The popular heavyweight from Bayside defeated Joe Lenhart by fifth-round knockout in the co-feature of “Paradise Punch-Out,” a card produced by Star Boxing at the…
By Dylan Butler
Bermuda is a popular vacation spot for most, but Vinny Maddalone’s visit was all work.
The popular heavyweight from Bayside defeated Joe Lenhart by fifth-round knockout in the co-feature of “Paradise Punch-Out,” a card produced by Star Boxing at the Bermuda Athletic Associations Grounds June 12.
“I’ve had my last three fights postponed so I’ve been in the gym since January,” Maddalone said. “I think it was my best performance. I was consistent with my punches and I didn’t get tired. The big thing is that I didn’t punch myself out.”
Maddalone, who improved to 21-1 with 15 knockouts, systematically cut down the 6-foot-7, 316-pound giant in the scheduled 10-rounder, and the fight was stopped when the Holy Cross graduate sent Lenhart to the canvas for the second time in the fifth round.
“He was so big; he was like a monster,” Maddalone said of Lenhart. “It was like chopping down a redwood tree. I just went to the body.”
Maddalone, who at 6-foot-2, 231 pounds isn’t exactly tiny, said he wasn’t cut in the fight, which allows him to get right back in the ring to prepare for his next bout. He is tentatively scheduled to fight Brian Minto (15-0) on ESPN2’s long-running “Friday Night Fights” series.
The card, which will be at the Tropicana in Atlantic City, N.J., is expected to be headlined by a heavyweight battle between Oleg Maskaev and David Defiagbon. Defiagbon improved to 21-0 with 12 KOs with a fifth-round technical knockout over Ron Guerrero in the main event in Bermuda.
“Hopefully after the next one,” Maddalone said, “we’ll get a good shot somewhere.”
Barrett awaits the call
Monte Barrett, one of the hottest names in the heavyweight division these days, could get the fight he’s been waiting for as negotiations are underway to put the South Jamaica native in the ring with Vitali Klitschko for the Ukrainian's World Boxing Council heavyweight championship.
The bout could take place at Madison Square Garden at some point in December.
“
Barrett, ranked eighth in the world by the WBC, last fought at the Garden on Dec. 6, when he lost a controversial majority decision to undefeated Joe Mesi. But the former all-city football player at John Adams shook off that loss and upset prospect Dominick Guinn March 27.
One of Barrett’s three losses has come to Vitali Klitschko’s brother Wladimir, who won by seventh-round technical knockout July 15, 2000.
In this corner
Three Queens-based boxers will be featured on promoter Lou DiBella’s latest installment of his Broadway Boxing series Thursday at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan.
Jaidon Codrington, the national Golden Gloves and 2004 New York Golden Gloves champion, will be making his professional debut against Brooklyn’s Karim Shabbazz in a four-round light heavyweight bout.
Nigerian Ehinomen “Hino” Ehikhamenor (3-0, 2 KOs) will be featured in a six-round cruiserweight bout and Queens resident Jose Espinal (3-2-1) will face Staten Island’s Gary Stark (8-0, 4 KOs) in a six-round junior featherweight.
Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by E-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
