Parx Produces Heavyweight Drama and Dazzling Debuts
The Xcite Center was the stage for high drama
Anytime you get a heavyweight headliner from Philly, you can expect fireworks to go off.
Leading into Labor Day weekend, Joey Dawejko starred in his comeback bout against Mike Marshall. His presence brought out some big boxing names. Former heavyweight champion “Terrible” Tim Witherspoon came out to watch the action, as did current heavyweight and rising prospect Sonny “The Bronco” Conto. Also taking in the evening was Jaron “Boots” Ennis, the undefeated welterweight who is lurking in the title picture. Back in Philly and looking for his first win since April 2021, Dawejko looked strong. He was happy to take the center of the ring, letting the more agile Marshall bounce around. While he didn’t throw many combinations, Dawejko was steady in providing a strong body attack. Marshall absorbed more than a few body shots to try and deliver his jabs and crosses, but Dawejko’s blows were the loudest and true momentum stoppers.
The fight was not without drama though. Dawejko absorbed what looked like two accidental eye pokes and kept going. The crowd was also very active during the fight, even resulting in a few exchanges between Dawejko supporters and Marshall, as well as his corner. The fight was turned by a single punch.
A left hook from Dawejko caught Marshall flush and sent him tumbling back first to the canvas. Marshall was able to beat the count and get back on his feet and be active, but one round later Dawejko repeated his feat, again striking with the left hook. Marshall beat the count and the round ended, but the referee ruled him unable to continue.
Dawejko scores a TKO victory and gets back into the ring after a 9 month layoff. He’ll take to the ring again in a month in an 8 round contest, looking to quickly build back up.
Results: Joey Dawejko (22-10-4 13 KOs) W TKO vs Mike Marshall (6-4-1 KOs)
In the co-main event of the evening, Daiyaan Butt showed a high level of boxing skill for six very active rounds against Tyrone Luckey. Butt’s range and athleticism allowed him to move swiftly around the ring, pumping a frequent jab that would eventually bloody Luckey. Despite being visibly hurt several times Luckey held on and even fired back some heavy shots of his own, catching Butt during some moments of overconfidence.
It was Butt’s night, and he’ll look to repeat or improve on the result as he already has a bout scheduled for next month back at Parx.
Results: Daiyaan Butt (11-2-0 5 KOs) W UD vs Tyrone Luckey (15-18-4 11 KOs)
Another of the featured bouts, unfortunately, ended before its time. Christopher Burgos and Nelson Morales were in the process of turning an overly technical fight into a bit of a brawl when an accidental headbutt resulted in the fight being stopped on the advice of the doctor at ringside. Morales took a split decision in the fight. It was one he was letting slip away, not engaging despite his speed and length advantage, instead letting Burgos push forward.
Results: Nelson Morales (3-1-0) W SD vs Christopher Burgos (3-6-2 1 KO)
One of the most impressive performances of the evening belonged to Bryce Mills. Against Carlos Marrero, he showed a variety of offense, good defense, strength, and athleticism that could predict him becoming a fighter main eventing these types of shows very soon, and advancing beyond them after that. Marrero showed a strong chin and willingness to keep pressing, but Mills was far too much.
Results: Bryce Mills (9-1-0 4 KOs) UD W vs Carlos Marrero (3-8-3)
In the running for the most entertaining fight of the night was Brendan O’Callaghan against Soslan Alborov. The Gray’s Ferry resident O’Callaghan brought heart and aggression with every second, despite some less than conventional techniques. Alborov fought with steely resolve, taking two or three punches to let off his own flurry. He fought with a squared-up MMA style, bouncing in and out.
Both fighters landed plenty of clean shots and had the momentum swing in their directions, but the judges could not pick a winner. One judge awarded O’Callaghan the nod for aggression and total punches thrown, but the other two found a deadlocked fight, for the decision of a majority draw.
Result: Soslan Alborov (0-1-1) MD vs Brendan O’Callaghan (2-1-1 1 KO)
The debuting Devin Gantt made his presence felt with the knockout of the night. His faceoff against the also debuting Taijiro Arakawa was a tad frustrating at first, as the spry Arakawa was able to jump around and avoid some larger shots and combinations, but Gantt swarmed continuously and caught Arakawa, sending him face first to the canvas in the 3rd round. We’ll be excited to see Gantt against soon as he builds his career.
Results: Devin Gantt (1-0-0 1 KO) KO vs Taijiro Arakawa (0-1-0)
Also debuting was Tyler Zwicharowski, who showed compact power, an aggressive style, and fantastic fashion sense with his leopard print trim. He used power shots, hooks, and speed to batter Andre Hinmon around the ring until the referee had seen enough of Hinmon attempting to weather a barrage.
Results: Tyler Zwicharowski (1-0-0 1 KO) TKO W vs Andre Hinmon (0-2-0)
In the opener, Everlon Still used his advantage as a southpaw and the classic 1-2 to take down Derrick Vann. Vann was very straight up, and not throwing the straight short punches needed to take down a southpaw. Still kept things simple, landed clean shots, and came out with the unanimous decision.
Results: Everlon Stil (2-2-0 1 KO) UD W vs Derrick Vann (2-5-0)