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Galarza and Derevyanchenko Ultra-Impressive in Brooklyn

“The Brooklyn Rocky,” they call him, and it isn’t just a tag applied mindlessly.
Frank Galarza comes from humble roots, from a fractured home, and he managed, through kind fate and his own mettle, to not become a stat. He was headed for an early death, or a lifetime in lockup for dealing, or something along those lines.
But boxing tapped him, and he latched on, and he’s now on the cusp of getting to that place where he gets mentioned for title shots and such.
Last night in Brooklyn, Galaraza took a couple rounds to figure out his foe, Sheldon Moore, who by the way was no bum invited to give an easy W on the card promoted by Lou DiBella which unfolded at the Aviator Complex, parts of which ran on Showtime’s “ShoBox.”
Galarza got warmed up, studied Moore, a Belgium native, and then uncorked his now signature left hook to discombobulate him. In round three, that hook sent Moore back, and then Galarza saw and smelled the blood. He hopped on Moore, flurried, and forced the ref to hop in and wave off the contest.
The joint erupted, “Rocky” fans exultant, realizing that they are fans of a possible star in the making. After, DiBella was euphorious. He likened Galarza to an Arturo Gatti type, someone who makes for good TV. The promoter was just as pumped with the work of his buzzsaw beast of a super middleweight, amaaetur ace Sergey Derevyanchenko of the Ukraine, who is an ultra-aggressor who demands of himself that he stalk his foe and stop him. Serge’s foe, the Mexican Alan Campa, did his scouting on the banger, and knew he possessed power. He was cautious and smart but not able to fend off the sawed-off runt of a beast. DiBella told me afterwards he sees something of Gennady Golovkin in Serge, and all in attendance agreed we can see him fighting title fights sooner rather than later. The promoter called him “one of my best signings” after the fourth round TKO (1:17).
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Here is the release sent out post-fight:
BROOKLYN KNOCKOUT:
FRANK GALARZA KOS SHELDON MOORE
FRIDAY ON SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION ON SHOWTIME®
Tripleheader To Replay Monday, April 13 At 10 p.m. ET/PT On SHOWTIME EXTREME
NEW YORK (April 11, 2015) – Undefeated super welterweight Frank Galarza put on a show for his hometown fans, knocking out Sheldon Moore in the third round of the main event of ShoBox: The New Generation on Friday at the Aviator Sports and Events Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Known as “The Brooklyn Rocky,” Galarza (17-0-2, 11 KOs) may have graduated from prospect to contender with yet another early round knockout on the prospect developmental series. Galarza staggered Moore with a big left hook in the third and then attacked with a series of shots to the head and a big right hook to the body that floored the Belgian boxer. Moore (13-3-1, 9 KOs) looked determined to get up but was unable to recover and was counted out at 1:41 as he lay on the canvas for the first time in his career.
“It feels great. It’s amazing to get that knockout in front of my home fans,” Galarza said. “He was tough and he came to fight, but we executed the game plan and got him out of there. I hit him with that left and I saw he was hurt. I went body, head, body, head and finished him.
“We’re ready. Anybody they bring next, we’re ready.”
Moore acknowledged he was hurt but said he would have liked to continue.
“That left hook did it for me, but I think I was bringing the fight to him,” Moore said. “I was dazed but I’m not happy with the stoppage. I wanted to keep fighting and bring the fight back to him. I just got countered. That’s boxing. It happens.”
In the co-feature, undefeated middleweight prospect and former amateur standout Ievgen “The Ukrainian Lion” Khytrov went the distance for the first time in his career, outpointing slick southpaw Aaron Coley via unanimous decision, scored 78-74, 79-73 twice.
Supremely talented yet largely untested as a pro, Khytrov (10-0, 9 KOs) had to work to win the lopsided decision. The Ukrainian, who had over 500 amateur fights, was coming off the longest bout of his career, an eighth round TKO over Jorge Melendez just over a month ago. Fighting a southpaw for the first time as a professional, Khytrov had trouble working the angles and was not able to cut off the ring against the durable Coley, who went past the sixth for the first time in his career.
Khytrov appeared frustrated in the middle rounds with his inability to finish Coley (9-1-1, 6 KOs), but he continued to break down his previously undefeated opponent and pocketed rounds with little question.
“It was a good fight, but I saw some flaws that I need to work on,” Khytrov said. “But it was a short span between my last fight and I think it showed in the ring.
“I knew I had to make an adjustment because he wouldn’t come forward and fight with me. Everything happens for a reason. This was a good experience for me. I got some rounds and I got the win.”
