Story And Photos By David Algranati
Red Owl Boxing made its Philadelphia debut Friday night at the 2300 Arena with “Boxfest XXII,” a nine-bout card streamed live on DAZN. In the main event, Angel “Sharpie” Perez won the vacant National Boxing Association (NBA) Americas Welterweight Championship by unanimous decision over Wesley “El Bongocero” Ferrer.
Perez took the first round by landing his straight right hand against the southpaw Ferrer. He used his footwork to decide when the two engaged. In the third, referee Harvey Dock warned both fighters for roughhouse tactics, and in the fifth he took a point from Perez. A bad cut opened over Perez’s left eye in the sixth, and Ferrer did his best work of the night in the sixth and seventh. Perez came back strong in the eighth and closed the fight working behind his jab. There were no knockdowns. The scores were 79-72, 78-73 and 77-74, all for Perez, who is now 12-0-1 (8 KOs). Ferrer is 18-3-1 (8 KOs).
Phipps Stays Unbeaten in Co-Feature
In the six-round super bantamweight co-main event, Pennsylvania’s Cornellio “Chada Time” Phipps won a unanimous decision over Stevie “Torrito” Sital, with a loud crowd of his own fans behind him. After some exchanges in the first, both men fought mostly from the outside. When Sital briefly switched to southpaw in the third, Phipps caught him with a straight right hand. By the fifth Phipps had Sital’s timing down, slipping punches and landing counters, and he landed several hard shots in the sixth. There were no knockdowns. The scores were 60-54, 58-56 and 58-56. Phipps is now 9-0 (2 KOs) and Sital is 7-3 (5 KOs).
Vazquez Drops Olympian Chinyemba Twice
Two-time Olympian Patrick Baddo Chinyemba of Zambia travelled to Philadelphia for his pro debut and met unbeaten Santiago “Son of Thunder” Vazquez of Texas over six rounds at bantamweight. Both men traded from the start, and Vazquez scored a knockdown in the first round. Chinyemba recovered and had a solid second round. Vazquez put him down again in the third, but Chinyemba got up and the fight stayed lively all the way through. Vazquez was still coming forward and landing left hooks in the last moments of the sixth. The scores were 59-53, 58-54 and 58-54 for Vazquez, who is now 5-0 (3 KOs). Chinyemba is 0-1.
Sims Stops Akana
In a four-round cruiserweight bout, Rishon “Humblebeast” Sims of Reading, PA, stopped Elijah “War Chief” Akana of Honolulu, HI. Both men were happy to trade in the first, and Sims landed the harder shots, including a clean right hand. In the third, Sims hurt Akana and dropped him with a follow-up flurry. Akana beat the count, but Sims kept landing power punches until referee Harvey Dock stopped it at 2:23 of the third round. Sims is now 3-0 (2 KOs) and Akana is 2-2 (1 KO).
Bartee El Wins Pro Debut by Stoppage
The televised portion of the card opened with the pro debut of Obed “Radar” Bartee El, who stopped Henock Muamba in a scheduled four-round super middleweight bout. Bartee El used his height and reach to land accurate punches, and in the second he did well from both orthodox and southpaw. In the third, a combination put Muamba down. Muamba beat the count, but referee David Braslow stopped the fight moments after it resumed, at 2:53 of the third round. Bartee El is 1-0 (1 KO). Muamba is 0-1-2.
Gonzalez Forces Corner Stoppage
Unbeaten Elijah “Macho” Gonzalez fought a scheduled six-round bout for the first time and stopped Ramon Marquez at super lightweight. Gonzalez worked his jab to the body in the first, then sat down on his punches in the second and rocked Marquez with power shots. He kept landing, including left hooks in the third, and stayed in control in the fourth. Marquez was bleeding heavily from the nose, and his corner asked referee Mary Glover to stop the fight. She did at 2:21 of the fourth round. Gonzalez is now 6-0 (4 KOs) and Marquez is 6-9 (6 KOs).
Martinez-Rivera Ends in Split Draw
Eric “The One” Martinez went the distance for the first time as a pro in a four-round featherweight fight with Rigoberto “Starboy” Rivera, and it ended in a split draw. Rivera started well, coming forward and landing straight right hands in the first. Martinez outworked him in the second. The southpaw Martinez landed his right jab in the third, and Rivera answered with left hooks in a back-and-forth fight. There were no knockdowns. The scores were 39-37 Rivera, 39-37 Martinez and 38-38. Martinez is now 1-0-1 (1 KO) and Rivera is 3-3-1 (1 KO).
Villanueva Wins First Six-Rounder
Jeffrey “Jazz” Villanueva won a unanimous decision in July at the 2300 Arena. He came back to the venue for his first six-round fight and outpointed Miguel “El Suavecito” Ceballos at super bantamweight. Villanueva was a little faster and more accurate early, and by the third he had bloodied Ceballos’s nose. Ceballos outworked Villanueva in the fourth, and by the end of the fifth Villanueva was bleeding from the nose as well. Both men fought hard in the sixth. There were no knockdowns in the bout. The scores were 60-54, 59-55 and 59-55 for Villanueva, who is now 5-0-1 (1 KO). Ceballos is 3-4 (2 KOs).
Gormley Opens With Shutout
In the opening bout, unbeaten Irish amateur standout Cahir “The Gael” Gormley won a four-round welterweight decision over Jose “El Loco” Valenzuela. Valenzuela kept coming forward, and Gormley answered with a steady body attack from both sides, out-throwing and out-landing him all fight. There were no knockdowns. All three judges scored it 40-36 for Gormley, who is now 5-0 (3 KOs). Valenzuela is 5-31-4 (2 KOs).
The full card is available for on-demand replay on DAZN.
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