NEWARK, N.J. — RDR Promotions’ “Crossroads at Brick City” event lived up to its billing on Saturday, June 6 as Nimal Farmer earned the biggest victory of his professional career and Anthony Johns captured the IBF North American junior bantamweight title at Prudential Center.
Farmer (7-1-2, 4 KOs) headlined the show with an impressive unanimous decision victory over Newark veteran Michael “Slick” Anderson (25-5-1, 19 KOs). The 25-year-old switch-hitter from Lindenwold, New Jersey earned scores of 80-72, 80-72 and 79-73 after displaying speed, combination punching and ring generalship throughout the eight-round main event. It was a much needed win for Farmer as he was coming off his first defeat and two draws in his last three fights.
In the co-main event, Newark’s Anthony Johns (12-1, 6 KOs) captured the vacant IBF North America junior bantamweight title with a hard-fought split decision victory over Mexico’s Angel Geovanny Meza Morales (11-5-3, 7 KOs).
Johns prevailed by scores of 98-92 and 96-94, while the third judge favored Morales by a score of 99-91 in a competitive ten-round battle. The former National Golden Gloves champion applied steady pressure and effective body work in the late rounds to secure the victory. The victory in his first ten-round fight places Johns in position to pursue higher rankings and bigger opportunities in the 115-pound division.
One of the evening’s most impressive performances came from undefeated Philadelphia prospect Juan Rivera V, who improved to 11-0 (5 KOs) with a dominant unanimous decision over Chuckie Driver (12-2, 7 KOs). Rivera’s sharp combinations, movement and body punching carried him to scores of 100-89, 100-89 and 99-90.
Newark’s Muadh Abdus-Salaam continued his rise through the professional ranks, improving to 5-0 (2 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of Michael Ruiz (2-10-2). The former Delaware State University football standout scored a first-round knockdown and controlled the action throughout before forcing the stoppage. His younger brother Zahir Abdus-Salaam (4-0, 1 KO), a former Western Michigan University running back, needed just 20 seconds to stop Caleb Dodson (0-2) of Oklahoma, scoring a knockout with a perfectly timed left hook.
Fellow Newark prospect Yoel “Boy Boy” Cooper remained unbeaten, improving to 2-0 (2 KOs) with a second-round knockout of Ricardo Elizalde (0-3). The 18-year-old showcased poise beyond his years, breaking down his opponent behind a consistent jab before earning the stoppage 56 seconds into the second round.
Former amateur rivals Bernard Gardner (1-1-1, 1 KO) and Famous Wilson (4-0-1, 2 KOs) fought to an entertaining four-round draw, with all three judges returning identical 38-38 scorecards.
Linden’s Tayvon Fish made a successful professional debut after nearly nine years away from competition, stopping Rahmel McKinley (1-4) with a body shot in the second round of their welterweight contest.
Elizabeth cruiserweight Vladimir Dalton improved to 3-0 (1 KO) with a first-round knockout of previously unbeaten Ibrahima Fofana (2-1, 2 KOs), while Daniel Ivanovski improved to 6-0 (4 KOs) with a unanimous decision victory over Najm Khan (1-1) in the evening’s opening bout.