Coley, who was taking a huge step up in opposition, was unimpressed with Khytrov’s much-hyped power.
“He wasn’t as powerful as I expected. I take boxing seriously and he never had me hurt at all,” Coley said. “But he kind of took over the fight. It was kind of hard to time him and I can’t argue with the decision. He was fluid and had decent movement. You can tell he had good amateur experience.”
In the opening bout of the telecast, blue-chip super middleweight prospect Sergiy Derevyanchenko dominated Alan Campa, knocking down the previously once-beaten Mexican en route to a fourth round TKO (1:17).
Known as “The Technician,” Derevyanchenko utilized combos to set up a devastating right hand that seemingly landed at will. The Ukrainian dropped Campa with a huge right with 20 seconds left in the second, just the second time that Campa touched the canvas in his career.
Derevyanchenko (5-0, 4 KOs) broke down Campa in the third and scored his second knockdown in the fourth. Campa got up but was in trouble monents later and the referee halted the contest at 1:17 with Campa (13-2-1, 1 NC, 9 KOs) defenseless against the ropes.
“I’m happy with the win and ready to step up my level of opposition,” Derevyanchenko said. “I used a lot of angles and used the combos to set up rights. I’m looking for more of a test in my next fight.”
The event was promoted by DiBella Entertainment in association with Fight Promotions Inc. and New Legend Boxing.
Barry Tompkins called the ShoBox action from ringside with Farhood and former world champion Raul Marquez serving as expert analysts. The executive producer was Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
Below are results from the non-televised undercard:
In an action-packed six-round junior welterweight contest, Brooklyn’s Mikkel LesPierre, defeated Carl McNickles, of Chicago, via unanimous decision on scores of 60-54 twice, and 59-55. LesPierre, who was the faster fighter and much more accurate with his punches, improved to 7-0-1 (3 KOs), while McNickles fell to 8-8 (6 KOs).Brooklyn’s Travis Peterkin used his piston-like jab to control Donta Woods, of Atlanta, Ga., and keep him from landing anything significant in return.
As the rounds wore on, Peterkin began to unleash more and more of his arsenal. After five completed rounds, Woods did not come out of his corner for the next stanza, awarding Peterkin, now 15-0 (6 KOs), the TKO victory. Woods’ record fell to 8-4 (7 KOs).World-rated junior featherweight contender Rafael Vazquez, of Brooklyn, obliterated Andre Wilson, of St. Joseph, Mo, inside two crackling rounds. Vazquez’ key weapon against Wilson were his uppercuts. Using that punch in combination to the head and body, Vazquez dropped Wilson in the opening frame, while also bloodying his nose.
Uppercuts from both sides floored Wilson in the second as well. While he arose and gamely fought back, a left hook to the body followed by a right uppercut to the chin felled him again leading to the referee’s stoppage at the 2:56 mark. Earning a TKO2, Vazquez brought his record to 14-1 (12 KOs). Wilson’s record dropped to 14-9-1 (12 KOs).
Maintaining a fast pace, Brooklyn’s Shawn Cameron easily outboxed Aaron Drake, of Kansas City, Mo., over six rounds.
The busier fighter throughout, Cameron won a unanimous decision on three scores of 60-54, to improve to 9-0 (4 KOs), while Drake’s record dropped to 14-8 (9 KOs).Looking for openings, Brooklyn’s junior welterweight prospect Wesley Ferrer dominated every second of his bout against Bryan Timmons, of St. Joseph, Mo. Slowly breaking Timmons down, Ferrer was placing his shots well, consistently connecting with stinging straight rights to the body and hooks upstairs.
A combination in the second knocked Timmons down, as he sagged along the ropes. Though clearly in pain, Timmons got to his feet to fight on. One punch later from Ferrer was all it took to convince the referee to halt the contest at the 1:38 mark, upping the Brooklynite’s record to 8-0 (5 KOs).
Timmons is now 2-4 (2 KOs).Both Elisa Collaro, of Brooklyn, and Misato Kamegawa, of Fukuoka, Japan, in their pro debuts, came away without a win, as the four-round contest ended in a draw verdict. While one judge scored the bout 39-37 in favor of Kamegawa, he was overruled by two tallies of 38-38.In his first fight back since losing a majority decision in a ShoBox barnburner against Alantez Fox this past January, Freeport, Long Island’s junior middleweight prospect Patrick Day made a triumphant return with an impressive first-round TKO over Colby Courter. A short straight right dropped Courter, of St. Joseph, Mo., early then a left hook finished him off for the second and final knockdown.
