By Francisco Salazar
Unbeaten fighters, local talent, and fighters making their United States debut highlight a club show tonight.
Welterweight Konstantin Ponomarev will fight Rogelio Castaneda in a scheduled eight round bout at the Florentine Gardens in Hollywood, CA.
The bout will headline an eight-bout “Hollywood Fight Night VI” card, presented by Bash Boxing and Art of Boxing.
Ponomarev (21-0, 10 KOs) will be making his United States debut after fighting abroad in his native Russia and Europe.
In his last bout on June 26th in Chelyabinsk, Russia, Ponomarev won a 10 round unanimous decision over Ghanaian Isaac Ayree.
Tonight will mark the fourth time Pomomarev will fight in 2013.
Ponomarev will be facing his most difficult opponent as a pro in Castaneda. The fighter from Sacramento has fought a who’s who of world champions and contenders.
Castaneda (26-18-3, 8 KOs) lost an eight round unanimous decision to Hector Serrano in his last bout on October 25th in Temecula, CA.
Prior to that bout, Castaneda was knocked out by Oscar Godoy in the second round in Ontario, CA on August 23rd.
In the co-feature bout, unbeaten heavyweight Charles Martin will fight Joey Dawejko in a scheduled six round bout.
Martin (11-0-1, 9 KOs) is coming off a first round knockout victory over Dieuly Aristilde on October 25th in Montebello, CA. The knockout victory was on the heels of a one-sided six round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Vincent Thompson on September 21st.
The southpaw St. Louis, MO native now lives and trains in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson.
Dawejko (8-2-2, 3 KOs) defeated Kevin Franklin by unanimous decision over six rounds on September 26th in Bethlehem, PA. The fighter from Philadelphia has faced and defeated unbeaten fighters in his career, most recently John Lennox in September of 2011.
Another fighter making his United States debut will be John Quigley of Liverpool, England. He will be fighting Dominic Coca in a scheduled four round super featherweight bout.
Quigley (9-0, 2 KOs) hails from Liverpool and has a decent following, mainly because his two older brothers boxed as well. He hopes to compete in the featherweight division after the Coca fight and fight often in 2014.
Coca (8-5-2, 2 KOs) hails from the Watts area of South Los Angeles and is hoping to snap a three bout-losing streak tonight. In his last bout on September 28th in Carson, he was stopped by Gabino Saenz.
Five more bouts round out the card.
There will be a silent auction tonight to benefit former fighter Mike Carracela, who was electrocuted earlier this year while on the job as a construction worker. The injuries left him badly burned and unable to work. Items to be bid on are gloves and posters signed by the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Robert Guerrero, Oscar De La Hoya, Roy Jones Jr., and many more fighters.
Doors to the Florentine Gardens open at 6:30PM local time, with first bell scheduled for 7PM.
Ticket prices range from $125 ringside to $45 general admission. Tickets could be purchased at (626) 388-8888 or at www.hollywoodfightnight.com
The Florentine Gardens is located at 5955 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. He also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Knockout Nation, and Ring. He could be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on twitter at FSalazarBoxing
