Peltz Boxing New Alhambra 10-5-07

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Photos by Mike “Teek” McGuigan

They were fighting again on the corner of Swanson & Ritner in South Philly this past Friday as Hall of Famer J. Russell Peltz produced another solid night of pro boxing with this 7 fight card. On this night we saw one storied career come very close to an end, while another is very close to taking off. One time contender Mike “No Joke” Stewart returned to The New Alhambra in what amounted to a do or die for his career as a headline attraction. His opponent for the evening was Robert “Red Hot” Frankel of`Colorado, a tough journeyman hungrey to move into the next level of competition. In the co-feature, welterweight prospect Mike “Machine Gun” Jones looked to keep his knockout streak in tact as he took on well traveled veteran Richard Lee Hall. The undercard was an interesting one as “Big” John Poore and “Millionaire” Mike Miller had a good 6 round heavyweight fight. Latif Mundy took on tough Mexican Robert Fiorentino in middleweight action. Teon Kennedy, Victor Vasquez & Omar Pittman vs. Demetrius Davis part 2 rounded out the night. Find out how it all went down at The New Alhambra.

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10 ROUNDS – JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS

Robert Frankel..vs……..Mike Stewrat
141 pounds…..WEIGHT…..142 pounds
Denver, CO…..CITY…….New Castle, DE
20-7-1, 4 K0s..RECORD…..42-6-3, 23 K0s

There was a lot riding on this evenings main event as two working class heros laced them up to see who lives to fight another day. In the red corner was one time contender Mike “No Joke” Stewart who has once seen the limelight but now found himself in a position where he was fighting to extend a career that took a sudden turn for the worse. In the Blue corner was his opponent Robert Frankel of Denver who decorates the dinner table by way of testing unproven prospects but suddenly found himself in prime position to push himself into a new tax bracket and higher level of opposition with a win. The winner moves on, the loser goes home and in this one, it looked like the end is near for Mike “No Joke” Stewart as he was throughly outworked over 10 rounds by the Colorado native. Stewart showed he still has the heart of a champion, absoring a large number of clean punches throughout yet never once being close to hitting the canvas. Frankel has a plan of staying in Stewarts chest and stuck to it from the beginning. Frankel landed rights and lefts mostly upstairs at close range and also took a few big punches very well. The fight went to the scorecards and they all were in favor of Frankel by scores of (98-92, 99-91, 99-91)

It was a good run for Stewart who in the past has fought world titlists Ricky Hatton and Sharba Mitchell and also was a key member of ESPN’s The Contender II series. Since then he has only 1 win in his last 5 bouts against competiton well below those mentioned above. Frankel on the other hand scores a very solid win inches his way closer to the fruits of the boxing business.

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8 ROUNDS – WELTERWEIGHTS

Richard Lee Hall….vs…..Mike Jones
146 pounds……..WEIGHT…146 pounds
Rocky Mount, NC…CITY…..North Philadelphia
10-20-2, 6 K0s….RECORD…10-0, 10 K0s

Richard Lee Hall has fought a laundry list of legitimate boxing prospects who have grown into contenders. None were able to make him flat out quit like Mike Jones did at 1:58 of the 1st round with a single left hook to the liver. The round started off slow with Jones throwing some jabs as Hall circled him. In a flash, Jones stepped in and buried that hook into the side of the body which was reminiscant of Bernard Hopkins win over Oscar De La Hoya a few years back. When hit, Hall grimmaced in pain, stepped back and about 2 seconds laster took a knee in the corner. He would not continue much to the dismay of commisioner Greg Serb. While it was an impressive win, many in the building agree that it is time for Jones to raise the level of competition. Promoter J. Russell Peltz happily obliged and announed that the Machine Gun will be the headliner at The New Alhambra on November 9th facing off against former world title challenger Israel “Pito” Cardona over 10 rounds.

