ProBox Promotions delivered another midweek banger Wednesday, November 1 from the ProBox Event Center in Plant City, Florida, live on ProBox TV and YouTube.
Get used to it, folks, as we’ve been doing it twice a month all year, and we’re determined to delight fight fans by filling the void left from Friday Night Fights and ShoBox: The New Generation.
In this week’s bouts, we saw top tier performances from rising star Mykell Gamble, from returning featherweight supremo Angelo Leo, and from southpaw skillster Alberto Palmetta
Alberto Palmetta prevailed in back-and-forth battle with Janelson Figueroa Bocachica
Alberto Palmetta used his physical strength to out-point pure boxer Janelson Figueroa Bocachica in the ProBox Promotions main event.
The scores of 97-93 (Dennis DeBon) and two of 96-94 (Joanne Richard and Tito Wilgo) appeared to surprise Bocachica, as all three judges awarded the Argentine southpaw with the win after 10 rounds.
Bocachica boxed well behind the jab, increased his aggression throughout the fight, and land hard overhand rights later in the bout.
The judges, though, preferred Palmetta's work as he bullied Bocachica into the ropes early in the fight, set traps to score a left hand as well as a left uppercut, and scored with shots to the body.
Palmetta said post-fight that the difference was his pressure-fighting.
“The pressure was the difference,” he said through translator and ProBox commentator Paulie Malignaggi.
“I noticed before the fight that he likes to throw a couple of shots and takes his time and space. In boxing you have to be able to keep the pace. My pressure was the difference.”
He finished by saying: “I want to be a world champion.”
Angelo Leo scores ninth round finish in first fight for 26 months
Angelo Leo showed little to no ring rust in his return to boxing after a 26-month hiatus, as he finished Nicolas Polanco in the ninth round after a featherweight war broke out at the ProBox Event Center.
Leo said before the fight that he and his team were expecting Polanco to fight like he had a point to prove, knowing victory would score him a significant scalp at 126-pounds.
However, having sparred Nonito Donaire and Shakur Stevenson, Leo was well-prepared, worked his jab, drilled a left hook to Polanco’s body, and threw punches in bunches for much of the night.
He did not have it all his own way but he weathered the storm and landed another signature shot — the counter right, until the referee ended the bout in the ninth due to a shoulder injury from Polanco.
“I've been active,” Leo said after his win, explaining why he showed no ring rust in his return. “I'm back and ready to get that second world title.”
“Everyone knows me as a body puncher and that's exactly what I did tonight. I hit the body.
“Polanco is a tough fighter. He's fought lightweights, bigger fighters than me. I knew I had to work the body to slow him down. Hopefully at the beginning of the year, I'm giving you guys exciting fights.”
Victory advanced Leo’s pro record to 22 wins (10 KOs) and just one defeat — to Stephen Fulton.
Mykell Gamble scores thunderous first-round knockout
Gamble, who is mentored by former WBO junior lightweight champion Jamel Herring, scored a hard knockout in the very first round of his featherweight fight against Carlos Andre Dos Santos Rocha.
Gamble caught Dos Santos Rocha with a one-two combination — a left hook that followed a lead right hand — which landed so cleanly it forced his opponent to face-plant the canvas.
“What a left hand,” ProBox TV analyst and commentator Chris Algieri said on the broadcast.
The official finish arrived after two minutes and one second of the opening round. Victory advanced Gamble’s unbeaten pro record to 6 (4KOs).
“I told them my kid has the goods, all he wanted was an opportunity,” said Herring on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. “Proud of you Mykell. Sky is the limit, kid. On to the next! Thank you ProBox TV and Chris Glover for the opportunity and acknowledgement.”
