Union City, NJ – Pound for Pound Promotions produced its inception ‘Night of the Rising Stars’ last night in Union City, NJ, and the final result turned out to be a resounding thumbs-up. “We are ecstatic with the turn-out as far as ticket sales are concerned, and as for the fights, we couldn’t be happier with the way our fighters performed tonight,” said John Lynch, President and the CEO of the newly formed promotional company.
The night began with New Brunswick, NJ product and two-time under-19 national amateur champion, Jorge Diaz (3-0, 3 KOs). Diaz dropped his opponent Arthur Parker (1-6, 1 KO)—who has never been on the canvas in his professional career—twice in the first round and once in the second with a vicious body assault that would eventually force the corner of Parker to throw in the towel. In the second bout of the evening, hometown favorite and super middleweight puncher Jason Escalera (1-0, 1 KO) disposed of his pro debut counterpart Jeffrey Gross (0-1) within two minutes of the first round. Paterson, NJ upstart Jeremy “Hollywood” Bryan was next in line to continue the success of Pound for Pound fighters on this evening. Bryan (3-0, 1 KO) utilized a mixture of a head and body attack that proved to be too much for his opponent Adam Salas (10-11, 2 KOs), which prompted his corner to stop the bout. Bronx, NY sensation Ronny Vargas (5-0, 4 KOs) barely broke a sweat in his junior middleweight contest, taking a mere 58 seconds to rid himself of Columbus, OH native William Armstead (2-5, 1 KO).
In the main event, undefeated Paterson, NJ welterweight Henry Crawford (18-0-1, 8 KOs) continued his climb towards 147-pound stardom as he methodically beat down Kendall Holt destroyer Thomas “The Sandman” Davis (12-7-2, 7 KOs). Crawford looked right at home on this night, putting together some nice combinations and backing Davis against the ropes repeatedly throughout the fight. However, Davis proved to be a granite-chinned adversary as he refused to succumb to the Crawford onslaught. The judges scored the fight 79-73, 80-72 and 80-71, all in favor of Crawford.
With 800-plus in attendance for ‘Night of the Rising Stars,’ the Pound for Pound production proved to be a success for the company’s first show. “We plan to bring boxing back to the northern New Jersey scene for years to come,” said John Lynch. With shows like ‘Night of the Rising Stars,” Jersey boxing fans will be happy to know that the sport is showing signs of life in a state that is deprived of formidable boxing cards. As manager—and brother to CEO and president of Pound for Pound—Pat Lynch puts it, “the best is yet to come."
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