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Golub Beats Reyes as Lou DiBella’s Broadway Boxing Series Soldiers On

(New York, NY) You may as well add club fights to the list of things — along with used bookstores, record shops, corner groceries, et al. — that are rapidly disappearing from New York City. Rising rents, a needlessly exorbitant insurance fee, high medical costs and other pricey ancillary expenses, are just a few of the reasons that have dissuaded local promoters from putting on club fights in recent years. Some have tried their hand, anyhow, and have had little more more than red balance sheets to show for their efforts. Evander Holyfield’s Real Deal Promotions entered the New York market last year with the express idea to cultivate the grassroots scene, only to become defunct by the fall. Joe DeGuardia, another notable local promoter, has fallen noticeably silent.
Broadway Boxing, promoter Lou DiBella’s longstanding developmental series, returned after an extended hiatus, on Wednesday night in front of a near sell-out crowd at the Sony Hall, a 500-seat venue in Times Square. But it would be a mistake to read into the show as a sign of things to come. Even DiBella, perpetual hype-man at large, was loathe to describe the event as anything more than a small step for a series he first conceived 16 years ago and featured the likes of Andre Berto and Paulie Malignaggi. “Nobody,” DiBella said,” “from Joe DeGuardia to myself, has a formula where you can make a killing from this.”
That said, there is some wind in DiBella’s sails these days. He recently inked a deal with UFC Fight Pass, the combat sports streaming app that hosted Wednesday’s card. It could be the start of something new, though DiBella refused to call it a partnership, at least not yet. “We’re getting our feet wet,” he said. “If you have a big stable of fighters, you need a developmental series and I think that’s why this collaboration with Fight Pass is potentially significant.” Moreover, the financial help from a streaming partner would help offset the overhead that makes club fights so prohibitive in the first place. “That makes it easier,” DiBella acknowledged, who declined to comment if Fight Pass offered a license fee, but did add, “That’s a fair assumption. Frankly, the UFC fight pass deal allowed me to come back to New York City.” Still, DiBella remained skeptical that he could afford to run club shows in the city on a consistent basis. The next Broadway Boxing show will take place at Foxwoods in Connecticut. (DiBella declined to comment if Fight Pass would stream the event.)
In the main event, hard-hitting southpaw Ivan Golub (pictured on the left) decisioned a limited but tough-as-nails Manuel Reyes in a solid 10-round welterweight bout to improve to 16-1 (12). All three judges saw Golub winning: John Basile and James Kinney had it a clean sweep at 100-90, while John McKaie had it 99-91.
Golub, who hails from the Ukraine but resides and trains in Brooklyn, started off hot by working behind a stiff jab and mixing in thudding body shots. It did not appear that the fight would last very long as Reyes seemed content to absorb punch after punch as he tried artlessly to walk Golub down.
In the second round, Golub sustained a large cut on his forehead which perhaps played a role in slowing down his efforts. By the fifth round, Reyes’ pressure was forcing Golub to work harder than he would like. The late rounds were considerably closer. Indeed, Reyes had Golub backtracking around the ring in the final round. Golub, 30, may have a limited ceiling, but his fan-friendly style should make him an attractive option at 147.
On the undercard, highly-regarded Uzbek heavyweight prospect Bakhodir Jalolov wiped out late-replacement Brendan Barrett in the first round of a 6-round contest. A 6’7” southpaw, Jalolov, who entered the ring wearing a maroon military beret, towered over the comparatively diminutive 5’10” Barrett. The two fighters got tangled up repeatedly early on as a result of Barrett rushing in with his head like a sloppy linebacker. Jalolov, 6-0 (6), eventually found his range and connected on a straight left that sent Barrett crumbling to the canvas. Referee Albert Brown waived off the fight after he saw the ring doctor approach the apron.
After the fight, a member of Jalolov’s management team — who also handle Dmitry Bivol — confirmed that the heavyweight will likely fight for a fringe title in his next bout.
