Yuri Foreman Wins Comeback Fight on DiBella Card

New York, NY (1/23/12) – Thursday night before a completely sold-out crowd at BB King Blues Club & Grill in New York City’s famed Times Square, DiBella Entertainment presented a thrilling nine-bout card featuring some of the truly bright young stars on the DBE roster. Also on the card making his much anticipated return was former WBA junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman.

ROSA STAYS PERFECT

Fighting in his first main event as a professional, New Haven’s 21-year-old Luis Rosa was matched against Derrick Wilson, in an eight-round super bantamweight matchup.

It was a great action bout with both fighters having their moments.On more than one occasion, the two stood toe-to-toe throwing bombs, looking to close the show in thrilling fashion.

In the middle rounds, Rosa began to take over, utilizing a vicious body attack, scoring with heavy shots from both hands to slow Wilson’s attack. Wilson, although breathing heavily, was game, and landed some very hard counter shots. Rosa was able to take the shots well and continuously pressed the action.

In the end, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Rosa, 80-72, 77-75 twice. With the win, Rosa improves to 12-0, 6KO’s, while Wilson drops to 9-4-2, 3KO’s.

FOREMAN RETURNS WITH A WIN

Returning to the ring for the first time in nearly two full years, the former champion Foreman was matched against Brandon Baue in a six-round junior middleweight contest.

Foreman used the first round to shake off some ring rust but seemed to find his groove nicely in the second, as he boxed beautifully, controlling the tempo behind a hard jab. Foreman showed no ill signs of his once bad knee, as he bounced around the ring, working his angles and confusing Baue round after round.

All three judges had Foreman winning a complete shutout 60-54, improving his record to 29-2, 8KO’s, in the process. Look for Foreman, now promoted by DiBella Entertainment, to be back in action soon, as he aims to once again become a force in the junior middleweight division.

UNDERCARD RESULTS

One of the bright young stars on the DBE roster, middleweight Lamar Russ improved to a perfect 12-0 with a workman-like eight-round unanimous decision over durable veteran Jose Medina.

Russ used his super boxing ability to control the action throughout, scoring the more telling blows round after round. Medina hung tough and was able to land some nice shots of his own, but ultimately Russ was just too skilled, winning by scores of 78-74 twice, and 77-5. With the win, Russ’ record now stands at 12-0, 7KO’s, while Medina drops to 17-12-1, 7KO’s.

In a battle of middleweights, DBE’s undefeated prospect Delen “Sniper” Parsley easily disposed of Tyrone Selders, scoring a highly impressive second-round TKO.

The bout began with Parsley measuring Selders, working off a piston-like jab. Parsley seemed to find his range midway through the round and just as the bell sounded to end round one, Parsley landed a perfect straight right hand square on the chin that sent Selders down in a heap. Somehow, Selders got to his feet but was on very shaky legs. With the round already ended, the referee let Selders go to his corner to recover.

Selders seemed to recoup and came out aggressively to start the second, but midway through the round, another sharp right hand had Selders in trouble. Parsley jumped all over his opponent, landing hard shots with both hands from all angles. To his credit, Selders remained game and was able to stay on his feet. Between the rounds though, Selders corner had seen enough, stopping the contest, giving Parsley the impressive TKO victory. With the win, Parsley improves to 10-0, 3KO’s.

In what has become accustomed in her fights, Brooklyn fan-favorite Heather Hardy stormed out of her corner in the first and didn’t let up for the entire four rounds, giving the sold-out crowd in attendance plenty to cheer about.

Hardy, who is quickly becoming one of the more popular fighters throughout the entire New York City area, used constant aggression and combination punching to win a four-round unanimous decision by scores of 40-36, 39-37 twice.

2012 National USA Boxing Champion Patrick Day looked absolutely sensational in his pro debut, knocking out Zachariah Kelley with a picture perfect overhand right.

Fighting in front of a large contingent of hometown fans, Day came out firing off crisp combinations that had Kelley in trouble from the outset. The end came at 59 seconds of the very first round when Day landed the huge overhand right, sending Kelley down hard.

It was a very impressive showing for Day, who will be back in action on the next DBE promoted card February 21, at Roseland Ballroom.

In a battle of junior middleweights, Skender Halilli and Roberto Crespo went to war for their entire six-round contest.

Halilli controlled the action in the first, stalking Crespo around the ring and landing hard shots with both hands.

The action continued in the second with Halilli stalking his opponent. With Crespo against the ropes, he unleashed a counter right hand that dropped Halilli hard. Halilli was able to beat the count and the two ended the round trading bombs.

By the fourth round, Halilli was back in total control as he was mixing in hard shots upstairs followed by a beautiful left hook to the body. A terrific short left uppercut dropped Crespo late in the round. Crespo rose to his feet, but soon tasted the canvas again, courtesy of a Halilli left hook. Crespo beat the count and was able to escape the round with the bell sounding just seconds later.

The action continued over the next two rounds with Halilli stalking,but Crespo stood strong and landed big shots of his own. Looking to keep his perfect KO ratio intact, Halilli came out even more aggressive in the sixth, and put Crespo down for the third and final time at 2:40 of the very last round. Halilli improved to 8-0, 8KO’s.

Neuky Santelises improved to a perfect 3-0, 2KO’s, as he delivered the knockout of the night with a monstrous overhand right that knocked Juan Javier Guerrero out cold as he crashed to the canvas face first.Guerrero was out for several moments but was able to walk out of the ring on his own 22 seconds in the second round.

Pro-debuting heavyweight Eugene Russell overwhelmed Granson Clark, battering him for much of the first round before trapping him against the ropes and landing a flurry of punches that sent Clark down just as the bell was about to sound. Official time of the stoppage was 2:59 of the very first round.

THE NEXT BROADWAY CARD WILL BE FEBRUARY 21^ST AT ROSELAND BALLROOM. DETAILS TO FOLLOW WITH AN OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT