Write-up and photos by
Charles "The Hatchet" Brewer &
Philly KeithThe conditions outdoors in the Tri-State area were were cold, rainy and flat out miserable this past Friday night. While most would prefer to stay inside on an evening like this, the Philly fight fans weathered the storm to create a sold out, jam packed audience at The New Alhambra. As usual in this building,it was Hall of Fame promoter J. Russell Peltz playing the role of host with West coast Hall of Famer Don Chargin dropping by with the Telefutura TV crew to broadcast the fights to millions of homes across the country. In the ring, the main event of the evening was a rematch between NABF featherweight champion Rogers "The Tiger" Mtagwa of South Philly via Tanzania and Aldo Valtierra of Mexico who looked to settle some unfinished business from their tight knit affair from the summer of 2007. In their first meeting, Mtagwa won by a whisker taking a very close split decision. The rematch would be a bit different the second time around as there could be no argument made from the losing party in what turned out to be yet another tough, grind it out contest which went the full 10 round distance. In the co-feature, undefeated featherweight Teon Kennedy of North Philly was making the leap to 8 round status against this toughest opponent to date in Castulo Gonzalez of Lynn, MA. The under card was heavily loaded with fighters just starting to get their feet wet in the professional ranks. There was a 6 rounder pitting the North Philly barber Victor Vasquez taking of Rami Ibraham of the Oven Gym, Travis "The Animal" Thompson took on Emmanuel Rosas and three former Golden Gloves champions in Anthony Flores, Dennis Hasson and Perdo Martinez all made their pro debuts in separate bouts. Scroll down to read what happened on the corner of Swanson & Ritner on March 7, 2008.
ALDO VALTIERRA...........vs........ROGERS MTAGWA
131.75 lbs/37 years/5'7".........129.5 pounds/28 years/5'5"
Mexico City, Mexico..............South Philadelphia
24-8-1, 13 K0s....................22-12-3, 17 K0s
After two fighters pulling out at the last minute, promoter J. Russell Peltz saved the main event by placing a call south of the border and striking a deal with Aldo Valtierra five days before fight night for part two of their summer of 2007 battle for the NABF featherweight title which Mtagwa won by split decision. The second time around, Mtagwa left no doubt about it with constant pressure and effective punching. Charles "The Hatchet" Brewer gives the round by round details of Mtagwa vs Valtierra II.
RD1. There was no fielding out process, as Mtagwa and Valtierra both met at center ring with Mtagwa being the aggressor throwing looping, overhand rights and lunging left hooks. Meanwhile Valtierra, took the route of boxing and moving looking to counter off of Mtagwa’s attack.
RD 2. Both fighters stood there ground Mtagwa who was the busier of the two, attacked over the top with right hands while Valtierra chose to bring power shots up the middle. Again, Mtagwa was seen s the busier of the two.
RD3. It must have been a punch that either Mtagwa favored a lot, or he found to be his “home run” shot, because Mtagwa continued his attack by throwing the overhand while Valtierra, try to offset the attack, by jabbing and countering behind the pressure being applied by Mtagwa.
RD4. The action got more intense in this round, as fans saw both fighters standing their ground and exchanging thudding shots to each others head which brought cheers from the crowd.
RD5. Mtagwa started off this round with a leaping left hook. But he wasn’t able to finish up with the right hand but continued his attack on Valtierr. Thing s began to look a bit repetitious in Magwa, until he opened up with a loopng, overhand right which awakened the crowd bringing some to their feet. Valtierra clinched & held , when in close quarters sensing that this attack was starting to affect his stamina.
RD6. This round, and mostly all thereafter, saw more of the same from Valtierra basic trying to ward off the attacking Mtagwa by using a weakening jab and retreating. Mtagwa continued his attack with the overhand right this time firing it after using a stiff jab to the mid-section of Valtierra
RD7. This round was probably the best of the fight. Mtagwa caught Valtierra with a straight right hand that rocked Valtierra and had him clinching. This action brought fight fans to their feet.
RD8. Mtagwa remained aggressive keeping pressure on and towards the end of the round, caught Valtierra with a left hook.
RD9. Valtierra seemed awakened in this round as he was able to land the more effective shots while it was Mtagwa who was continuing his attack trying to land the home run overhand right to the head.
RD10.Both fighters came out gunning in this final round, and although there was no home run struck on either part, both remain busy throughout and at the end of the round, both fighters raised their hands in victory.
But it was Mtagwa advancing his career with unanimous decision victory.
In the end, Mtagwa won by unanimous decision with scores of 97 - 92 and 96 - 93 x2.
CASTULO GONZALEZ...........VS.......TEON KENNEDY
126 pounds/30 years/5'5"............125 pounds/21 years/5'5"
Lynn, MA............................North Philadelphia
9-4, 3 K0s..........................7-0, 4 K0s
The past year, Teon "The Technician" Kennedy has made the transition from amateur to pro with ease. On this night he was expected to get a good test in his first appearance as a featured fighter for Peltz Boxing Promotions. Some hail Kennedy as the best prospect in the city, but Gonzalez as spoiled some apples before, pinning the first loss on former Peltz prospect Ramaz Galshivilli. Castulo was looking to strike twice but Kennedy was out to prove that he is real deal and on his way to much bigger things. Charles "The Hatchet" Brewer gives the blow by blow report.
RD1. Kennedy began the round by displaying good boxing skills, utilizing the jab, utilizing lateral movement and having to counterpunch off of the aggressive, Gonzalez by delivering & at times, taking the lead with right hands. Gonzalez initial plan seemed to work the body of Kennedy but he was in-effective in his attack as he pursued consistently throwing lunging body shots and overhand rights.
RD2. In-fighting best describes this round, as both combatants momentarily stood toe-to-toe exchanging, body and head shots. Gonzalez was the more effective of the two as he was given the opportunity to land effective body shots. Kennedy meanwhile, began to utilize the ring by giving Gonzalez angles and setting up combinations off of his jab to offset the aggressiveness of Gonzalez.
RD3. It was more of the same from Gonzalez, as he continued his attack by attempting to land body shots and looping overhand rights, to slow the pace of Kennedy who remained in control by moving, utilizing his jab and delivering punches in bunches.
RD4. More & more infighting it was, when out of nowhere, both combatants, opened up and landed effective shots. For Kennedy it was the right uppercut that lifted Gonzalez’s head as Gonzalez countered back effectively by delivering a crisp left hook to the head of Kennedy. This was one of the more entertaining rounds of the fight. as fans were brought to their feet and began cheering aloud in the stands
RD5. Kennedy began this round by using lateral movement from side to side, looking to set things up off of the left jab and when in close quarters with the aggressive Gonzalez, he delivered his punches in bunches stepping out and setting up all over again. Gonzalez remained resolute in his attack as continued his pursuit without the usage of a jab, attempting to deliver to the body of Kennedy but his aggressiveness was beginning to become ineffective.
RD6. Both fighters began this round by going toe-to-toe and Both fighters were throwing punches in bunches but it was Kennedy that was able to land his shots effectively, at a ratio of 2-to-1.
RD7. It was back to boxing for Kennedy, as he began using lateral movement along with his jab, to keep Gonzalez at bey but Gonzalez remain aggressive throughout but at this point, his aggressiveness was neither enough or effective.
RD8. The last and final round, saw both fighters giving it all they had Gonzalez went all out, with his attack to the body as he looked to pull out the upset Kennedy stayed in control however, by delivering punches to the head at a ratio of 2 to 1 while using good lateral movement . in the end, it was Kennedy’s ring generalship that advanced his record in victory, to 8-0-4ko’s
In the end, all three judges scored it in favor of Teon Kennedy by scores of 77-75, 78-74, 78-74
RAMI IBRAHIM...............vs...........VICTOR VASQUEZ
137 pounds/25 years/5'7"...............136 pounds/25 years/5'5"
North Philadelphia.....................North Philadelphia
2-6-1..................................6-1, 4 K0s
This was an interested contest between two local fighters who aren't afraid to throw down and almost always gives the crowd their money worth. Vasquez come with a large group of supporters but Rami wasn't intimidated and immediately went to work, grabbing the bull by the horns in the early going, using his size advantage to slip in punches and smother Vasquez when he tried to get his shots off. Vasquez was able to keep his cool through the early trouble, made some adjustments after two and before long he was throwing and landing combinations as Ibraham continued to come forward. It was a good fight with quite a few spots where both men went toe to toe. This fight ended up going the distance with the nod going to Vasquez by way of majority decision. The scores were 57-57, 59-55, 59-55.
