Peltz Keeps Philly Hot With Lundy Win

J. R. Jowett reporting from ringside: Amid the excited gaggle of new promoters, the Great J. Russell Peltz keeps alive the unbroken tradition of Philly boxing that goes back over more than a century.

On 7/2/17, promoter/ matchmaker Peltz teamed with old partners Joe Hand Prom’ns and BAM Boxing, plus “CES Boxing” and “Raging Babe” (who the bleep are they?) at S. Philadelphia’s active 2300 Arena.

They drew an SRO crowd to the circa 1200-seat venue, and as expected on a Peltz show, the winners weren’t all out of the red corner, although the favorites fared reasonably well. Steve Mittman did the ring announcing in traditional quarters instead of the preppy tenths.

The main event eight brought back a one-time local favorite who hadn’t appeared here in nearly eight years, Henry “Hank” Lundy, 135 ¼, Phila., 28-6-1 (14), against Daniel Evangelista, 133 ½, MX City, 19-8-2 (15). Lundy was a big name locally before he even turned pro, but his career has been checkered with losses, often close, in major fights. This one would keep him around for another chance. A nice stylist, Lundy has the tendency to flurry and relax, and this was no exception. He established control with superior skills and power in round one. The underdog dutifully tried to make it a street fight in round two, a good and close session. By the third, it had settled into a cat-&-mouse game that held the crowd’s interest with expectation. They weren’t disappointed. Late in an uneventful fifth, Evangelista jarred Lundy with a long right lead. Henry immediately flared back with two solid left hooks that rocked Daniel into the ropes. Lundy pounced, roasted him at close range with a ripping combo, then polished it off with a right cross that sent the Mexican sagging to the canvas. He got up, left eye bleeding, and demonstrated little resolve to referee Gary Rosato, who then declared a TKO at 2:53.

Prospect Jaron Ennis, 149 ¼, Phila., 12-0 (10), did a sweet job of putting away tank-like Wilfredo Acuna, 148 ¾, Managua, 17-21 (13), in a scheduled six. The southpaw underdog tried to walk in and make it a rumble, but the slick and rangy Ennis lashed out a slingshot right to the point of the chin, sending him down. No soon had action resumed than Jaron stepped in and dug the right underneath, through Wilfredo’s guard and solidly into the solar plexus.

Acuna stepped back and then dropped, raising himself to his knees along the ropes but no farther, as referee Blair Talmadge counted him out in 1:23.
Isaiah Wise, 156 ¼, Phila., 5-1 (3), ground out a workmanlike victory over difficult Mark Daniels, Jr., 152 ¼, Crandon, WI, 3-1 (1), in a one-sided but still good six. The contest lacked fireworks or sustained trading but was still a good tactical match.

The rugged, flat-footed Wise was just too strong and focused for the shifty, switch-hitting visitor. After a feelout first, Isaiah took control behind a steady attack and body bombardment. Action increased in the third as the visitor threw jabs and one-twos while doing his best to get into the fight. But Wise was just too strong. He began going to the head in the fourth and dominated the remaining rounds to win the unanimous decision. Jimmy Kinney scored 60-54, Anthony Lundy and John Poturaj 59-55.

Compact Chrystian Peguero, 126 ¾, Phila., 2-0 (1), fought with controlled aggression, outscoring Saquan Felton, 124, Rochester, 0-2, in a good action four. Peguero showed poise and fought well within himself while keeping up a steady attack that consistently beat Felton to the punch. Action was brisk and constant through a minute of the final round, but Chrystian then seemed to have shot his bolt and conceded the rest of the session to a still-game Felton. Lundy had the best score, 39-37, while Kinney and Poturaj had shutouts.

In the night’s big upset, it was a career ender for popular Scott Kelleher, 139 ¼, 5-1 (3), the only fighter ever out of Rockledge, in a scheduled four. Coming from Rockledge, a Philly suburb, doesn’t do much for a fighter’s mystique. It didn’t appear to scare Dion Richardson, 137 ½, Newark, 2-1 (2), who moved smartly, drew within precise range, and fired quick, snappy combos that got there before the favorite knew they’d left the launching pad. A left-right sagged Scott into the ropes where Rosato rightly gave a count. Shortly after, a sizzling right-left combo took everything out of Kelleher’s legs as he sagged to the canvas. Bleeding badly from the nose but still gamely trying to regroup, Kelleher was then sent sideways onto one knee by a sweeping right, where Rosato ruled a TKO at 2:19. He isn’t likely to return.

One slick counter was the fight for Marcel Rivers, 146, Phila., 2-0 (1), over Jamaal Gregory, 145 ½, Charlotte, 1-1 (1), in an interesting four. Not a lot had happened into the third when the bigger Gregory stuck out a jab and Rivers dropped a nice right over the top to send him to the canvas early in the round. Jamaal regrouped and got back into the fight, with Rivers seeming to punch himself out and give ground. Marcel brought nothing into the final round but had enough of a lead to win 39-36 on all cards.
A match of debutees pitted Ishmael Altman, 152, Arapahoe, NC, against Tyree Crowder, 157 ½, Phila., four. The contest started slow and escalated through the last two. The circling Crowder landed a couple left hook counters to edge the tame first. The tall and rangy Altman forced the action behind the jab to have his strongest round in the second.

Ishmael put some one-twos together in good action in the third, but Tyree finally began to attack late in the round and made it close. Crowder then made a big effort starting the fourth, but this time it was Ishmael’s turn to mount a late rally. All three (Poturaj, Lundy, and Adam Friscia) made it a rare and fair unanimous draw, 38-38.

Technically it was a bad fight between Vinnie DeNierio, 136, Geneva, NY, 1-2 (1), and Marko Bailey, 134 ½, Durham, NC, 5-0 (3), but still had enough action and drama to produce an entertaining four. The gawky southpaw crowd favorite DeNierio was the only one fighting at the start. But by the third, the short, square-shouldered Bailey had warmed to the task and was applying effective pressure. One good right to the body doubled Vinnie over and had him yielding ground. Action was sloppy but earnest in a final-round shootout. The smaller Marko forced the action inside, got hurt by a right counter, but then turned the tide back in his favor behind a body attack. Friscia scored 38-38, but Kinney and Poturaj gave the fair majority verdict to Marko, 39-37.

The walkout six was barely a footnote as Alvin Varmall, 187 ¼, Catskill, NY, 11-0-1 (9), walked over Juan Reyna, 201, Brownsville, TX, 6-7-1 (2), in just 2:02. Built like a weight lifter, the favorite swarmed the underdog on the ropes. Reyna had nothing to hold him off and took to crouching and covering, finally going down in a corner from a chopping right behind the head. Getting up rubbing the back of his head and trying to flee, Reyna finally went down along the ropes as a means of escape. He barely got onto his feet, but Talmadge called it a KO.

In memory of K.O.J.O.