of Cliffwood, NJ, meets Jordan Rosario, 3-9 (0), of Jersey, NJ, while Welter Tahmir Smalls, 1-0 (1) meets tba.
Rock is training at the ABC Gym with his father-trainer, “I love fighting in Philly for it’s in my back yard”. Webster coming of a loss, “I didn’t start until I was 24, now 37, no partying, no smoking. What you give you get back being a mentor to kids in the gym. I had personal issues going into that last fight that are now behind me”. He’s involved in a move he wrote and directed. He has 3 girls, Zyaisha 18, Maliyah 13 and Legana 9 and says “I am the baddest southpaw in the tri-state!” Of his opponent he said “he has a lot of ko’s but he has to be able to hit you!”
Cuevas “I come to hurt people” and his trainer Danny Sally confirmed it. Tapia started “when I was 14 and from amateur to pro you have to work harder”. Jimenez moved from Mexico at 15 and said of his trainer Mark Roxey at a gym in Flemington, NJ, “he’s been with me from the start”. Roxey said “we’ve been in camp for almost 8 weeks”.
Angel Pizarro was good enough to allow the local boxers to work out for the press at his “Gift’s Gym” in the Harrowgate Shopping center in the Kensington section of Philly. It’s worth the trip to see how good this gym looks.