by Tony Fiorello
Photo taken by Shawn Turri.
Compared to more high-profile sports, some may look at boxing as a dying breed.
Drew Graziadei, Boxstar Training and Stick N Move Boxing Promotions, however, would beg to differ.
Graziadei, the owner of the popular boxing gym on Sheridan Drive in Tonawanda, has partnered with the promotion company over the last couple of years to bring Friday Night Fights, an amateur boxing event, to the Forbes Theater on Pearl Street. This past Friday’s edition, the fourth of its kind, was well-attended and well-received as 13 fights featuring 26 different boxers were held.
If anything, boxing remains alive and well – especially in Buffalo, New York.
“When we first started there were a lack of fights and a lack of a good, beautiful event going for boxing. Everybody was kind of doing their shows out of their gyms or small venues,” Graziadei said. “Originally we wanted to do shows with professional boxers, but we realized that we weren't as experienced at that level yet. So we started doing amateurs first, and we're doing these shows now in practice to eventually expand into pro shows.
“We'll still do amateur shows too because we want to keep helping the local talent and younger kids build up, because those kids will eventually fight for us when they're professionals. But we want to run a high-end event as much as we can, even if it's just for amateur fighters. They deserve the same things that the pros do.”
Photo taken by Shawn Turri.
Justin Pendleton (5-1) from Terrie’s Boxing Club on Hertel Avenue, who defeated Terry Smith from The Boxing Academy in Webster via second-round abandonment, raved about the experience following his match.
“I loved it – this is the best boxing event I've ever been to,” Pendleton said. “This is my last fight for the year, and it’s like I went out with a bang. This venue is great.
“I felt like a pro, and the fight was good too. It was a hard-fought two rounds. Once I realized, ‘Oh man, this guy's eating my hardest jabs, and I’m whipping my hardest right,’ I decided that I'm just going to swing for the fences. So I just hit him with my hardest stuff and it worked out.”
Each fight on the card featured different age and weight classes and most bouts were three two-minute rounds. Graziadei was impressed by the skill and toughness of many of the boxers.
“All the kids from Vazquez’s Gym performed really well and Casal’s Boxing Club is always really tough,” Graziadei said. “The guys from Terrie’s showed up and fought really well. Even the guys from out of town (Oswego and Toronto), they're some of the best fighters that we've ever had on our shows. Everybody did really well and fought hard.”
Photo taken by Shawn Turri.
Additionally, the spectators brought an energy to the show that helped it stand out from prior versions of Friday Night Fights.
“This crowd was a little bit more boxing-oriented,” Graziadei said. “The first few crowds we’ve had in the past weren't really here for the fighters as much as this group was – this group came out here to support the fighters and a lot of the gyms. That’s a big difference that I’ve noticed.”
While the fourth rendition of Friday Night Fights at the Forbes was by all accounts successful, Graziadei and his business partners won’t be tempted to overstep their boundaries and go beyond their means in the future. In fact, for their fifth program they’re planning on sticking to the same script they’ve used to great acclaim.
“We're going to keep doing the same thing we've been doing and try to use this as a catalyst to kind of catapult our pro shows,” Graziadei said. “Our next one will be in March, and our plan will definitely be to have a professional show. We plan on doing it right here, and it’ll be a little bit different of a setup – there's more regulation and stuff like that, but we're ready for it.”
FIGHT RESULTS
W/L | RED CORNER | WEIGHT | AGE | ROUND LENGTH | WEIGHT | AGE | BLUE CORNER | W/L |
| King Cook (Oswego) | 70 | 10 | 1.5 min. | 72 | 10 | Isa Carcamo (Brampton) | W – Unanimous Decision – Third Round |
W – Third Rd. | Jordan Perchway (Oswego) | 143 | 26 | 2 min. | 145 | 30 | Doug Freeman (Casal’s) |
|
| Ryan Rumsey (Buffalo Boxing Club) | 175 | 46 | 1.5 min. | 178 | 54 | Dave Mattise (Barco Boxing) | W – Third Rd. |
| Andrew Fanelli (Vazquez) | 165 | 38 | 2 min. | 160 | 30 | Najee Finley (Jamestown) | W – Unanimous Decision – Third Rd. |
| Kevian Rodriguez (Oswego) | 140 | 16 | 2 min. | 150 | 16 | Ibraham Omar (Victory) | W – Third Rd. |
| Terry Smith (Barco) | 147 |
| 2 min. | 147 | 29 | Justin Pendleton (Terrie’s) | W – Abandonment – Second Rd. |
W – Unanimous Decision – Third Rd. | John Dossinger (Vazquez) | 165 | 19 | 2 min. | 172 | 20 | Mustafa Hussein (Casal’s) |
|
W – Split Decision – Third Rd. | Serafim Doherty (Vazquez) | 130 | 14 | 2 min. | 130 | 15 | Rocco Marchione (Lackawanna) |
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W – Unanimous Decision – Third Rd. | Chris Wright (Barco) | 203 | 28 | 2 min. | 203 | 29 | Joshua Robinson (Terrie’s) |
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| Luis Molina (Oswego) | 147 | 18 | 2 min. | 157.5 |
| Nick Montalto (Terrie’s) | W – Split Decision – Third Rd. |
| Jorge Delgado (Oswego) (open) | 170 | 27 | 2 min. | 175 | 19 | Umar Carcano (Brampton) | W – Unanimous Decision – Third Rd. |
W – Third Rd. | Christopher Thompson (Vazquez) | 203+ | 32 | 2 min. | 203+ |
| Austin Oquendo (Lackawanna) |
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W – Unanimous Decision – Third Rd. | Neill Squires (Vazquez) | 178 | 27 | 2 min. | 175 | 19 | Nick Smith (Casal’s) |
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Photos by Shawn Turri.
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