On Saturday, the Prudential Center hosted Crossroads in Brick City. This Jersey-centric boxing card from RDR Promotions featured ten fighters from the Garden State. The ten-fight card included Brick City’s own Anthony Johns, who fought for the IBF North American Super Flyweight title, and Yoell Cooper’s second professional fight, the 18-year-old phenom who faced Ricardo Elizalde on the undercard.
The first fight of the night featuring a New Jersey boxer was the second bout, in which Vladimir Dalton, representing Linden, knocked out Ibrahim Fofana (2-1) in the first round, moving his record to 3-0. The opening 90 seconds were action-packed, with both fighters landing numerous punches. However, Dalton was the aggressor after those initial exchanges, landing two knockdowns, the second of which ended the fight.
New Jersey remained well represented in the next fights, as two fighters from the state won by knockout. Tayvon Fish (Rahway), making his professional debut at 33, secured a second-round knockout over Rahmel McKinley after a devastating body shot put McKinley down. Zahir Abdus Salaam (Newark) showed he wasn’t being paid by the hour, dispatching Caleb Downs in 20 seconds in the first round of a fight that was a mismatch during introductions. Unfortunately, Jersey City’s Bernard Gardner did not fare as well, as his bout against Famous Wilson ended in an uneventful unanimous draw that did no favors for either man.
Newark’s own Yoell “Boy Boy The Butcher” Cooper fought his second professional bout against journeyman Ricardo Elizalde from Tulsa, Oklahoma, as Cooper looked to remain undefeated. After a so-so first round in which Cooper found his footing late, the West Side High School senior began unleashing shot after shot at Elizalde, resulting in three knockdowns and prompting Elizalde’s corner to stop the fight at the 1:56 mark of the round. The win moved Cooper to 2-0 in his young pro career as he continues his rise through the ranks.
In one of two fights between fighters from Jersey, Muadh Abdus-Salaam, the brother of the victorious Zahir from earlier in the evening, took down Michael Ruiz (Toms River) after Ruiz declined to continue before the fourth and final round. Muadh knocked Ruiz down twice in the third round as the pressure intensified, helping the brothers secure two wins at The Rock.
In the co-main event, Anthony Johns faced Angel Geovanny Meza Morales for the Super Flyweight title in a 10-round bout. The first two rounds were a feeling-out session for both fighters, with limited action as the crowd started to turn on the bout. While Johns may have come in as the favorite, he was up-and-down throughout the fight, showing flashes of brilliance while at the same time taking hard blows from Morales (11-5-3) and looking timid. While the fight was uneven, the three judges had completely different scores, as if they had watched different fights. In the end, Johns (12-1) escaped with a split decision to win the IBF Super Flyweight North American title.
The main event of the Crossroads in Brick City card was the second New Jersey vs. New Jersey matchup. Michael Anderson from Newark and Nimal Farmer from Lindenwold were finishing up the night. Farmer was the aggressor throughout the fight, while Anderson struggled to find the range to capitalize on any momentum he saw. In the end, Farmer won a unanimous decision in the final fight of the night at The Rock.
Fight of the Night
The fight of the night was in the Super Lightweight division, with Juan Rivera V facing Chuckie Driver. Rivera dominated throughout the fight, particularly in rounds 3-7, as Driver absorbed punishment but did not go down once. Driver continued to fight in the ninth round, prompting many in the crowd to call for the fight to be stopped due to the punishment he was taking.
After the ninth round, the referee went to Driver’s corner to confirm whether Driver would enter the tenth round, and Driver said he would continue. The tenth round was action-packed, as Driver landed power shots of his own on Rivera, more than likely winning the round. In the end, Rivera won all ten rounds on two of three scorecards, resulting in a unanimous decision and moving his undefeated record to 11-0.
In the end, the card was a showcase for boxers from Newark and the surrounding areas. They showed up and put on a show for an enthusiastic crowd that appreciated the effort of everyone involved. Needless to say, we will be hearing the names of many of these boxers in the future as they strive to move up the ranks in their weight classes and build careers that will make the state proud.
