Two Long Island fighters from Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing stable will be honored this Sunday afternoon at Russo’s On the Bay

Two Long Island fighters from Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing stable will be honored this Sunday afternoon at Russo’s On the Bay in Howard Beach, NY, by Ring 8 at their annual Christmas awards dinner.

Highly rated contenders Joe “The Irish Beast” Smith Jr. and undefeated Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin (Jr. Welterweight) will receive awards for “Knockout of the Year” and” Prospect of the Year” respectively.

Smith, a WBC International Champion, is rated #2 by the WBC, #5 by the WBA, and #12 by the WBO as a Light Heavyweight. He shocked the boxing world and Andrzej Fonfara this year with a spectacular 1st round KO in a bout televised live NBC in front of a prime time national audience. Smith has an upcoming date next Saturday, December 17th, with the legend Bernard Hopkins which will be televised live on HBO from the famous Forum in Los Angeles, CA. The show will be a co-promotion of Golden Boy Promotions and Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing. Smith is an outstanding 22-1 with 18 big knockouts.

Seldin, rated #6 by the WBC, has thrilled fans on his native Long Island and on ESPN with his relentless power punching fan friendly style. Cletus is undefeated with a record of 19-0 with 16 knockouts and DeGuardia is negotiating a major bout for the ‘Hebrew Hammer’ for early 2017.

Also being honored will be the trainer and manager of Joe Smith Jr. Phil Capobianco (manager of the year) and Jerry Capobianco (trainer of the year).

Star Boxing head Joe DeGuardia had these comments about the festivities “I’m thrilled for these 2 fine young men who have worked very hard in trying to achieve their goals in the sport of boxing. They are a testament to the results of hard work and are proud Long Islanders and New Yorkers. Ring 8 could not have picked 2 more deserving fighters for these awards. I also congratulate the Capobianco brothers as they have worked very hard for many years with Joe

Smith Jr. and it is great to see the success of Team Joe Smith Jr. I look forward to being with the team on Sunday and in Los Angeles this week!”