Lindenhurst, New York’s Alicia Napoleon dispatched Serbia’s Eva Bajic in the second round of their middleweight bout. Napoleon landed a straight right that caused Bajic to go down in pain. Moments later, Napoleon doubled up on the straight right which sent Bajic to the canvas for good. After the fight the newly-married Napoleon, who improves to 11-1 (6) reiterated her desire for a title fight and a possible move up to super-middleweight. Jamil Antoine refereed.
It looked as though Uzbek prospect Hurshidbek Normatov would make short work of Kansas City’s Calvin Metcalf, when he opened up a cut on Metcalf’s bald head in the first round and scored a knockdown in the second. But Metcalf was surprisingly resilient and went the full six rounds of their middleweight bout. All three judges had it 60-53 for Normatov, 8-0 (3),who was never troubled. Arthur Mercante Jr. refereed.
A large and rabid contingent came out to support Brooklyn’s Khalid Twaiti in his four-round junior featherweight fight against Hungary’s Jeno Tonte, whose limited skills were exacerbated by the fact that he held his chin high up in the air. Twaiti pressed the action from the get-go and had Tonte in trouble along the ropes at several moments. In the third round, Twaiti wailed away at Tonte with bludgeoning hooks until referee Jamil Antoine intervened at 1:13. Tonte protested vehemently but it was hard to argue the call, given that he showed no signs of fighting back. Twaiti improves to 5-0 (3).
Fort Greene, Brooklyn’s Brian Ceballo earned a third round stoppage of Ricardo Garcia in their junior-middleweight bout (set for six). After working tentatively behind his jab, Ceballo turned it up in the third, catching Ceballo with a straight right that knocked him down into the ropes. Ceballo, now 8-0 (4), followed up with a barrage of punches that forced referee Earl Brown to stop the fight.
In the opener, Joseph Williams, Far Rockaway, NY, improved to 13-0 with a unanimous decision over Jose Flores, Woodbridge, Virginia, in their six round cruiserweight bout. Williams won every round on all three cards.
Photo credit: Ed Diller / DiBella Entertainment
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 262: Ryan Garcia Reloads and More Fight News

Nobody is perfect.
That’s a mantra that everyone including boxers, promoters and managers should realize. No person is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes.
Ryan “King Ry” Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) returns to the prize ring to face thunderous punching Oscar Duarte (26-1-1, 21 KOs) on Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. DAZN will stream the stacked Golden Boy Promotions card.
A press conference started slowly like a long-lit fuse slowly burning to the stick of dynamite. And when the fire reached the stick, it exploded with everyone in the vicinity burned.
Garcia unleashed pent-up frustration with verbal attacks on his promoters and burned the perimeter with fire. Poor Duarte sat there knowing something happened, but probably needed translation from his people to discover Garcia burned the room.
No survivors.
If that’s just a sample of what’s coming on Saturday night, well buckle-up and don’t miss a second of Garcia and Duarte’s confrontation.
Duarte has 11 consecutive knockouts and an 80 percent knockout rate. Garcia recently lost to Gervonta “Tank” Davis by stoppage and is looking to raze the earth. He has an 82 percent knockout rate.
Somebody is going to sleep in front of millions of fans.
“Oscar is a tough opponent. I know he’s going to come to fight. But I’m right here to make an example for the 140-division,” said Garcia with a death knell stare during the face-off. “This is how I’m coming. This is the Ryan Garcia you are going to get.”
Duarte knows he’s in the limelight. There’s no better place to be. Or is there?
“This is a dream for me. I come very prepared. This Saturday you will see my best version,” said Duarte. “I’m going to win.”
Maybe he picked the wrong time.
Garcia looked as if he were General Sherman on his way to scorch the earth on his way to Atlanta. No survivors.
It doesn’t look good for anyone.
“I’m laser focused” said Garcia with a stare that looked like Superman shooting lasers from his eyes.
