DeMarcus Corley Shines
Bright in Darwish Brothers Return
February 4, 2009
(FEB 3) East Rutherford, NJ- Staging
their first boxing show in four years, Darwish Brothers Knockout
Promotions returned to the sport in a big way Tuesday night at the
Meadowlands Sheraton Hotel in East Rutherford, NJ. The show was streamed
live across the world online at GoFightLive.tv and featured some of New
Jersey's hottest rising talent, as well the return of DeMarcus "Chop
Chop" Corley.
"The atmosphere was electric," says Wally Darwish, who promoted the show
alongside his brother Hani. "The bouts were evenly matched and none of
the fights were walk-overs. There wasn't a single fan that left
unsatisfied. Our next show is going to be bigger and better." The next
event will take place at the same venue in March with a date to be
announced shortly.
In the ten-round main event, former junior-welterweight world champion
DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley of Washington DC and former title challenger
Wilson "El Topadora" Enrique Galli of Long Island by way of Salto
Uruguayo, Uruguay both knew they needed a win to get back into world
title contention. In a classic boxer versus brawler matchup, DeMarcus
"Chop Chop" Corley scored a seventh round TKO over his tough adversary.
Official time was 1:23.
Corley, 140.5, established his speed of hand and foot over Galli, 141.5,
early in the first round. A Corley left cross on Galli's nose sent the
three-time South American champion. Galli showed a ton of grit as he
survived the assault and began to come forward, applying sustained
pressure to the former WBO 140 pound champion. The two traded blows
throughout, Galli finding most of his success with the right hand while
Corley preferred to uppercut with both hands.
In the seventh round Corley sensed that his opponent was beginning to
fade as he pushed him back. Corley landed a huge straight left cross on
Galli's chin that sent him sprawling to the floor a second time. Galli
bravely rose to his feet but his corner wisely threw in the towel. The
time was 1:23.
"I felt my performance was great," said Corley, now 33-10-1 (19 KO). "On
a scale of one to ten, I give myself a nine. I'm not back where I should
be but I'm getting there. I'll be back in the gym on Thursday and I'm
going to stay busy. Look forward to me continue fighting great fights
and becoming world champion again soon. I want to thank the Darwish
Brothers for having me on their card and I hope to do it again soon."
Galli drops to 31-9 (13 KO).
In a stunning upset, Hector Rivera of Passaic, NJ defeated previously
unbeaten Omar Brito of Pleasantville, NJ by a four-round unanimous
decision. Brito, 135, suffered the first knockdown of his young career
in the first round when a southpaw right hook from Rivera, 134, crashed
into him. Brito survived the round but once again a right hook would be
his bane as a second knockdown followed. Realizing that he had to catch
up in a big way, Brito uncorked a huge right hand in the third round
that put Sanchez on the canvas and turned the tide. Brito pulled out all
of the stops in the fourth round but it was too little, too late. Scores
were 37-36 across the board. Rivera improves to 2-4 (1 KO) while Brito
drops to 1-1 (1 KO).
Cruiserweight prospect Elvin Sanchez of Paterson, NJ wasted little time
disposing of Charles Presnell, 198.5, of Fernley, NV by way of Masan
City, South Korea. Fifty-six seconds into the first round Sanchez, 198,
blasted a southpaw right hook to Presnell's liver that momentarily left
him paralyzed. Sanchez, who is managed by Lou Duva, was a class above
his opponent. Sanchez raises his record to 2-0 (2 KO) while Presnell
drops to 0-3.
Despite giving away 21 pounds to his opponent, New Jersey tough guy
William "Big Will" Gill of Newark, NJ, 183, pitched an eight-round
shutout over Chuck Berry, 204, of Philadelphia, NJ. Gill, who has a
deceptive record despite his propensity to pull off upset wins, showed
his class against his much bigger opponent. Gill frequently used his
speed and power advantage while hitting his opponent seemingly at will.
Berry showed plenty of heart and never stopped trying but it was Gill's
night. Scores were 78-75, 77-76, and 79-72, all in favor of Gill,
now 9-21 (7 KO) over Berry, now 4-8 (3 KO).
Unbeaten welterweight prospect Rashad Bogar, 147, of Newark, NJ picked
up his second win in as many fights but it wasn't easy. Rami Ibrahim,
145, of Philadelphia used every trick in the book and even a few some
have never seen before to ruffle the 2007 Golden Gloves champ. It was
Bogar who held the decisive edge in power, speed and technique and that
was the difference. Ibrahim, a superstar in the Muay Thai community
ranked number 3 in the world, drops to 2-8 while Bogar moves to 2-0 (1
KO). The scores were identical at 39-37. Source/PR
