RINGSIDE REPORT: Douglas Beats LaManna on Long Island

The Space at Westbury 3/13

The Space at Westbury, in Westbury, NY, was packed this past Friday night as boxing fans were treated to an eight- bout card, with the final four fights featured on Showtime’s “ShoBox: The New Generation.”

The main event featured two undefeated prospects looking to shine on the televised stage. Antoine Douglas (17-0-1, 11 KOs) of Burke, VA faced Thomas LaManna (16-1, 7 KOs) of Millville, NJ in a 10 round Middleweight bout.

Douglas proved to be ready to take the next step as he took control of the fight from the opening bell and began to dominate LaManna.

Douglas was busy and accurate with his punches, particularly with a counter right hand. LaManna only occasionally found a home for his left hook.

In the sixth round, a busy Douglas scored three knockdowns. The last knockdown, the result of a right hand, forced referee Harvey Dock to wave off the fight at 2 minutes and 44 seconds of the round.

A ten round Lightweight bout brought together Ismael Barroso (17-0-2, 16 KOs) from Venezuela, Argentina against Issouf Kinda (17-3, 7 KOs) from the Bronx, NY.

Barroso, making his American debut, initiated the action and was sharp with his jab. Kinda looked ready for the challenge as he answered back with a strong right hand.

The fighters moved into close quarters as the fight progressed and in the third round Barroso suffered a cut over his right eye that resulted from a clash of heads.

Another head butt in the fourth from Kinda opened a cut below Barroso’s left eye. Both head butts were ruled as accidental.

Feeling a sense of urgency because of the cuts Barroso turned up the intensity in round five and dropped Kinda early in the round with a straight left. He continued his onslaught throughout the remainder of the fifth.

Three seconds into the sixth round referee Pete Santiago stopped the fight after consulting with the ringside doctor because Kinda was having trouble seeing out of his right eye.

Super middleweight’s Jerry Odom (13-1, 12 KOs) and Andrew Hernandez (8-1-1, 1KO) met in an eight round match. The fighters had met before in January and Odom was disqualified from the contest for hitting Hernandez after he had been knocked down.

Odom, of Washington, D.C., was clearly the more polished and poised fighter of the two as the action began. Hernandez, of Phoenix, AZ, was able to land a few rushed, wild shots in the opening moments of the fight.

Odom jabbed patiently and found his openings. He landed a strong right hand that sent Hernandez into the ropes and continued with several unanswered punches that caused referee Harvey Dock to stop the fight at 2 minutes, 47 seconds of the opening round.

An old fashioned Texas shootout opened the Showtime broadcast when Junior featherweights Adam Lopez (10-0, 5 KOs) and Pablo Cruz (11-1, 3 KOs) squared off in an eight round contest.

The first round brought good action as Cruz, of Houston, used a good jab mixed in with some left hooks. Lopez, of San Antonio, remain unruffled as he responded with jabs and counter punches.

Lopez put his left hook to work in the second round and knocked Cruz down inside the first minute of the frame. When the action resumed Cruz gamely engaged, but a vicious left hook from Lopez put him down and out at 1 minute, 42 seconds of the round.

The first four bouts of the evening kicked off with a four round Junior lightweight contest between Dave Meloni (2-1, 1 KO) and Richard Bonds (0-3).

Meloni, a local favorite from Long Island, NY, pressed the action and a hard shot sent Bonds’, of Newburgh, NY, mouthpiece flying out. When the action resumed both fighters engaged in good back and forth action.

Although Bonds would lose his mouthpiece again in the second and third rounds he did not back down from Meloni’s aggression and answered back with punches of his own.

The fourth round featured furious action with Bonds losing his mouthpiece once again. Meloni’s sustained attack earned him the unanimous decision with scores of 39-36 from all three judges.

New York’s Richie Neves (8-2-1, 4 KOs) faced San Diego’s Joshua Marks (9-5-1, 8 KOs) in a six round Junior middleweight bout.

The first frame saw Neves probing with his jab while Marks flashed solid defensive skills and solid punching power.

A left to the body by Marks put Neves down in the second and Marks continued with an overwhelming volume of punches in the third.

The final three rounds saw Marks continuing with his body attack and Neves mounting limited rallies. Both fighters appeared to be tiring in the fifth.

The cross-country trip proved worthwhile for Marks as he won a unanimous decision with scores of 59-54 three times.

Patty Alcivar (8-3, 3 KOs; pictured above, in John Donnell photo) brought her faithful contingent of fans along with her as she faced Peggy Maerz (2-7-1, 0 KOs) in a six round Super flyweight bought.

Alcivar, of Queens, NY, last fought in July and was looking to rebound from a disappointing loss and shake off the ring rust against Maerz, of British Columbia, Canada.

Both boxers spent the first three minutes jabbing and clinching as neither one gained an advantage.

The referee warned Maerz about holding and hitting in the second round, while Alcivar stepped up the pace with her jab, but appeared to be missing with her combinations.

In rounds 3 through 5 Alcivar shook off her slow start and began to find her timing and range against the awkward Maerz.

The final frame saw Alcivar mount a busy attack with multiple punches to the head and body. Maerz was sturdy and game, but did not answer effectively.

Alcivar earned a majority decision with scores of 59-55 (twice) and 59-54. She will look to stay busy in 2015 and avoid long lapses between bouts as she continues on her quest to win a world title.

Local hero Tommy Rainone (23-6-1, 5 KOs) fighting out of the Westbury Boxing Club, squared off against Allen Litzau (14-9, 7 KOs), of St. Paul, MN, in a six round Welterweight clash.

Both fighters weighed in four pounds above the limit at 151 pounds each.

The contest began with both boxers feeling each other out with jabs.

In the second Litzau knocked Rainone down. Angered by what he considered a questionable ruling by the referee, Rainone came back with a fury and peppered Litzau with shots.

The third frame was marked by a good work rate from both fighters, with each landing punches.

Rainone stepped on the gas in the final three rounds.

In the fourth and fifth he began to pick his spots and land multiple combinations.

In the final frame he kept up the intensity and overwhelmed Litzau with a barrage of puches that knocked the game fighter down. Rainone got the TKO victory at 2minutes, 57 seconds of the round.

The evening’s event was promoted by GH3 Promotions and Greg Cohen promotions in association with David Schuster’s Winner Take All Productions.

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