The loss to Davis last spring was only on his ledger. In his pocketbook the lean, snap-quick fighter from Victorville, California gained $30+ million. That’s what happens when you fight the best and the world wants to see it. Both he and Tank Davis broke the bank and the counting machine for pay-per-views.
But winning still remains important and few know better than promoter Oscar De La Hoya.
“You never know where the mindset is in a fighter after he loses. You have to give it up to Ryan. When you pick a guy who is dangerous and speedy and who has a shot, kudos to Ryan,” said De La Hoya on social media in a statement that probably lit the Garcia’s fuse that roasted the room.
“When fighters lose they have their emotional rollercoasters. But once you win and you get 30 million bucks everything is friggin good,” De La Hoya added.
Others on the card are Shane Mosley Jr., Floyd Schofield, Darius Fulghum and Ryan’s younger brother Sean Garcia.
It’s loaded. Beware of fire.
SoCal
Amado Vargas, son of the great Fernando Vargas, makes his return.
Vargas (9-0, 4 KOs), a lightweight, meets Ezequiel Flores (4-1) in the main event on Saturday Dec. 2, at C. Robert Lee Center in Hawaiian Gardens, Calif. on the MarvNation Boxing Promotions card
All three of the Vargas brothers have been burning up to boxing ring and all are signed by promoters. Amado and Fernando Vargas Jr. signed with MarvNation and have attracted many fans.
This is the last boxing card of the year for MarvNation. Doors open at 5 p.m. For more information call (562) 713-9026 or (562) 639-3980.
Florida
Don King Productions has its last card of the year and ends it with five title fights including undefeated Antonio Perez (8-0, 5 KOs) versus Haskell Rhodes (29-5-1, 14 KOs) in a welterweight clash at Casino Miami Jai Ali in Miami, Florida.
Perez, 21, is only 5-6 in height and Rhodes is even shorter, but has experience against top competition such as Floyd Schofield and Sergey Lipinets.
Also on the card are Ian Green, Vaughn Alexander, Tre’Sean Wiggins, Chris Howard, Alex Castro, Harry Cruz and more.
The Don King Production card will be streamed at this link: https://itube247.com/
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Australia’s Liam Paro Aims to Steal the Show on the Haney-Prograis Card

These are heady days for the sport of professional boxing in Australia. Cruiserweight Jai Opetaia is the best fighter in his weight class. Tim Tszyu is a major star in the Land Down Under and his younger brother Nikita is lapping at his heels. Then there’s undefeated super lightweight Liam Paro, 27, whose profile will grow immensely if he can get past Cleveland’s Montana Love when they meet on Dec. 9 in San Francisco at the home of the Golden State Warriors. It’s a 12-rounder that will serve as the chief supporting bout to the showdown between Devin Haney and Regis Prograis.
Forget the fact that Matchroom honcho Eddie Hearn has seen fit to dress up this fight with some frivolous title; this is a good match-up. An undefeated southpaw, Liam Paro (23-0, 14 KOs) is coming off the best win of his career. Montana Love (18-1-1, 9 KOs) would likely be undefeated too if not for a bizarre disqualification in his most recent bout. He too is a southpaw.
Paro turned heads in is his last outing when he scored a brutal, one-punch, opening-round knockout of countryman Brock Jarvis. Paro was favored, bur Jarvis, a disciple of Jeff Fenech, Australia’ most famous living boxer, was accorded the better chance of ending the bout with one punch.
Paro vs. Jarvis, staged in October of last year in South Brisbane, marked Matchroom’s first foray into Australia. Paro has had two fights fall out in the interim. The British Boxing Board of Control pulled Paro out of a March 11, 2003 match in Liverpool, England with Robbie Davies Jr. when a routine but mandatory scan showed evidence of a facial fracture. Three months later, Paro was forced to withdraw from a title fight with WBA 140-pound belt-holder Regis Prograis because both of his Achilles tendons were inflamed, compromising his mobility.