DENNIS HASSON.................VS........JOHN MICHAEL TERRY
164 pounds/24 years/6'1"................166 pounds/25 years/6'1"
Kensington .............................Portsmouth, VA
Pro Debut..............................2-9-3, 1KO
Former Golden Gloves champion and former collegiate boxer Dennis Hasson made his pro debut with the Kensington faith behind him in the stands. His opponent was the much more experienced John "The Baptist" Terry who has become a familiar face on the Philly circuit though he is based in Baltimore. Hasson showed that he is very solid fundamentally and looked pretty good against an awkward opponent who has already faced some of Philly's better middleweights. All four rounds were very similar with Hasson looking to work off his jab and do some boxing but Terry on the other hand was fighting like he was trying to escape a rowdy bar. There were no knockdowns and no one was seriously hurt but it was clear that Hasson won all four rounds of his pro debut. The judges agreed all scoring it 40 - 36 across the board.
TRAVIS THOMPSON...............vs.......EMMANUEL ROSES
133.5 pounds/24 years/5'6".............134 pounds/24 years/5'7"
Pottstown, PA..........................North Philadelphia
1-1, 1 K0...............................0-1
Travis "The Animal" Thompson makes it two in a row after he handily defeated Emmanuel Rosas by way of knockout in their scheduled four rounder. After a slow start, Thompson picked up the pace, pressuring his opponent which had Rosas in trouble late in the first. Things didn't get any better in the second as Thompson stayed on the attack and sealed the deal with a hard left hand at 1:56 of the round, dropped Rosas who would not beat the 10 count.
GUSTAVO DAILEY............vs............ANTHONY FLORES
132 pounds/31 years/5'8"................130.5 pounds/20 years/5'11"
West Philadelphia.......................North Philadelphia
Pro Debut...............................Pro Debut
In the final bout of the evening, former amateur standout Anthony Flores looks like he comes as advertised. In this short fight, he showed flashed of a very well school fighter with surprising pop for thin man. Dailey, who looks like a miniature K-9 Bundrage, came out immediately looking for a fight. Flores didn't get sucked in, stuck to his game plan and scored two knockdowns before the referee called off the contest at 1:42 of the round.
In the opener, Pedro Martinez scored an impressive second round knockout over Kenyetta Ravenelle in his pro debut.
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Labels: Anthony Flores, Dennis Hasson, NABF title, Pedro Martinez, Peltz Boxing, Rami Ibraham, Rogers "The Tiger" Mtagwa, Teon Kennedy, The New Alhambra, Travis Thompson, Victor Vasquez
Rogers Mtagwa tried his hardest but in the end Yuriorkis Gamboa's speed led to a 2nd round TKO at Madison Square Garden. Garrett Wilson gave a game effort in his fight against the 6'6" Carlos Negron but the scorecards did not read in his favor when it was all said and done. We'll get 'em next time...
The final result said the winner was Juan Manuel Lopez (27-0, 24 KOs) , but it is the rally Rogers Mtagwa (25-13-2, 18 KOs) staged down the stretch that has the boxing world buzzing, with many calling him "true Philly fighter" for almost pulling off the upset of the century multiple times during the 12 round WBO Super Featherweight title match at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Mtagwa gave away all of the early rounds as Lopez boxed but JML made the fatal mistake of fighting on the inside with The Tiger and almost paid dearly. Mtagwa's missle like right hands had Lopez was out on his feet at one point and JML was beaten around the ring in the 12th as Mtagwa looked to seal the deal. To Lopez credit, he hung on under heavy fire to reach the final bell. All judges saw the fight for Lopez, judge Kevin Morgan scored it 114-113 but gave the final six rounds to Mtagwa. The difference coming in a 10-8 fifth round in which Mtagwa went down from a right hand. Carlos Ortiz (116-111) gave Mtagwa four of the final five rounds, and Steve Weisfeld (115-111) gave Mtagwa the last three rounds, including a 10-8 margin in the 12th.
