“The New” Ray Robinson Wins at the Fillmore in Philly Friday night!
By: Ken Hissner
Hard Hitting Promotions moved to a bigger facility at The Fillmore for their ever boxing event. They showcased contender “The New” Ray Robinson and Philly’s prospects filling out the undercard. The new site is beautiful and reminds boxing fans of the legendary Blue Horizon with balconies and not a bad seat in the house. Once again the fans were treated to a fine show and showed their appreciation throughout the event. Manny Rivera and co-promoter Will Ruiz who also serves as matchmaker keep the fans happy.
In the Main Event WBC southpaw welterweight contender “The New” Ray Robinson, 23-2 (12), of Philadelphia, stopped Claudinel Lacerda, 18-17-1 (13), of Sombrio, BRZ. 2:30 into the seventh round. Referee Benjy Estevees, Jr. had seen enough with Lacerda taking a brutal beating.
In the opening round Robinson moved well using his jab and an occasional left hook. In the second round Robinson stood his ground getting more power into his punches with a lead left to the chin of Lacerda ending the round. In the third round Lacerda came in throwing wide punches to the body of Robinson who countered with right hooks to the body and straight lefts to the chin. Robinson did enough damage in the round to earn a 10-8 round. In the fourth round Robinson came out with bad intentions landing a right hook followed by a left uppercut to the head of Lacerda. Robinson landed half a dozen unanswered punches. Lacerda finally landed a wild right to the head of Robinson getting his attention. Robinson came right back with the jab followed by a left to the chin of Lacerda.
In the fifth round Lacerda suffered a small cut on the bridge of his nose. A hard left uppercut by Robinson stunned Lacerda. He looked like he was about to go down but his heart kept him upright. In the sixth round a Robinson right hook to the head had Lacerda hurt. Lacerda was swinging wildly hitting nothing but air as Robinson counters him well. In the seventh round Robinson hurt Lacerda with a right hook to the body. Out of desperation Lacerda landed several punches to the head of Robinson but paid the price as he was countered well to the head. Near the end of the round referee Benjy Esteves, Jr., had seen enough and called a halt to the fight. Lacerda wanted to go on but took a brutal beating.
“I want to thank my trainer Bozy Ennis and my promoters Hard Hitting and DiBella Entertainment, all our team and the fans who came out tonight,” said Robinson. He is managed by Dave McWater.
In the co-feature 17 year-old lightweight Brandon “The Gift” Pizarro, 4-0 (2), of Philadelphia scored a knockdown and put on a spectacular 4 round decision over Matt Murphy, 2-10-1 (2), of St. Louis, MO.
In the first round Pizarro put on a show with a variety of punches and great footwork landing punches with great speed having Murphy on the defense. In the second round Pizarro landed 3 left hooks to the head of Murphy without return. The blue haired Murphy seemed bewildered by the hand speed of Pizarro. A Pizarro right to the head of Murphy followed by a left hook dropped Murphy for an 8 count by referee Ron Bashir.
In the third round while against the ropes Pizarro landed a 3-punch combination backing Murphy up. Halfway thru the round a Pizarro right to the head knocked Murphy back several steps. It was a round the flashy Pizarro put more behind his punches hurting Murphy on several occasions. In the fourth and final round Murphy came out more aggressive than in the first 3 rounds catching plenty of firepower from Pizarro. Murphy landed a combination to the head of Pizarro who was against the ropes. Pizarro ended the round with a flurry of punches to the delight of his many fans. In his corner was his father Angel and assistant Bozy Ennis. Pizarro may have hurt a hand early in the fight. He’s got worlds of potential at such a young age.
All 3 judges George Hill, Alan and Justin Rubenstein had it 40-35 as did this writer.
Bantamweight Christian Carto, 8-0 (8), of Philadelphia, scored his eighth straight stoppage over Rudolph “The Cutting Edge” Hedge, 10-5-3 (4), of Kingston, JAM, after Hedge’s corner wouldn’t allow him out for the fifth round. It was another flawless exhibition by the home town favorite Christian Carto. He always seems to stand out on these Hard Hitting Promotions shows.
In the opening round it was all Carto mixing it up body to head while moving around the ring with Hedge following him hands held high. In the second round it was another flawless round by Carto. Halfway thru the round Carto rocked Hedge with a left hook to the head. Carto’s jab is in the face of Hedge at all times. It always seems to have something behind it snapping Hedge’s head back.
In the third round Hedge finally landed something more than a jab but paid the price as Carto countered with a solid straight right to the head of Hedge. Just prior to the bell Hedge landed a right to the head of Carto. The fans appreciate the combination of punches Carto has landed. In the fourth round Carto opened up with a power punching right to the chin of Hedge. Carto would flurry half a dozen punches without return. Carto ended the round with a solid left hook to the head of Hedge. Hedge couldn’t answer the bell for the fifth round.The referee was Esteves, Jr. In the corner of Carto was trainer Mickey Rosati and cut-man Joey Eye.
Super lightweight southpaw Jeremy “King” Cuevas, 3-0 (2), of Philadelphia, easily defeated southpaw Jack Grady, 0-5-1 (0), of Buffalo, NY, over 4 rounds.
In the opening round with both southpaws Cuevas landed a 3-punch combination against the wild swinging Grady. Halfway thru the round Cuevas landed 5 unanswered punches. In the second round Grady continues to clown around while taking a beating from Cuevas.
In the third round Grady’s face was beat red from the Cuevas punches to the face. In the fourth and final round it was all Cuevas until the final 10 seconds when both boxers slugged it out past the bell before referee Bashir separated them. Grady showed heart and a good chin considering all the punches Cuevas hit him with.
Judges George Hill, Dewey La Rosa and Justin Rubenstein and this writer scored it 40-36.
Super featherweight Gadwin Rosa, 3-0 (2), of Ocala, FL, knocked out southpaw Wytama “Fearless” Faulk, 1-3 (0), of Webster, FL, @ 2:14 of the first round.
In the opening round Rosa dropped Faulk with a left hook to the chin. Shortly afterwards a right hand by Rosa put Faulk on the seat of his pants as referee Esteves, Jr., counted him out.
In the opening bout featherweight Vidal Rivera, 5-0 (4), of Camden, NJ, stopped Jesus Feliciano, 0-3 (0), of San Juan, PR, after 2 rounds. Referee was Bashir.
In the opening round the much taller Rivera used his reach while Feliciano was swinging wildly hitting air. In the second round Rivera finally landed a right to the chin of Feliciano who came back with an overhand right to the chin of Rivera. In the third round Feliciano’s corner wouldn’t let their fighter come out.
The ring announcer was Pat Michael Fattore. It was another lively crowd with a world contender and top former amateurs who keep winning in the pro ranks. Hard Hitting plans to co-promote a show in Puerto Rico on April 7th with Rosa returning home. There are plans to run a show at the Tropicana in Atlantic City in June with Robinson meeting a quality opponent.