The time of the stoppage was 2:25. Day improved to 10-1-1 (6 KOs), while Courter fell to 6-6 (5 KOs).
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Adelaida Ruiz and Fernando Vargas Jr Score KO Wins at Pechanga

Adelaida Ruiz and Fernando Vargas Jr Score KO Wins at Pechanga
TEMECULA, Ca.-After a long period of fighting out of the country, Adelaida Ruiz returned to Southern California and with her came hundreds of her ardent followers as she won by knockout over Mexico’s Maria Cecilia Roman on Friday.
Ruiz (14-0-1, 8 KOs) looked sharp and stepped in with a disciplined attack against Roman (17-8) who fought behind a peek-a-boo style throughout the fight. Ruiz fired away at openings with a measured attack in front of several thousand fans at Pechanga Arena on the MarvNation Promotions card.
Midway through the eight-round match Ruiz increased the tempo of the attack with blistering combinations to the body and head. During one of the combinations Ruiz connected with a left hook to Roman’s temple and down she went.
Roman beat the count, but Ruiz never slowed her attack and each round her blows seemed to increase with power, the impact of the punches resonating in the arena. The interim WBC super flyweight titlist, whose title was not at stake, seemed determined to win by knockout.
In the eighth and final round Ruiz staggered Roman with another left hook to the temple and that only sparked more punches from the Southern California fighter. She unloaded her bullet chambers and the referee decided to stop the action at 1:19 of the eighth round.
Other Bouts
Fernando Vargas Jr. (9-0) won the super middleweight contest by knockout when Heber Rondon (20-5) was unable to continue due to a shoulder injury at the end of the second round. Fans were displeased but it was not up to the fans.
Vargas showed patience against the veteran southpaw Rondon who showed some tricks in his bag. But after some exchanges in the second round it was a surprise to everyone in the arena when the referee signaled the fight was over at the end of the second round.
Undefeated Jonathan Lopez (11-0, 7 KOs) of Florida remained unblemished with a unanimous decision win over Mexico’s Eduardo Baez (21-5-2, 7 KOs) in a 10-round featherweight fight.
San Bernardino’s Lawrence King (13-1,11 KOs) faced veteran Mexican fighter Marco Reyes (37-10) and was able to use his speed and southpaw stance to win almost every round. But he had to work for it.
Reyes was able to avoid most of King’s attacks but in the sixth round after absorbing some heavy blows the Mexican fighter was unable to continue and the fight was stopped at the end of the sixth round for a knockout win by King.
In a super welterweight fight, Mario Ramos (11-0, 9 KOs) wore down Jesus Cruz (6-3) for three rounds with his left-handed assault and then lowered the boom with a non-stop barrage of lefts and rights. After nearly two-dozen nearly unanswered blows the referee stopped the battering at 2:09 of the fourth round.
Orlando Salgado (3-2) slugged it out with Squire Redfern (0-1) to win a super welterweight fight by decision after four back and forth rounds. Salgado connected with the bigger blows but never could stop Redfern from rallying round after round. All three judges scored in favor of Salgado.
A heavyweight battle saw Mike Diorio (1-5-1) win his first pro fight in out-punching debuting heavyweight Ian Morgan (0-1) after four rounds. Both fighters tired a bit but Diorio had a better idea of how to score and won by decision.
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Book Review
Reviews of Two Atypical Boxing Books: A ‘Thumbs Up’ and a ‘Thumbs Down’

Reviews of Two Atypical Boxing Books: A ‘Thumbs Up’ and a ‘Thumbs Down’
Jack Johnson sheared the world heavyweight title from Tommy Burns in 1908 and lost it to Jess Willard in 1915. Between these two poles he had nine ring engagements, none of which commanded much attention with one glaring exception. His 1910 fight in Reno with former title-holder James J. Jeffries stands as arguably the most sociologically significant sporting event in U.S. history.
Toby Smith, who wrote extensively about Johnny Tapia while working as a sports reporter for the Albuquerque Journal, exhumes one of these forgotten fights in his meticulously researched 2020 book “Crazy Fourth” (University of New Mexico Press), sub-titled “How Jack Johnson Kept His Heavyweight Title and Put Las Vegas, New Mexico on the Map.” With 30 chapters spread across 172 pages of text and 10 pages of illustrations, it’s an enjoyable read.
The July 4, 1912 fight wherein Jack Johnson defended his heavyweight title against Fireman Jim Flynn, was dreadful. For the nine rounds that it lasted, writes Smith, Johnson and Flynn resembled prize buffoons rather than prizefighters.
Johnson, who out-weighed Flynn by 20 pounds, toyed with the Fireman whenever the two weren’t locked in a clinch. The foul-filled fight ended when a police captain decided that he had seen enough and bounded into the ring followed by a phalanx of his lieutenants. “Las Vegas ‘Battle’ Worst in History of American Ring” read the headline in the next day’s Chicago Inter Ocean, an important newspaper.
The fight itself is of less interest to author Smith than the context. How odd that a world heavyweight title fight would be anchored in Las Vegas, New Mexico (roughly 700 miles from the other Las Vegas), a railroad town that in 1912 was home to about nine thousand people. The titles of two of the chapters, “Birth of a Debacle” (chapter 1) and “A Misbegotten Mess” (chapter 27) capture the gist.
Designed to boost the economy and give the city lasting prestige, the promotion was a colossal dud. Fewer than four thousand people attended the fight in an 18,000-seat makeshift wooden arena erected in the north end of town. The would-be grand spectacle was doomed when the Governor sought to have the fight banned by the legislature, giving the impression the fight would never come off, and it didn’t help that Johnson and Flynn had fought once before, clashing five years earlier in San Francisco. Johnson dominated that encounter before knocking Flynn out in the eleventh round.
“Crazy Fourth” reminded this reporter of two other books.
“White Hopes and Other Tigers,” by the great John Lardner, originally published by Lippincott in 1950, includes Lardner’s wonderfully droll New Yorker essay on the 1923 fight between Jack Dempsey and Tommy Gibbons in Shelby, Montana, an ill-conceived promotion that virtually bankrupted the entire community. In the same vein, although more straightforward, is Bruce J. Evensen’s “When Dempsey Fought Tunney: Hokum, Heroes, and Storytelling in the Jazz Age.”
Johnson-Flynn II was suffused with hokum. Energetic press agent H.W. Lanigan cranked out dozens of puff pieces under multiple bylines for out-of-town papers in a futile attempt to build the event into a must-see attraction. His chief assistant Tommy Cannon, the ring announcer, had an interesting, if dubious, distinction. Cannon claimed to have copyrighted the term “squared circle.”
I found one little error in the book. The Ed Smith that refereed the Johnson-Flynn rematch and the Ed Smith that refereed the famously brutal 1910 fight between Battling Nelson and Ad Wolgast, were two different guys. (It pains me to note this, as I know another author who made the same mistake and I see him every morning when I look in the bathroom mirror.) But this is nitpicking. One doesn’t have to be a serious student of boxing history to enjoy “Crazy Fourth.”
Knock Out! The True Story of Emile Griffith by Reinhard Kleist
Let me digress before I even get started. Whenever I am in a library in the city where I reside, I wander over to the “GV” aisle and take a gander at the boxing offerings. If, perchance, there is a book there that I haven’t yet read, I reflexively snatch it up and take it home.
When I got home and riffed through the pages of this particular book, I was surprised to find that it was a comic book of sorts, one that I would classify as a graphic non-fiction novel.
Emile Griffith, as is now common knowledge, was gay, or at least bisexual. Reinhard Kleist, a longtime resident of Berlin, Germany, was drawn to him because of this facet of his being. Kleist makes this plain in the introduction: “Despite [Berlin] being one of the most tolerant cities in the world, I have suffered homophobic insults and threats while walking hand in hand down the street with my boyfriend.”
Born in the Virgin Islands, Emile Griffith came to New York City at age 17 and found work in the garment district as a shipping clerk for a company that manufactured women’s hats. The factory’s owner, Howard Albert, a former amateur boxer, saw something in Griffith that suggested to him that he had the makings of a top-notch boxer and he became his co-manager along with trainer Gil Glancy. Kleist informs us that in addition to being “one of the greatest boxers ever seen in the ring,” Griffith was an incredible hat-designer.
Griffith, who died at age 75 in 2013, is best remembered for his rubber match with Benny Paret, a fight at Madison Square Garden that was nationally televised on ABC. Paret left the ring in a coma and died 10 days later without regaining consciousness. At the weigh-in, Paret, a Cuban, had insulted Griffith with the Spanish slur comparable to “faggot.”
