| Huntington, New York – (February 23, 2024) – Fans are still reveling from the unbelievable action that unfolded at last night’s “Rockin’ Fights 46,” promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing at The Paramount in Huntington, New York. Fans were on the edge of their seat with a total of 5 knockdowns across the 7 fight card.
In the 10-round WBC Continental America’s and NABA Gold Cruiserweight Championship Main Event, SIMONE “THE ITALIAN TANK” FEDERICI (now 20-3-1 8KOs) fought former IBO World Champion, BLAKE “IL CAPO” CAPARELLO (now 32-4-1 15KOs). Both fighters started slow trying to find their range. In the second round, Federici started to pick up the pace and pressure Caparello, however, Caparello’s experience and ring prowess stifled Federici’s aggression. As the fight continued, like a skilled matador, Caparello allowed Federici to bull his way in, only to swiftly pull away his red cape, waiting for the perfect time to strike. That time came in the 5th round. Federici bulldozed in once more, causing Caparello to make a small shoulder hitch, followed by a perfectly timed short left hook that blasted Federici perfectly on the chin, crumbling him to the canvas, ending the fight. With the massive victory, Blake Caparello returns to Australia as the new WBC Continental America and NABA Gold Cruiserweight Champion.
In the co-main event, DANNY “EL GALLO” GONZALEZ (now 21-4-17KOs) defeated KEANE “ICEMAN” MCMAHON (now 7-4 4KOs) by unanimous decision in a dominating 8-round bout. Keane started the fight off strong by keeping Gonzalez at range with a powerful jab. As the fight progressed fatigue seemed to creep in. By the third round, Gonzalez started to find ways around the jab and began to apply constant pressure while he attacked McMahon’s body. In quintessential Gonzalez fashion, his gas tank did not fail him as he continued to pressure McMahon and drown him in punches. At the close of the 8th and final round, Gonzalez was declared the winner by unanimous decision.
The undercard was electric from start to finish. In what was a scheduled 8-round super middleweight bout, KAMIL BEDNAREK (now 14-0 8KOs) succeeded with a vicious third-round stoppage against VICTOR HUGO EXNER (now 11-15-2 5KOs). Almost immediately from the opening bell Exner stunned Bednarek and had him on skates. Bednarek gathered himself and began to outbox Exner. Bednarek kept his distance while working his combinations and dropped Exner two times in the second round, both with the exact same punch. It was only a matter of time, as Bednarek landed a flush overhand left that jolted Exner’s head back and forced him to the canvas. Having seen enough referee Pat Sullivan stopped the bout at the 2:04 mark of the third round.
LOU “IL MARTELLO” MAIETTA (now 3-4-2) and TEVIN TERRANCE (now 1-1-1) quite literally brought the house down. The foundation of The Paramount shook as fans cheered for both men who were exchanging absolute bombs. Maietta started with good range and an effective jab. Terrance however persisted with impressive snapping left hooks that tested Maietta’s chin. A perfectly thrown left hook to the body by Terrance was coupled with a barrage of punches to snatch the first round for Terrance. Maietta, however, was unfazed and showed tremendous grit and determination as the fight progressed and seemed to have taken the second round. As the fight continued Terrance’s production slowed, and Maietta opened up, clearly taking rounds three and four. The exciting fan friendly scrap was scored a split draw, disappointing fans, ringside observers and commentators, all of whom felt the decision should’ve gone to Maietta.
“RUTHLESS” RONNY REYES (now 4-0 1KO) and MARKUS BOWES (now 2-4 2KOs ) put on an exciting display of wills, with Bowes unexpectedly bringing the fight to Reyes in the first round. However, in the second round, Reyes began to plant his feet and force Bowes to respect his power as he landed catapult right hands on Bowes’ chin. These bombs ultimately took their toll and slowed Bowes down, completely changing the pace of the fight. In the third round, Reyes begins to show why he is nicknamed “Ruthless.” Reyes dropped Bowes with a nasty body shot that could be heard from the far ends of the Paramount. Bowes managed to get up in time but the damage that shot did was noticeable for the rest of the fight. The fourth round showed significant heart from Bowes as he continued to stand no matter how hard Reyes hit him. While Bowes showed the heart of a warrior, Ronny Reyes would be declared the winner by unanimous decision.
In a 4-round super middleweight bout FRANKIE “MAGIC” MONACO (now 2-0) took on LEVAN LOUTSOUPITZE (now 0-3). While Levan had the height advantage, he didn’t capitalize on it, fighting mostly from the inside, allowing Monaco to dictate the action. Monaco took the advantage and managed to both outwork and frustrate Loutsoupitze, which ultimately led to Frankie “Magic” earning the unanimous decision victory.
Finally, in the opening bout of the evening, JOHN GJINI (now 11-0 10KOs) showed the crowd why he is yet to be defeated when he took on, MANUEL GUZMAN (now 8-10-1 5KOs) in their 6-round lightweight bout. Guzman caught Gjini off guard by coming out hard and fast in the first round. However, once Gjini got his footing, there was no turning back. Gjini started letting his hands off the leash and unloaded them into a worn-down Guzman forcing the referee to stop the fight in the 4th round as Gjini improved to 11-0.
Star Boxing CEO JOE DEGUARDIA had this to say about the night of fights, “Last night was a perfect snapshot of what we have built with the “Rockin’ Fights” series since 2011. A thrilling night of fights brought action, drama and excitement to all of those who were in attendance and watching live on StarBoxing.TV. With three more “Rockin’ Fights” in 2024, we can’t wait to see you back on May 11.”
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