HBO Boxing After Dark set up shop at the Hammerstein Ballroom at the Manhattan Center on Saturday night with a tripleheader featuring Paulie Malignaggi, Sechew Powell, and Andre Berto, who all emerged victorious in front of a sellout crowd of 1,624 fans. “The Magic Man” Malignaggi upped his record to 22-1 with a successful return to the ring, surprising no one in winning a ten-round unanimous decision in the main event against Edner “Cherry Bomb” Cherry, who fell to 21-5-2.
Entering the ring sparkling in his trademark Italian blue with silver, this time adding a turquoise tinge to his hairstyle, the Brooklyn southpaw was welcomed with loud chants of “Paulie.” For Malignaggi, his climb into the ring was his first since he left the Garden ropes after his gruesome defeat at the hands of WBO junior welterweight champ Miguel Cotto on June 10 of last year. Sustaining a bad cut early in that fight followed by a broken orbital bone, the “The Magic Man” erased his pretty boy image that night with a courageous effort that showed us all that he was worthy of fighting for a title.
Against blown-up lightweight Edner Cherry from Wauchula, FL, who weighed 137 1/4 pounds, Malignaggi at 139 1/2 pounds was the bigger man but was content to outbox his opponent in route to winning a one-sided decision (two judges had it 98-92, the other 100-90). There were no surprises as Malignaggi came out fast, catching Cherry right away with a hard left to the head and using his feints and a stiff jab to keep his opponent at bay. At the end of the first, Malignaggi’s cheekbone already had noticeable swelling, seemingly a reminder of the damage done in the Cotto fight. Cherry didn’t have the punching power or speed to catch up to Malignaggi with any regularity, trying his best to rough up his elusive opponent early in the fight, but unable to sustain an attack. By the fifth, the chants of “Paulie” echoed throughout the Hammerstein ballroom as he took control of the fight with his consistent jab and quick movement.
Cherry’s own screaming contingent contained to a balcony above continued urging him to attack and land a “Cherry Bomb,” but he was never able to make it happen. After chasing Malignaggi for the first half of the fight, landing effectively at times with the right hand, but not doing enough to stop Malignaggi from getting in his groove, the discouragement crept onto the stoic face Cherry had maintained from the start. After Malignaggi got the best of an exchange against the ropes at the end of the seventh, Cherry walked back to his corner, shaking his head in frustration.
Looking almost content to lose the fight after little production in the eighth and ninth rounds, Cherry came out all guns ablaze in the tenth after being reminded by his corner that he needed a knockout to win. Malignaggi got caught with a couple good right hands in the round but wasn’t fazed, stopping Cherry’s attack each time by tying him up on the inside and smothering his punches.
CompuBox numbers showed a closer fight on paper with Malignaggi landing a total of 168 out of 530 punches compared to 152 out of 484 punches for Cherry, who actually landed more power punches (96 to 65). Malignaggi won the fight though with his strong jab, connecting on 103 compared to only 56 for his opponent.
After the fight, Malignaggi was quick to remind us that he’s not a brawler and won’t fight the way he did against Cotto.
“I’m a performer, an entertainer,” said Malignaggi. “I’m not the biggest puncher so I have to do what I gotta do.”
Speaking even faster than those speedy hands of his, the junior welterweight contender joked as to why he plans on keeping to his slick style in the ring.
“By the time I’m 30-years-old I’m not gonna have the pretty face if I stand in there and fight like I did against Cotto. I made a conscious effort to box and not get in a fight.”
On the BAD undercard, junior middleweight contender Sechew “The Iron Horse” Powell won a controversial decision over former “Contender” participant, Ishe “Sugar Shay” Smith. All three judges scored it 97-92 for Powell whose record now stands at 21-1. (I might be blind but I had it 96-94 for Smith). Smith (18-1), the Vegas native, is no stranger to top competition, sparring in the past with the likes of Whitaker, Mosley, and de la Hoya. After losing in “The Contender,” Smith turned down a fight with Ike Quartey, asserting that he’s not just a perennial contender, but rather a champion-caliber fighter ready to work his way to the top. His experience showed against Powell as his unorthodox style of twisting movements combined with his left hand drooped to the floor and right seemingly attached to the side of his face bothered the southpaw in his first fight since losing a decision to Kassim Ouma.
