On Wednesday, January 23, DiBella Entertainment returns to BB King Blues Club in NYC for the first time in nearly a year with a stellar and thrilling nine-bout card featuring a number of DBE’s top up-and-coming prospects, as well as former WBA junior middleweight world champion Yuri Foreman (28-2, 8KO’s) making his much anticipated return to the ring after a near two-year hiatus.
Foreman is scheduled to take on Brandon Baue (12-8, 10KO’s) in a six-round junior middleweight special attraction bout.
Fighting for the second time since joining the DBE roster will be the 25-year-old Lamar “Boxing Que” Russ (11-0, 7KO’s). Russ is scheduled to take on Jose Medina (17-11-1, 11KO’s) in an eight-round middleweight matchup.
Russ joined the DBE roster late in 2012, and in his first bout under the promotional banner, he scored a first-round annihilation on ShoBox: The New Generation over previously undefeated Jonathan Cepeda (12-0, 11KO’s). In his previous bout, Russ scored a fourth-round TKO over yet another undefeated prospect in the 13-0 Jose Alonzo. Russ is looking to kick off what he hopes to be a breakout year with an impressive performance on January 23.
Also seeing action on the card in an eight-round bout will be New Haven’s undefeated super bantamweight Luis “K.O. King” Rosa (11-0, 7KO’s) as he squares off against Derrick Wilson (9-3-2, 3KO’s). A native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, but now living and training in New Haven, CT, Rosa scored a dynamic sixth-round TKO over Victor Valenzuela in his last bout on the HBOBoxing After Dark undercard on September 29, at Foxwoods.
At just 21 years old, the super bantamweight Rosa is truly one of the bright young stars on the DBE roster.
Returning to the site at which he notched the most important victory of his young career will be Brooklyn’s undefeated Delen “Sniper” Parsley (9-0, 2KO’s), as he looks to improve to 10-0 when he faces Tyrone Selders (8-4, 6KO’s) in a six-round middleweight matchup.
On March 7, 2012 Parsley took on fellow unbeaten Boyd Melson. The bout, which could have easily been shown on ESPN or even ShoBox, had people excited about it from the get-go.
Few could have predicted what transpired though, as Parsley and Melson went to war, trading multiple knockdowns throughout their eight-round junior middleweight contest. In the end, Parsley was awarded a razor-thin unanimous decision in what was one of the most entertaining and exciting fights ever witnessed throughout Broadway Boxing’s eight-year existence.
Making his much anticipated pro debut on the card will be one of the most decorated amateurs to come out of the New York boxing scene in many years, as Long Island’s Patrick Day competes against Zach Kelley (1-1, 1KO) in a four-round junior middleweight contest.
Day, the 20-year-old #1-rated 152-pounder in the U.S., compiled an impressive 75-5 record as an amateur. In addition to being a 2012 Olympic Team Alternate, Day won a slew of championships and tournaments as an amateur including the 2012 USA Boxing National Championship, 2012 PAL National Championship and 2012 NY Golden Gloves.
Day was also the 2009, 2010 and 2012 USA Metro Boxing Champion, as well as the 2010 and 2011 NY Golden Gloves runner-up. In addition to pursuing his professional boxing career, Day is currently attending college and plans on getting his degree in Sports Nutrition.
Fighting for the first time on a DBE-promoted card will be Bronx knockout artist Skender Halili, as he looks to make it a perfect 8-0 with 8 knockouts, when he squares off against Roberto Crespo (4-2) in a six-round welterweight matchup. The 22-year-old Halili, of Albanian descent, has tremendous power in either hands and has the ability to end any fight with one shot.
Making her third appearance on a DBE-promoted card will be popular Irish female super bantamweight Heather Hardy (3-0), as she looks to keep her perfect record intact when she fights Canada’s Peggy Maerz (2-2-1) in a four-round contest. In her previous bouts, Hardy has thrilled audiences with her come-forward aggressive style. Hardy is quickly becoming a major attraction on the N.Y. boxing scene and another exciting bout is expected on January 23.
Also seeing action on the card will be pro-debuting heavyweight Eugene Russell, who will be seeing action in a four-round bout. The NYC-native Russell is set to see action against Granson Clark (1-1, 1KO).
Rounding out the card will be New York’s Neuky Santalesis (2-0, 1KO), as he takes on an opponent to be named. The bout is scheduled for four rounds in the junior lightweight division.
There are less then 50 total tickets available for the event, with only a few $125 ringside seats remaining and the majority being the $55 general admission seats. Tickets can be purchased by calling the DiBella Entertainment office at (212) 947-2577. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
