LIGHTWEIGHTS WESLEY FERRER AND WILL MADERA BATTLE TO A DRAW

Published by Shawn C.

*New York, NY (12/15/17) -* In front of a packed house on Thursday night,
DiBella Entertainment returned to B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in midtown
Manhattan for its year-end “Season’s Beatings” edition of *Broadway Boxing*.
The bouts were streamed live on DiBella Entertainment’s Facebook page.*Broadway
Boxing* is presented by Nissan of Queens, Azad Watches, OPTYX and Christos
Steak House.

It was Brooklyn against Albany in the eight-round main event featuring
undefeated lightweight prospects Wesley “El Bongocero” Ferrer, 135.8 lbs.,
and “Ill” Will Madera, 135.4 lbs. This was a classic boxer versus puncher
matchup, with Ferrer jabbing to the body and head and Madera working to
close the gap. When inside, Madera focused on attacking the midsection. In
rounds three and four, Ferrer’s switch to the southpaw stance proved very
effective as Madera could not figure out how to get past the jab. Back to
orthodox in the fifth, Ferrer added left hooks to his arsenal as well.
Madera came on strong in the last three rounds, again landing in
combination to the body. In an exciting seventh stanza, Ferrer and Madera
went toe-to-toe, trading powerful shots. The final three minutes saw Madera
continue to throw in combination to the body and Ferrer setting up straight
rights with flashy jabs. After eight rounds, the scorecards read 77-75 each
way, and 76-76, for a draw verdict. Both boxers remained unbeaten, with
Ferrer 12-0-1 (7 KOs) and Madera 11-0-1 (5 KOs). This bout was promoted by
DiBella Entertainment in association with Liveco Boxing. In addition to his
boxing career, Madera, a father of six, works as a residential counselor at
the Center for Disability Services in Albany. Now managed by Tommy
Gallagher, Ferrer was a two-time New York Golden Gloves champion, 2012 New
York Amateur Boxing champion and New York City Metro Tournament champion,
as well as a participant at the 2013 National Golden Gloves.

In a battle of undefeated welterweight prospects, Irishman “Lethal” Larry
Fryers, 146, dominated Puerto Rican Charles “Mr. Hollywood” Natal, 144.2
lbs., for six rounds with a vocal fan base cheering from ringside. Fryers
was the busier and more aggressive fighter throughout, consistently landing
a stiff jab and straight right hand upstairs. The slick Natal, originally
from Catano, Puerto Rico, but now fighting out of Cleveland, OH, was a bit
tentative, content to play the role of counterpuncher. While the Puerto
Rican did pick up the pace in the second half, showing his best work in the
fifth with combinations on the inside, overall Fryers outworked him. The
Irishman closed the show, digging damaging hooks to the body in the final
frame. The judges tallied 60-54 twice, and 59-55, all for Fryers via
unanimous decision to improve his record to 6-0 (2 KOs). Suffering his
first defeat, Natal’s ledger dropped to 9-1-2 (3 KOs). Fighting out of
Clones, County Monaghan, Ireland, now based in The Bronx, NY, Fryers began
boxing at 10 years old at his father’s gym, and turned pro in August 2016.
This bout was also promoted by DiBella Entertainment in association with
Liveco Boxing.

*(Photo Credit: Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment)*

Former WBC world lightweight champion Dejan “Dynamite” Zlaticanin, 139.4
lbs., needed less than two minutes to rebound from his first pro defeat,
stopping Colombian Heivinson Herrera, 137, in impressive fashion. The
southpaw bobbed and weaved his way inside, saw an opening to land his
overhand left and kept throwing it. Trapping Herrera in a neutral corner,
Zlaticanin unleashed a combination to send his foe to the canvas. With
Herrera in obvious pain, the referee halted the action at the 1:57 mark.
Zlaticanin, who was the first boxer from Montenegro to win a world title in
the sweet science, improved to 23-1 (16 KOs), while Herrera fell to 22-14-1
(16 KOs). Zlaticanin won the WBC 135lb. world title in June of 2016, but
then lost it to Mikey Garcia on January 28, 2017. With his first return
victory, Zlaticanin, trained by James “Buddy” McGirt, is ready to climb
back up the world rankings to seize another title opportunity.

*(Photo Credit: Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment)*

Undefeated junior middleweight prospects Hurshidbek Normatov, 153.4 lbs.,
and Nicklaus Flaz, 151.6 lbs., clashed in an action-packed six-round bout
with an ebb and flow throughout. Distance was key for both fighters, with
the Puerto Rican Flaz, of Vega Alta, controlling the inside and the
southpaw Normatov, of Andijan, Uzbekistan, the outside. Flaz applied
pressure early on, while finding a home for his overhand right. Trained by
Andre Rozier out of Brooklyn, NY, and managed by David McWater’s Split-T
Management, Normatov had his best moments keeping Flaz at bay with his jab
and landing counter right hooks. Many rounds included exciting exchanges.
Some of Flaz’ body attack landed below the belt, resulting in two point
deductions in rounds four and five. As the Puerto Rican fatigued late,
Normatov continued to land his counters. Following six frames, while Flaz
was busier, Normatov was the more accurate puncher. The scorecards read
59-53, 58-54, and 57-55, all for Normatov by way of unanimous decision.
Normatov climbed to 5-0 (2 KOs), while Flaz ended the night at 5-1 (4 KOs).
Both Normatov and Flaz were highly touted amateurs, with Normatov competing
in 324 bouts, winning the 2014 European National Championships, and Flaz
compiling an 88-7 record, becoming a three-time National champion.

Dominican heavyweight prospect George Arias, 240.8 lbs., of The Bronx, NY,
earned his fifth victory of 2017 by scoring a second-round knockout against
Taylor, Michigan’s Juan Goode, 260, to improve to 10-0 (6 KOs). In round
one, Arias showed fluidity, boxing on his toes and jabbing to keep Goode at
bay. A few overhand rights hurt Goode near the bell. Arias was busier in
the second, landing in combination. A series of left hooks sent Goode to
his knees for a full count at the 2:19 mark. Arias, who won the 2014 New
York Golden Gloves tournament as an amateur, is now trained and managed by
Leon Washington Jr. and advised by Andre Rozier. With the loss, Goode’s
record evened up at 8-8 (6 KOs).