Powell started off fast, landing a solid straight left to the head of Smith, the momentum of the blow sending him back momentarily. His aggression continued in the second round, landing more hard left hands on Smith who’s definitely no Willie Pep in his defensive style. With the hometown crowd behind him and with Smith’s right hand seemingly glued to his face, Powell had no reason to worry until that glue wore off in the third and Smith started launching and landing the right hand. A right hook got Smith’s attention in the fourth, but near the end of the round Smith connected with a hard right that sent the off balance Powell to the canvas. He quickly recovered, arguing that it was a slip, but it was clearly a legitimate knockdown.
“The Iron Horse” was visibly frustrated with Smith’s style by the sixth round and began talking to him to try and get under his skin. “Come on, come on,” Powell urged, as they stood toe-to-toe in the center of the ring. Smith responded by landing a hard combination that sent Powell into his own defensive mode. After an exchange in the seventh with Powell finishing with a hard left to the head, he paused, eyes ablaze with intensity, and let out a wild roar, “Come on.”
\The crowd urged Powell on in the final round, sensing how close the fight was (judges not included), but his energy seemed to be spent and he languished on the ropes to rest. Smith finished the fight strong and deserved better than what the judges gave him. The crowd agreed, booing the decision despite the fact that Powell is a Brooklyn native.
Junior middleweight prospect Andre Berto (16-0) kicked off the HBO telecast with a bang, knocking out another “Contender” alum, Norberto Bravo of Tucson, AZ at 2:28 of Round 1. Berto, who lives in Winter Haven, FL, represented his native Haiti in the 2004 Olympics, made quick work of Bravo who said after the fight that he “kept falling off balance and was never hurt.” A left hook to the head sent Bravo sprawling to the canvas initially and he was up only momentarily before going down hard again from a vicious Berto five-punch combination started with a right lead and finished with a left hook. A final left hook ended the mismatch as referee Jose Cusano held onto to Bravo before he even made it to the canvas. Bravo landed only 3 punches compared with 28 for Berto, who was surprised the fight ended so fast.
“I didn’t think it was gonna be that easy. I threw the jab more to give a new look, then I started throwing bombs.” I felt strong and tough and it was a great show for the fans—I love New York,” said Berto.
The night started off with a four-round featherweight bout in which Algenis Mendez from Brooklyn, NY raised his record to 2-0 with a unanimous decision over the game Ruben Jacoby of Colorado Springs, CO who fell to 0-3. Bleeding from the nose, Jacoby fought hard to the final bell to the delight of the fans but was outmatched by the faster Mendez.
Eileen “Miyoko” Olszewski, the Hawaiian native who makes her home in New York City, looked impressive in her victory over local favorite Noriko Kariya, winning a split decision in their six-round bantamweight match, raising her record to 2-0. Kariya, from Jersey City, NJ, dropped to 6-2. Olszewski, the former three-time national champ gave up two pounds at the weigh-in and almost nine in the ring. Despite the weight differential, Olszewski showed poise and confidence in her second professional fight, rocking Kariya with a right hand midway through the first round and almost knocking her down in the second with a left hook. Kariya fell forward and held on to survive the round.
Olszewski’s record is deceiving as she had a long, successful amateur career and her experience showed against Kariya, who seemed confused and surprised by her foe’s ability. Olszewski was able to keep her distance and use her jab effectively, nullifying Kariya’s inside fighting and consistently beating her to the punch. It was another sweet victory long overdue for Olszewski who couldn’t get a fight for more than three years after retiring from amateur competition. She finally got the chance to showcase her skills on a big card and looks to be a rising star in women’s boxing.
Middleweight James McGirt Jr. of Brentwood, NY showed why he’s “Buddy’s creation” as he calls himself, stopping Anthony Little of Akron, Ohio at 2:46 of the fourth round. McGirt suffered a cut over his right eye in the third round that began to bother him in the fourth as he pawed at the blood dripping down his brow. That seemed to ignite him as seconds later McGirt sent the game Little back against the ropes, finishing him off with a combination that left him bent over in agony when the referee came to his rescue.
Crowd favorite, Pawel “Raging Bull” Wolak, ignited his adoring fans with a fifth round stoppage over Luis Hodge in a junior middleweight bout. Wolak, from Mt. Arlington, NJ was undeterred after sustaining a cut over his right eye in the opening round. He continued to hunt down the mobile Hodge and pound away at his body. Hodge, the Sarasota, FL native began to tire in the second and by the third all he could do was sit on the ropes and absorb Wolak’s body shots. After taking a terrible beating in the fourth round, Hodge made the wise decision to stay on his stool when the bell rang for the fifth, sending Wolak’s fans into celebration. Wolak is now 13-0, while Hodge dropped to 5-3.