The fight – including its prelude and aftermath (Griffith suffered nightmares about it for the rest of his life) – is the focal point of several previous works about Emile Griffith; biographies, a prize-winning documentary, and even an opera that was recently performed at The Met, the crème de la crème of America’s grand opera houses. The fatal fight factors large here too.
During a 17-year career that began in 1958, Emile Griffith went to post 112 times, answering the bell for 1122 rounds, and won titles in three weight classes: 147, 154, and 160. At one point, he had a 17-2 record in world title fights (at a time when there were only two relevant sanctioning bodies) before losing his last five to finish 17-7. No boxer in history boxed more rounds in true title fights.
Griffith, who finished his career with a record of 85-24-2 with 23 KOs and 1 no-contest, entered the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the inaugural class of 1990. There is absolutely no question that he belongs there, but to rank him among the greatest of all time is perhaps a bit of a stretch. Regardless, I take umbrage with the sub-title. The “true story” of Emile Griffith cannot be capsulated in a book with such a narrow scope. Moreover, it is misclassified; it ought not have been shelved with other boxing books but in some other section of the library as this is less a story about a prizefighter than about a man who is forced to wear a mask, so to speak, as he navigates his way through a thorny, heteronormative society.
Graphic novels are a growing segment of the publishing industry. The genre is not my cup of tea, but to each his own.
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Featured Articles
Bazinyan Overcomes Adversity; Skirts by Macias in Montreal

Camille Estephan, one of two prominent boxing promoters operating in Quebec, was back at his customary playpen tonight, The Montreal Casino, with an 8-bout card that aired in the U.S. on ESPN+. The featured bout pit Erik Bazinyan against Mexican globetrotter Jose de Jesus Macias in a super middleweight bout with two regional titles at stake. Bazinyan entered the contest undefeated (29-0, 21 KOs) and ranked #2 at 168 by the WBC, WBA, and WBO.
A member of the National Team of Armenia before moving with his parents to Quebec at age 16, Bazinyan figured to be too physical for Matias. He had launched his career as a light heavyweight whereas Matias had fought extensively as a welterweight. However, the battle-tested Macias (28-12-4) was no pushover. Indeed, he had the best round of the fight. It came in Round 7 when he hurt Bazinyan with a barrage of punches that left the Armenian on shaky legs. But Bazinyan weathered the storm and fought the spunky Macias on better-than-even terms in the homestretch to win a unanimous decision.
The judges were predisposed toward the “A side” and submitted cards of 98-92, 97-93, 97-93.
In his previous bout, Bazinyan was hard-pressed to turn away Alantez Fox. Tonight’s performance confirmed the suspicion that he isn’t as good as his record or his rating. He would be the underdog if matched against stablemate Christian Mbilli.
Co-Feature
In what stands as arguably the finest performance in his 14-year pro career, Calgary junior welterweight Steve Claggett dismantled Puerto Rico’s Alberto Machado, a former world title-holder at 130 pounds. Claggett had Machado on the canvas twice before the referee waived the fight off at the 2:29 mark of round three, the stoppage coming moments after the white towel of surrender was tossed from Machado’ corner. It was the sixth straight win inside the distance for the resurgent Claggett (35-7-2, 25 KOs) who was favored in the 3/1 range.
Claggett scored his first knockdown late in round two with a chopping left hook. The second knockdown came from a two-punch combo — a short right uppercut to the jaw that followed a hard left hook to the body. Machado, whose promoter of record is Miguel Cotto, falls to 23-4.
Claggett, who won an NABF belt, would welcome a fight with Rolly Romero. A more likely scenario finds him locking horns with undefeated Arnold Barboza, a Top Rank fighter.
Also…
Quebec southpaw Thomas Chabot remained undefeated with a harder-than expected and somewhat controversial 8-round split decision over 20-year-old Mexico City import Luis Bolanos. At the conclusion, Chabot, who improved to 9-0 (7), was more marked-up than his scrappy opponent who declined to 4-3-1. This was an entertaining fight between two high-volume punchers.
In a middleweight affair slated for six, Alexandre Gaumont improved to 8-0 (6 KOs) with a second round TKO over hapless Piotr Bis. The official time was 3:00.
A 37-year-old Pole making his North American debut, Bis (6-3-1) was on the canvas six times in all during the six minutes of action. There were two genuine knockdowns, the result of short uppercuts, two dubious knockdowns, a slip, and a push.
As an amateur, Gaumont reportedly knocked out half of his 24 opponents. This sloppy fight with Bis wasn’t of the sort from which Gaumont can gain anything useful, but he is a bright prospect who bears watching.
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