For the first time in its 12-year existence, Broadway Boxing heads north to the suburbs of Westchester County, NY, when DiBella Entertainment (DBE) stages an exciting card from top to bottom at the beautiful Hilton Westchester in Rye Brook, NY next Friday night.
The card is headlined by the homecoming of undefeated prospect Bryant “Peewee” Cruz (13-0, 7KO’s) taking on tough-as-nails Jorge Pazos (14-7-1, 8KO’s) in an eight-round junior lightweight matchup. Hailing from nearby Port Chester, NY, just minutes away from the Hilton Westchester, Cruz has quickly become one of the most popular local fighters in all of New York and his legion of fans are expected to come out in droves. This will be the first time as a professional that the hometown favorite will be fighting in Westchester County.
In the co-feature, red-hot junior middleweight prospect Frank “Notorious” Galarza (15-0-2, 9KO’s) squares off against veteran Raul Munoz (23-17-1, 16KO’s) in another eight-round scheduled matchup. Galarza had a breakout year in 2014, and is widely considered to be one of the top 154lb. up-and-coming fighters in all of boxing. Galarza is looking to make the transition from prospect to legitimate world-title contender in 2015, but he must first get by the dangerous Berrio.
Making his DBE debut on the card will be once-beaten light heavyweight contender Cedric Agnew (27-1, 14KO’s) as he squares off against Samuel Clarkson (12-3, 7KO’s) in an eight-round matchup. Agnew challenged light heavyweight kingpin Sergey Kovalev for his WBO title in March of last year and put up a spirited effort, before being halted in the seventh round. Agnew bounced back with a second-round stoppage win over Shannon Miller in June and now, with the backing of promoter Lou DiBella, is looking to make another run at a world title opportunity.
Also seeing action on the card in a scheduled eight-rounder will be exciting junior featherweight contender Danny Aquino (16-2, 10KO’s), from nearby Meriden, CT, as he takes on Pablo Batres. The 24-year-old Aquino owns three victories over previously undefeated opponents, and both of his losses came via very tight decisions. Aquino is a hard-charging pressure fighter who throws bombs from all angles. He will be determined to prove that he is a force to be reckoned with in the 122lb. division.
Belarusian-native junior welterweight Ivan Baranchyk (3-0, 2 KOs), co-promoted by Fight Promotions Inc., will be back in the ring three weeks after an impressive first-round knockout victory on January 29. As an amateur, Baranchyk won gold at the 2010 Class A Vilnuse tournament, 2011 and 2013 Match Event tournament, 2011 Kostukovichi International tournament, 2011 and 2012 Soligorsk Open International tournament, 2012 Class A Liventsev tournament, 2013 Active Military tournament, 2013 Republic of Belarus Open Cup, 2014 Vitebsk University tournament in Belarus, and was an amateur champion of Belarus from 2009-2014. Baranchyk is set to take on his toughest opponent to date when he squares off against fellow undefeated prospect David Thomas (4-0) in an intriguing four-round welterweight match-up.
Returning to action for the second time in less than a month will be Bronx’s former #1-rated U.S. amateur and now undefeated prospect Chris Galeano (6-0) as he squares off against Javier Loya (7-2, 6KO’s) in a six-round junior middleweight showdown.
Also making his DBE debut on the card will be undefeated Andrew Ruiz (7-0, 4KO’s), one of the most promising young fighters out of the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy, as he takes on Evincii Dixon (4-4-1, 2KO’s) in a six-round welterweight matchup. The 21-year-old Ruiz didn’t fight at all in 2014, as he sorted through some issues outside of the ring. Now fighting under the DBE banner, Ruiz is looking to get back to his winning ways and once again begin climbing the ranks of the 147lb. division.
Making his much-anticipated pro debut on the card will be Westchester-native Alex Vanasse as he is set to take on Richard Ballard (0-1) in a four-round cruiserweight matchup. Vanasse lives in Carmel, NY, but trains in New Rochelle, NY, and a big crowd is expected to turn out for the hometown fighter.
Rounding out the card will be the Bronx, NY’s Golden Gloves champion Peter Dobson (2-0, 1KO’s) as he takes on Tyrell White (0-2) in a four-round welterweight matchup.
Tickets are priced at $100, $60 and $40, and are currently on sale through the DiBella Entertainment office by calling (212) 947-2577. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