The facial fracture, insists Paro, was a false positive; the test was defective. As for the Achilles issue, that’s cleared up. “It’s in my rear-view mirror,” he says.
Paro was raised in the city of Mackay which is near the Coral Sea coast of Queensland. His ancestors migrated here from Italy to work in the sugarcane fields. Unlike so many other dads, his father Errol, a welder in the steel industry, has no boxing background and isn’t directly involved in preparing his son for a fight. Errol is with his son in Las Vegas at the moment (Errol’s first visit to Sin City) and will be there with several other family members to cheer on Liam when he resumes his career in San Francisco on Dec. 9.
When healthy, Liam Paro can usually be found training at the Top Rank Gym in Las Vegas. The boxing infrastructure of the Southern Nevada city draws prizefighters from around the world. He has sparred extensively with Jamel Herring and has boxed with the likes of Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney. Practicing his craft with fighters of that caliber may give him an edge when he touches gloves with Montana Love.
Montana Love
Montana Love came to the fore in August of 2021 when he stepped up in class and upset Russian tough guy Ivan Baranchyk on a Jake Paul promotion in Cleveland. Baranchyk’s handlers stopped the one-sided affair after seven rounds. Five weeks later, Love signed with Matchroom.

Montana Love
What followed was a third-round blast-out of 29-1 Carlos Diaz followed by a hard-earned 12-round decision over Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela and then a match with Australia’s Steve Spark which marked Love’s debut as a top-of-the-marquee attraction in his hometown.
The fight between Love and Spark was even on two scorecards after five rounds. In the sixth, shortly after a clash of heads left Love with a bad cut over his left eye, Love pushed Spark out of the ring and was immediately disqualified by referee David Fields. It was a controversial call; a “terrible call” in the words of Eddie Hearn. For the record, after flipping over the top strand of rope, Spark landed on his feet and was fit to continue.
A 28-year-old father of three, Love has always had the vibe of a hungry fighter, a residue of the adversity he has had to overcome. His father died when he was three years old and his mother was only 38 when she passed away from colon cancer. In 2015, as his career was just getting started, he was remanded to prison on theft- and drug-related charges and served 16 months.
It’s rather ironic that Love will be facing an Australian opponent on American soil in back-to-back fights. Needless to say, he hopes that the second installment will go better than the first.
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The Murder of Samuel Teah Calls to Mind Other Boxers Who Were Homicide Victims

There will be a boxing show this Friday at Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena, a low-budget card featuring the return of former IBF 130-pound world title-holder Tevin Farmer. During the event, there will assuredly be a somber moment when those in attendance stand and silently pay homage to Samuel Teah as the timekeeper tolls the traditional 10-bell farewell. Teah passed away last week on Black Friday, Nov. 24, another victim of America’s epidemic of gun violence. He was 36 years old.
Teah was shot in the mid-afternoon during an altercation that spilled onto the sidewalk of a street in Wilmington, Delaware, and died at a Wilmington hospital. As of this writing, there’s been no arrest, but the shooting was apparently not random. A bus driver for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority, Teah was purportedly in Wilmington (roughly 35 miles from his home in Philadelphia) to visit the mother of his child.
Samuel Teah fought as recently as this past May when he suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of journeyman Andrew Rodgers at a show in Pennsylvania’s Newton Township, reducing his record to 19-5-1. Two months earlier he had spoiled the undefeated record of Enriko Gogokhia, an Egis Klimas fighter (think Oleksandr Usyk and Vasily Lomachenko) on a card in Ontario, California. This embellished his reputation as a spoiler. Earlier in his career, he had spoiled the undefeated record of O’Shaquie Foster, winning an 8-round unanimous decision over the man that currently reigns as the WBC world super featherweight champion.
What made Teah’s death more tragic, if that were possible, were all the tragedies that he had overcome. He was born in Liberia when that country was embroiled in a civil war. The family escaped to a refugee camp in Ghana and eventually reached the United States, settling first in New York and then Philadelphia. On the day after Christmas in 2008, when Teah was 21 and working at a Home Depot, he lost six members of his family in a fire that swept his mother’s West Philadelphia duplex after a kerosene heater exploded.
