Wednesday, August 20, 2020 (New York, NY) Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, the longest running and most consistent promoter in New York, entered 2020 with great expectations. Following a JOE “THE BEAST” SMITH JR. (25-3 20KO’s) upset, ESPN main event victory, over then #3 rated light heavyweight JESSE HART (26-3 21KO’s) in January and its highly regarded “Rockin’ Fights” 38 in February, featuring victories by heavyweight contender, CARLOS TAKAM (39-5-1 28KO’s), and Jr. Welterweight punisher CLETUS “THE HEBREW HAMMER” SELDIN (25-1 21KO’s), Star Boxing had monthly events scheduled throughout the year and major fights on the horizon. Unfortunately boxing, and the world, came to a screeching halt due to the COVID pandemic. For the first time in Star Boxing’s 28-year history, a staggering double digit number of events were postponed due to the global pandemic. With its back against the ropes, and no clarity in sight, Star Boxing has endured and come out swinging. In just over a span of a few weeks, Star Boxing has given its fighters great opportunities to shine across the globe in an otherwise desolate boxing market finding ways to battle back the shutdowns. JULY AND AUGUST VICTORIES: On July 9, heavyweight contender Carlos Takam appeared in a major heavyweight main event victory on ESPN from the Top Rank bubble in Las Vegas. On August 7, “SUPER” MARIO ALFANO (15-1-1 4KO’s) won the Italian National Super Featherweight Title with a vicious second-round TKO in Italy, on RaiSport. On August 15, undefeated fan-favorite, cruiserweight, RICHIE “POPEYE THE SAILOR MAN” RIVERA (18-0 13KO’s) continued his dominance in Daytona Beach, Florida with a first-round TKO. UPCOMING 5 BOUTS THIS WEEK: This Saturday night (8/22) Star Boxing invades the bubble at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, on ESPN+, as Joe Smith Jr faces off against ELEIDER “STORM” ALVAREZ (25-1 13KO’s) in 12-round WBO World Championship Eliminator main event. On the undercard, undefeated, 2018 Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame Fighter of the Year, “ACTION” ANTHONY LAUREAO (13-0 4KO’s) takes on heralded undefeated prospect, JULIAN “HAMMER HANDS” RODRIGUEZ (19-0 12KO’s) in a 10-round super lightweight bout. Also highlighted on the undercard is undefeated Long Island rising star WENDY “HAITIAN FIRE” TOUSSAINT (11-0 5KO’s) who takes on Detroit’s, ISIAH JONES (9-2 3KO’s) in an 8-round super welterweight bout. Also on August 22, but in Florida, undefeated, CURTIS “HARD KNOCKS” JOHNSON (11-0 8KO’s), takes his shot at the ABF super featherweight title in Florida against James Early. And from France, a day before the action packed August 22, undefeated super welterweight, DAVID PAPOT (23-0-1 3KO’s) is set to fight against Francis Tchoffo on August 21. STAR BOXING SIGNING NEW TALENT Not only has Star Boxing been adapting and having its fighters highlighted across the globe this summer, but Hall of Fame Promoter, Joe DeGuardia, has been busy adding talent as well. In just the last three weeks, Star Boxing has added 5 quality prospects to its stable: First, Star inked The Ukrainian duo, now fighting out of Pittsburgh, undefeated super bantamweight, OLEH “UKRAINIAN PITBULL” DOVHUN (10-0 3KO’S) and heavyweight, LYUBOMYR “DEMOLITION MAN” PINCHUK (12-1-1 7KO’S). Then, Across the Atlantic, Star Boxing added two Irish amateur standouts in 21-year-old undefeated welterweight “THE SILENT ASSASIN” RYAN O’ROURKE (3-0) and super middleweight, “SUPERFLY” TONY BROWNE, a highly regarded amateur who will be making his pro debut in the near future. Rounding out the strong new class of Star Boxing elite is Brazilian, undefeated super bantamweight slugger, MICHEL “BABU” DA SILVA (13-0 12KO’S). JOE DEGUARDIA, President of Star Boxing had this to say about all the activities in July and August: “I am pleased that we are finding opportunities for our fighters and are fortunate to have such varied and positive working relationships around the world. We will keep moving forward. Just like our boxers, we are fighters. These are rough times and we have certainly been hit hard by this pandemic, as has the rest of the boxing industry and world but we will keep punching. When the final bell rings, we will be standing. We are looking forward to hearing the roar of crowd at our FAN filled Star Boxing events soon”.
