Tonight, New Legend Boxing will return to the famed Resorts World Casino New York City with another action-packed night of professional boxing with International Fight Night.
RESORTS WORLD CASINO NEW YORK CITY
JAMAICA, NY
RED CORNER BLUE CORNER
8 ROUNDS – JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHTS
Antonio Nieves vs. Saul Tejada
Cleveland, OH Leon, Spain
10-0, 5 KO’s 5-3-2, 1 KO
120.2 lbs. 121.4 lbs.
6 ROUNDS – LIGHTWEIGHTS
Cindy Serrano vs. Fatuma Zarika
Brooklyn, NY Kenya, Africa
22-5-2, 9 KO’s 10-9, 6 KO’s
131 lbs. 132.4 lbs.
6 ROUNDS – WELTERWEIGHTS
Ariel Duran vs. Rafael Luna
Jamaica, NY Troy, NY
7-7-1, 4 KO’s 3-10-3, 1 KO
141.8 lbs. 143.2 lbs.
4 ROUNDS – LIGHTWEIGHTS
Dimash Niyazov vs. Micah Branch
Brooklyn, NY Columbus, OH
6-0-3, 4 KO’s 2-13-1
133.8 lbs. 129 lbs.
4 ROUNDS – WELTERWEIGHTS
Julian Sosa vs. Kamal Muhammad
Brooklyn, NY New York, NY
Pro Debut 0-3
144.4 lbs. 143.8 lbs.
6 ROUNDS – JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Ivan Baranchyk vs. Damion Hill
Brooklyn, NY Champlin, MN
5-0, 4 KO’s 4-8
147.6 lbs. 148.6 lbs.
4 ROUNDS – CRUISERWEIGHTS
David Sparks vs. Marcellus Yates
Brooklyn, NY Washington, D.C.
1-0 0-2
183.6 lbs. 177.8 lbs.
4 ROUNDS – JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Frank Castillo vs. Lionel Charles
Corona, NY Bronx, NY
5-0, 3 KO’s 0-5
153.6 lbs. 152 lbs.
6 ROUNDS – CRUISERWEIGHTS
Joseph Williams vs. Kentrell Claiborne
Far Rockaway, NY Shreveport, LA
4-0, 4 KO’s 4-10, 3 KO’s
185.6 lbs. 178 lbs.
Over the course of boxing history, Cleveland, OH, has been known as a hotbed for producing many talented fighters, including Joey Maxim, Jimmy Bivins and Lloyd Marshall among others. The latest prospect to come out of the hallowed city is undefeated super bantamweight prospect Antonio “Carita” Nieves. On March 28, the 27-year-old Nieves is making his New York debut, in what will be his first bout scheduled for eight rounds. Nieves was a highly touted amateur winning over 60 fights while becoming a five-time Cleveland Golden Gloves champion, a National Golden Gloves silver medalist and competing in the Olympic Trials. Turning pro in November 2011, Nieves, now 10-0 (5 KOs), had a busy 2014, earning five victories, with three by knockout. In August, Nieves outboxed the 5-0 prospect Justin Lopez over six frames, dropping his foe in the second round en route to winning a shutout unanimous decision. Standing in the opposing corner on Saturday will be Saul Tejada, 5-3-2 (1 KO), of Leon, Spain, in his first fight Stateside.
Popular female fighter Cindy “Checkmate” Serrano will see action in a six-round junior lightweight contest. Currently riding a seven-fight winning streak, the Puerto Rican Brooklynite, 22-5-2 (10 KOs), is now a veteran of the ring, having turned pro back in 2003. Serrano became a two-time titlist in 2012, picking up the Women’s International Boxing Association (IBA) International super featherweight title that August, winning an eight-round decision over Kerri Hill, then earning another decision victory over Angel Gladney in November to grab the Universal Boxing Federation (UBF) female lightweight title. In what promises to be a barnburner, Serrano will be facing the equally experienced Fatuma Zarika, 24-9-1 (14 KOs), of Nairobi, Kenya, who is a former Women’s International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight titlist. Zarika will be making her US debut.
Co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Fight Promotions Inc., the Belarus-native Ivan “Beast” Baranchyk, 5-0 (4 KOs), has been keeping an active schedule, fighting once a month since last November. In his last bout on February 20, Baranchyk scored a brutal second-round knockout over the 4-0 David Thomas. After dropping Thomas in the first, Baranchyk, now living and training in Brooklyn, NY, floored him for good with a right hand-left hook combination. 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. On Saturday, the power-punching Baranchyk will swap leather with Champlin, Minnesota’s Damion Hill, 4-8.
The wildly popular 26-year-old lightweight prospect Dimash Niyazov, 6-0-3 (4 KOs), of Staten Island by way of Kazakhstan, returns to Resorts World Casino following a thrilling four-round knockdown-filled war that ended in a draw last September. Promoted by Dmitriy Salita’s Star of David Promotions, Niyazov is a superb stylist and slick boxer who turned pro in September 2011. Having moved to the US at the age of 13, Niyazov built an amateur record of 27-3, while winning the USA Boxing Metro Championships as well as the Empire State Games in New York. When he’s not preparing for a fight, Niyazov works as a personal trainer at the Fight Factory Gym in Brooklyn. Niyazov will clash against Columbus, Ohio’s hardnosed Micah Branch, 2-13-1, who has never been knocked out. Familiar with the venue, this will mark Branch’s fourth fight held at Resorts of Queens.
Dominican junior middleweight prospect Frank Castillo, 5-0 (3 KOs), of Corona, NY, will make his second appearance in New York as a pro when he squares off against Bronx’s Lionel Charles, 0-5, who has never been knocked out, with thee of his losses coming by way of majority decision. A pro since August 2013, all but one of Castillo’s fights thus far have taken place in the Dominican Republic.
Far Rockaway-native Joseph Williams, 4-0 (3 KOs), will take on Kentrell Claiborne, 4-10 (3 KOs), of Shreveport, LA, in a four-round cruiserweight bout. Prior to turning pro in September 2013, Williams won silver at the 2011 US Olympic Team Trials and then became the 2012 New York Golden Gloves heavyweight champion as an amateur. In Claiborne’s previous trip to New York, he went the six-round distance against the up-and-coming Marcus Browne last November losing a decision.
In other local cruiserweight action, Brooklyn’s David Sparks, 1-0, resumes his career after turning pro last May. In his debut, Sparks earned a unanimous four-round decision, focusing his attack to the body then dropping his foe in the final frame with a left hook to the midsection. On Saturday, Sparks will challenge Marcellus Yates, 0-2, of Washington D.C., whose two losses came via split and majority decisions.
Both Ariel Duran, of Queens, NY, and Rafael Luna, of Troy, NY, will each be looking to end their respective losing streaks when they meet in a six-round junior welterweight contest. Duran, 7-7-1 (4 KOs), who twice fought for the New York State lightweight title in 2011, has never been knocked out. The tough Luna, 4-10-3 (1 KO), has tested six undefeated prospects, taking all but one of them the distance in exciting scraps, as well as the 16-1 world-rated contender Tony Luis.
Brooklyn junior welterweight amateur standout Julian Sosa will make his eagerly anticipated pro debut against fellow New Yorker Kamal Muhammad, 0-3.