For some, Teah’s violent death may call to mind the murder of another Philadelphia boxer, Tyrone Everett.
That’s an awkward comparison.
Tyrone Everett was a world-class fighter. Six months before he was shot dead by his girlfriend in May of 1977, Everett, then 34-0, lost a 15-round split decision to Puerto Rico’s Alfredo Escalera in a failed bid to win Escalera’s WBC junior lightweight title, a decision so rancid that it stands among the worst decisions of all time. Moreover, the circumstances of Everett’s murder were sordid. His girlfriend, no stranger to the police, fatally shot him after finding him with a transvestite and there was heroin in the apartment they shared. (Editor’s note: For more on this incident, check out the new book by TSS contributor Sean Nam: “Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, Fixed Fights, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing” available on Amazon).
Samuel Teah was no Tyrone Everett. A man of deep faith, Sam’s positive attitude, despite all his tribulations, was infectious. “Everyone liked Teah,” said prominent Philadelphia sports journalist Joe Santoliquito who, upon hearing of Teah’s death, tweeted, “he will always have a special place in my heart.”
While the circumstances are different in every case, Teah joins a long list of boxers who met a violent death. If we limit the list to fighters who were still active at the time of their passing, here are four that jump immediately to mind.
Stanley Ketchel
The fabled Michigan Assassin, Ketchel met his maker on Oct. 15, 1910, at a ranch in Conway, Missouri. In the immortal words of John Lardner, “Stanley Ketchel was twenty-four years old when he was fatally shot in the back by the common-law husband of the lady who was cooking his breakfast.”
Battling Siki
Famed for knocking out Georges Carpentier when the “Orchid Man” held the world light heavyweight title, Siki was only 28 years old when he was gunned down in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan on Dec. 15, 1925, but by then the Senegal-born Frenchman had already degenerated into a trial horse. Siki’s body was found in the middle of the street with two bullets in his back fired at close range by an assailant, never identified, who was thought to be avenging a beating he suffered at one of the speakeasies that Siki was known to frequent.
Oscar Bonavena
At age 33, Oscar Bonavena was still an active boxer when he was gunned down on May 22, 1976, on the outskirts of Reno, Nevada, at the front gate of the infamous Mustang Ranch, a legal brothel. Bonavena had come up short in his biggest fights, losing a 15-round decision to Joe Frazier and losing by TKO in the 15th round to Muhammad Ali, but the rugged Argentine was still a major player in the heavyweight division.
The shooter was a bodyguard for the brothel’s owner Joe Conforte, and rumor has that Conforte was the de facto triggerman, having Bonavena assassinated because the boxer was having an affair with Conforte’s 59-year-old wife Sally who was also Bonavena’s manager of record at this point in the boxer’s career. The story about it spawned “Love Shack,” a 2010 movie that despite a seemingly can’t-miss storyline and a formidable cast (Joe Pesci played Joe and Helen Mirren played Sally) proved to be a box-office dud.
Vernon Forrest
While all homicides are tragic, some are more distressing than others and the death of Vernon Forrest on July 25, 2009, was particularly gut-wrenching. Forrest was shot twice in the back by would-be robbers with whom he exchanged gunfire on July 25, 2009 at a gas station in Atlanta.
Forget the fact that Forrest was a two-division title-holder who had regained the WBC world super welterweight title in his most recent fight with a lopsided decision over Sergio Mora. Few in the sport were as widely admired. His philanthropic work included establishing group homes in Atlanta for the mentally disabled. His death came just two weeks after the death of Arturo Gatti who left the sport following a loss by TKO to Alfonso Gomez in July of 2007 and died under suspicious circumstances at age 37 at a hotel in Brazil.
We here at The Sweet Science send our condolences to Samuel Teah’s family and loved ones. May he rest in peace.
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