ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Danny Murray didn’t need to be told that his record was under .500. At age 33, and with nine years as a professional under his belt, he felt the burden he was under to leave no doubt as he sought a victory over a fighter with a more aesthetically pleasing record. That weighed on his mind Saturday night, as the bell rang for the sixth and final round of his six-round junior welterweight fight against Justin Palmieri at Bally’s Atlantic City.
“I thought I needed a knockout. That’s why you saw me double-jabbing and stepping through with the right hand,” said Murray. “I knew that I needed to show that I was the aggressor to get those points.”
The 33-year-old Murray made just the impression he needed to, defeating Palmieri by split decision. The scores were 58-55 and 57-56 for Murray, from Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey, while the third judge had it 57-56 for Palmieri, of Maple Shade, New Jersey. Murray raised his record to 8-9, while Palmieri dropped to 5-2 (3 KOs) with his second straight defeat.
Murray, who had lost three of his previous four bouts by KO, came out the stronger of the two fighters, landing straight rights that marked up Palmieri’s face and pushed him to the ropes. Palmieri got back into the driver’s seat in the second round, working the body with both hands, slowing Murray’s offense and keeping himself inside his opponent’s heavier punches.
After a back-and-forth fourth round, Murray began to find the range once more with his longer punches in the fifth. That momentum was halted momentarily by the referee deducting a point – without a clear warning – for holding. Knowing he needed a big statement in the final round, Murray delivered, landing heavy right hands that further discolored Palmieri’s left eye and caused him to be the one holding in the sixth.
Palmieri, 25, had lost a unanimous decision to Naheem Parker in October on the Jaron Ennis vs. Uisma Lima undercard.
The win was a boost for Murray – not just professionally but personally as well. A popular brawler from the Jersey Shore, Murray began his career at 3-1 but fell into the “opponent” role after racking up loss after loss against upcoming prospects. With boxing no longer a viable full-time job, Murray took a job as a short-haul truck driver, waking up at 6 a.m. and working until 4 p.m. in order to pay the bills and provide his children with insurance. Murray has sometimes gotten in his training during breaks at work.
Even with the win, Murray remains at the mercy of a sport that judges boxers by their win-loss record. He says Palmieri’s team seems interested in a rematch, though, in a perfect world, he would want to get a bigger opportunity.
As he celebrated in the ballroom with an adult beverage, Murray seemed content taking in the victory, knowing how fleeting success can be in this sport.
“It was huge. I’m getting older, so every win is important” said Murray. “But this win was even bigger because after a couple of losses, you need to get a win or else who are you?
“Getting this win shows that I can still take on these young, hungry fighters and I’m here to fight my ass off.”
The fight opened up a Rising Star Promotions card headlined by Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna against Juan Rodriguez Jnr.
Murray-Palmieri wasn’t the only upset of the night.
Justus Velez got his career started on a strong note, outworking former amateur standout Bernard Gardner en route to a four-round unanimous decision in their super middleweight bout. All three judges scored the fight 38-37 for Velez, dropping Gardner to 1-1 (1 KO) as a pro.
Velez’s secret to victory was being prepared for a four-round bout, while Gardner, a multiple-time New Jersey Golden Gloves champion who has experienced long gaps of inactivity, had enough stamina only for an aggressive first round, in which he landed hard straight lefts but did virtually nothing afterwards.
Despite being shorter and having a soft midsection, the 27-year-old Velez never stopped coming forward, landing shots to the midsection that sapped Gardner’s stamina. Velez’s frustration with Gardner’s constant holding led him to begin pushing Gardner off of him, while Gardner’s absolute exhaustion caused him to collapse each time they came together. After Gardner collapsed once more in the third, Velez attempted to lift him back up, but the referee had already decided to take a point from Velez.
Gardner would hit the canvas several more times, with the referee twice having to strain his back to pull Gardner up.
Velez had shown his mettle earlier this year in his final amateur bout, in which he went the distance against two-time National Golden Gloves champion Tyric Trapp.
In the event’s only female bout, Lisandra Contreras put on a dominant offensive display, moving to 3-0 (1 KO) with her first pro victory with a second-round stoppage of Shawna Ormsby, 0-6-1, at the 44-second mark. Contreras, a 21-year-old bantamweight from the Dominican Republic who now makes her home in Passaic, New Jersey, basically spent the first round going left hand-right hand. The doctor made Ormsby perform a cognitive test before she could begin the second round, but Contreras had already decided the fight was over, as she sat down on her punches more and ripped with both hands, forcing a referee’s stoppage.
Contreras, a finalist in last year’s USA National Championships, had also competed in the 2022 Youth World Championships.
Not every fight ended in a surprising verdict.
Middleweight prospect Kahshad Elliot, 7-0 (6 KOs), of Plainfield, New Jersey, kept his undefeated record intact, knocking out Omar Rosales, 9-6-1 (5 KOs), with a sweeping right at the end of the second round.
Lightweight prospect Michael “Go” Harris shook off the mind games and occasional right hands of Kevin Asmat to win a unanimous decision in their four-round bout. All three judges scored it a shutout at 40-36, all for Harris, 4-0 (1 KO), of Trenton, New Jersey.
Harris, a 26-year-old with a sharp jab, established his lead hand against his shorter opponent in the first round. Asmat had a better second round as he used head movement to get inside and land left hooks to the body. Instead of falling into his opponent’s trap, Harris stuck to his game plan, putting punches together and landing with both hands to secure the victory.
Ofacio Falcon, 14-0 (8 KOs), of The Bronx, New York, scored his second straight first-round stoppage in their six-round scheduled junior lightweight bout, pummeling the overmatched Headley Scott, 18-4 (12 KOs), before the referee stopped the fight at 2 minutes and 32 seconds. Scott, 39, looked out of sorts as he was spun around amid the nonstop aggression of his 25-year-old opponent.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.