With the win, Mike “Machine Gun” Jones raises his record to 11 – 0 with 11ko’s

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4 ROUNDS – MIDDLEWEIGHTS

LATIF MUNDY….vs…..ROBERTO FLORENTINO
157 pounds….WEIGHT..158 pounds/25 years/5’10”
North Philly..CITY….Indianapolis, IN
5-0, 1 K0…..RECORD…2-2, 2 K0s

In the opening bout of the night, newly signed Latif Mundy flattened an alleged steel chinend Mexican Robert Florentino with a big overhand at 2:35 of the first round. In Florentino’s last fight, he went the distance with a prospect who knocked out all 10 of his opponents prior to stepping in with Florentino. Mundy on the other hand has a rep of an entertaining fighter who keeps the pace moving but lacking serious thunder in his glove. From the beginning, Mundy was too swift for his opponent, using the ring to his advantage and landing some good, hard uppercuts before dispatching his man. After seeing this fight where he left Florentino face down on the canvas and ready to be outlined in chalk, I think that no pop theory goes out the window.

With the win, Latif Mundy improves to 6 – 0 with 2ko’s

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6 ROUNDS – HEAVYWEIGHTS

JOHN POORE….vs…….MIKE MILLER
212.5 pounds..WEIGHT..251 pounds
Upper Darby…CITY….Akron, OH
18-2, 18 K0s..RECORD..2-4-1, 2 K0s

After a rusty performance last month, “Big” John Poore returned to the ring and looked much better this time around as he found himself involved in an pretty entertaining two way action fight. Before the fight, many were questioning the validity of “Millionaire” Mike Miller as a 2 -4 fighter taking on a guy with 18 wins but I have to say, Miller held his own and is a better fighter than his record indicated.

John Poore fought his usual fight, throwing straight right hand bombs, some which found the mark some didn’t. Miller didn’t look to be in very good shape but the big man was surprisingly nimble and had excellent head movement. The first threee rounds were very competitive, Poore doing the initiating with straight rights and Miller playing the role of counter puncher, moving his head and flicking out a jab. Poore started to pull away in the 5th as he continued the pressue and landed some clean right hands upstairs which started to wear down Miller. For the first time in John Poore’s career, the fight went to the cards and they all read 59-55, 59-55, 59-55 in favor of the Upper Darby machinist. After the fight, it was announced that Poore will return to the New Alhambra in November to take on Dan Whetzel.

With the win, “Big” John Poore improves to 19 – 2 with 18ko’s

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6 ROUNDS – FEATHERWEIGHTS

JAMES FRANKS NAME TEON KENNEDY
121.75 pounds…WEIGHT..126 pounds
Newport, VA…..CITY….North Philadelphia
2-3-1, 2 K0s….RECORD..5-0, 3 K0s

Teon Kennedy continues to impress, this time dismantling James Franks over two rounds with a precision attack to the head and body. Franks tried his best but was no match for the former amateur champion. After a strong first round, Kennedy finished the job at 1:32 of the second with a left hook that buckled Frank causing the refto step in and stop it.

With the win, Teon Kennedy improves to 6 – 0 with 4ko’s

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4 ROUNDS – LIGHTWEIGHTS

VICTOR VASQUEZ…vs….MARKEL MUHAMMAD
132.5 pounds….WEIGHT.129.75 pounds
North Philly….CITY…Columbus, OH
4-1, 3 K0s…..RECORD..2-6

Victor Vasquez continues to fill seats and score knockouts, this time finishing the job at 1:57 of the second round. It was a rough and tumble affair from the start but it was Vasquez doinf the lionshare of the work, scoring 4 knockdowns before the fight was stopped by the referee.

With the win, Victor Vasquez improves ro 5 – 1 with 4ko’s

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6 ROUNDS – SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS

DEMETRIUS DAVIS …vs…OMAR PITTMAN
165.75 pounds….WEIGHT..168.5 pounds/24 years/5’11”
Washington, DC…CITY….North Philadelphia
17-13-4, 7 K0s…RECORD..14-3-1, 8 K0s

While it is a given that you will most likely get a good, tough main event at The New Alhambra, the walkout bouts on Swanson & Ritner have become a must see as well. In the last fight of the evening, Omar Pittman and Demtrius Davis had a rematch of a close fight a few months back which ended with Pittman winning by split decision. This match can be best summed up as a good old fashioned fight. Both men were cut after 1 round and both swung for the fences trying to knock the other guys head off over 6 rounds. There was some really good, rough action from both parties. In the end it went to the score card which were once again split by scores of 57 – 56 in favor of Davis but the other two judges seeing it 58-56 & 59-54 in favor of Pittman.

With the win, Omar Pittman improves to 15 – 3- 1 with 8ko’s

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