Wolak and Rodriguez fight to draw in classic

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK — For thirty-six minutes, Pawel Wolak and Delvin Rodriguez turned midtown Manhattan’s Roseland Ballroom into the Roseland Brawlroom as they went at it from bell to bell in an exhilarating fight that was ultimately ruled a majority draw.

There’s no secret as to what Pawel Wolak’s gameplan is inside the boxing ring: come forward, bring pressure, force the action. On Friday night, Delvin Rodriguez was tasked with figuring out a way to turn off a constantly charging Wolak’s engine.

For the first two rounds, Wolak’s pressure looked like it may be too much for Rodriguez, who struggled to ward off his Polish opponent. Wolak fired punch after punch from point-blank range, doing most of his work to Rodriguez’s midsection.

In the third round, Rodriguez seemed to find working solutions to Wolak’s aggressiveness. The Connecticut native used a combination of jabs, right uppercuts, and left hooks to Wolak’s face to slow him down as best he could.

It would be those left hooks to the right eye of Wolak that would ultimately add an extra element into the fight.

By the fifth round, those hooks began to take a toll on Wolak’s eye — it began to swell.

After two more action packed rounds, Wolak stood up from his stool to begin round seven only to reveal a giant growth on the right side of his face. His eye didn’t just swell up — his eye grew — it ballooned. At any moment it looked as if a Rodriguez left hook to the growth would cause it to deflate, and Wolak would look like a human being again.

Except, those left hook’s did the exact opposite. As Wolak continued to walk forward, Rodriguez — in retreat, continued to pepper Wolak’s right side. While Wolak ultimately threw more punches and pressed the action, Rodriguez threw the more effective and precise punches. It was amazing to watch the constant back and forth, to see what style would ultimately win out.

At the ends of the 7th, 8th, and 9th rounds, the ringside physician inspected Wolak’s swelling eye and ruled he was fit to continue.

Rodriguez had his best rounds late. Landing a majority of punches he threw, finding it just a bit easier to create some space to get off his own punches before eating a few of Wolak’s wild blows to the body.

By round ten, the entire Ballroom was on their feet. Half the crowd supporting Rodriguez, waving “DR” towels in the air, chanting “Delvin! Delvin!”. The other half, wearing some sort of Polish gear or standing behind one of two large flags, one that read “New York Polska” and the other that read “Raging Bull Pawel Wolak” chanted “Pawel! Pawel!”

They continued to battle until the final bell. Thirty-six minutes, non-stop action. ESPN Friday Night Fight’s Fight Of The Year frontrunner.

From ringside I scored the bout 96-94, Wolak.

The important people, Tom Schreck, Steve Weisfeld, and Julie Lederman disagreed

Judge Tom Schreck saw the bout 97-93, Rodriguez, while Judges Steve Weisfeld and Julie Lederman agreed on a 95-95 score, which resulting in the fight being ruled a majority draw.

I think it’s safe to say that I can speak for all those watching, in attendance or on the World Wide Leader…. “Rematch, please!”

The co-feature of the evening Raymond Serrano (15-0, 8 KO’s, 141 ¼lbs) took on Daniel Sostre (11-3-1, 4 KO’s, 141 ¼lbs). Neither fighter took their time feeling each other out, as they both began the bout by throwing aggressive combinations. Serrano was more patient and worked Sostre’s body very effectively. The right hand was the main punch of the fight, as both fighters were able to land that fight effectively. Sostre was able to land them from the outside, and Serrano was able to get his in as counterpunches while in closer.

Halfway through the fight, neither fighter was in total control, but Serrano seemed to have trouble figuring out Sostre, who was landing some hard shots. As the bout continued, Serrano regained his composure and began pressing the action onto his fading opponent. It appeared that Serrano’s excellent body work was paying off. As Sostre continued to tire, the fight began to get more and more sloppy. Still, Serrano maintained his composure and smartly boxed his way towards a unanimous decision with scores that read 78-74, 78-74, and 77-75.—Arben Paloka

Rogelio Sanchez vs. Steven Gamache — 4 Rounds, middleweight

In the first of two swing bouts that followed the main event, New York City’s Steven Gamache scored a unanimous decision victory over Fort Wayne, Indiana’s Rogelio Sanchez.

About a minute or so into the first round, Gamache landed a perfectly placed right hand on Sanchez’s chin, sending him to the canvas. Sanchez beat the referee’s ten count and did surprisingly well the remainder of the round.

In the third round, Sanchez almost evened the score when he landed a huge right of his own that wobbled his hometown counterpart. Unlike Sanchez in round one, however, Gamache remained upright and weathered the mild storm.

In the end, one judge saw the bout 40-35 and two others scored it 39-36, all in favor of Gamache.

With the win, Gamache improves to 2-0, 1 KO, while Sanchez remains winless and falls to 0-4.

Reggie LaCrete vs. Lionel “Lonnie B.” Thompson — 4 Rounds, cruiserweight

The final bout of the evening saw two undefeated New York cruiserweights square off against one another: Brooklyn’s Reggie LaCrete and Buffalo’s Lionel Thompson.

Although he entered the bout having not lost a bout in six professional fights, it was clear from the get-go that Reggie LaCrete was going to get one handed to him courtesy of Thompson.

It was ultimately Thompson’s slickness and speed that did LaCrete in — he struggled finding his target for all four rounds. Thompson is a promising prospect who has a little bit of Roy Jones Jr. in him. He’s slick, he throws from all angles, he’s got flair, cockiness, and for better or worse, keeps his hands at his sides.

While I’d advise against keeping your hands below your belt, it didn’t matter for Thompson tonight — he was elusive.

The first professional bout of the evening featured Kevin Rooney Jr (1-0, 155lbs) take on Elmer Vera (0-1, 151 ½lbs). Rooney is the son of famous trainer Kevin Rooney, who is most notable for training Mike Tyson at his peak.

Vera came out swinging right from the opening bell. He aggressively worked Rooney into the ropes and occasionally landed some flush shots around Rooney’s guard. Halfway through the round, with his back against the ropes, Rooney landed a flush left hook onto Vera’s chin, stunning him. This turned the tide of the fight, and Rooney became the aggressor. A right by Rooney continued to keep Vera on the retreat. Vera was landing some punches of his own, but did not have the same power in his punches while going backwards.

As the ten second mark came, both fighters threw flurries hoping to make a lasting impact on their opponent. It was Rooney who landed the last shot. At the exact moment when the bell rang, Rooney landed a right hand right on the button, knocking Vera down. The crowd went wild, and Vera was unable to beat the ten count. Rooney was credited with a first round knockout at 3:00 of the first round.
Rooney also handles public relations for Joe Deoguardia’s Star Boxing, and was required to get back to his duties immediately following the bout.–Arben Paloka

He won on all three judge’s scorecards, 40-36.

Thompson improves his record to 8-0, 5 KOs, while LaCrete suffers his first professional defeat and falls to 4-1-2, 3 KOs.