Monaghan Impressive Again, Oosthuizen Captures Decision

Matchmaker Joe Quiambao put together another exciting card for Dibella Entertainment last night at Manhattan's historic Roseland Ballroom.

The main event featured rising light heavyweight contender "Irish" Seanie Monaghan (15-0, 10 KO's), who flattened George Armenta (14-10, 11 KO's) in the third round with a crushing right-hand shot.

Monaghan, 30, controlled the pace from the beginning behind a steady left jab. Just as the bell sounded to end round two, Monaghan connected with an overhand right that put Armenta swiftly on the canvas.

After Monaghan landed a right-left combination, Armenta began to throw a right hand when Monaghan stepped forward and struck him with a short right cross. Armenta could not beat the ten count. The knockout blow looked similar to Mike Tyson smashing Frans Botha in the fifth round of their epic heavyweight contest in 1999.

South African super middleweight Thomas Oosthuizen (20-0-1, 13 KO's) kept his unbeaten record intact, winning the IBO Super Middleweight championship via twelve-round unanimous decision versus Rowland Bryant (16-2, 11 KO's). Official scores were 118-110 and 117-111 twice.

Oosthuizen, a southpaw, dominated the fight when he landed combinations off his double jab. When he didn't double up on the jab, Bryant successfully connected with thunderous shots, especially overhand rights. Bryant pressed the action, as Oosthuizen utilized his superior lateral movement. Both men displayed a sturdy chin, giving fans an excellent co-main event. The fight was closer than the official scores indicated.

Junior featherweight Heather "The Heat" Hardy won her professional debut against Mikayla Nebel (0-3) in a slugfest. Hardy survived a scare in round one when she was floored by a flush overhand right. Hardy recovered quickly and finished the round strong. In the final round, Nebel appeared gassed while Hardy kept unleashing bombs. All three judges scored the fight 38-37 in favor of Hardy.

Other Bouts

Brooklyn's Boyd Melson (8-1, 3 KO's) earned a hard fought, six-round unanimous decision versus Khalik Memminger (6-9-3, 3 KO's) in a junior middleweight bout. Melson tallied 59-55 on all three official scorecards.

Floriano Pagliara (13-4-2, 6 KO's) battled Willie Villanueva (10-4-0, 2 KO's) to a six-round, split-decision draw in a back and forth lightweight match. Official scores were 57-57, 58-56 for Pagliara and 58-56 for Villanueva.

Surprisingly, Pagliara was the aggressor and Villanueva used more efficient lateral movement. In the first round, Pagliara did not employ his left jab much. Villanueva closed the fourth round with a vicious body shot, as Pagliara lay against the ropes. During the fifth round, Villanueva hammered Pagliara with a crisp right cross-left hook combination to the head. Pagliara continually got tagged with clean right-hand shots and had trouble fighting on the inside. Both men exhibited bloody faces when the final bell sounded.

Junior welterweight Zachary Ochoa improved to (2-0, 2 KO's), stopping Cody Osbourne (0-3) with a lightning-quick left jab in round one. Official time of the stoppage was :42.

Jersey City's Jonathan Cepeda (12-0, 11 KO's) stopped Orphius Waite (7-5-2, 5 KO's) at 1:42 of round one in a super middleweight match-up. Cepeda knocked Waite down with a savage right-hand blow. Then, a left hook sent Waite stumbling into the ropes and onto the canvas. After rising to his feet a second time, Cepeda nailed him with a rock-solid, right cross-left hook combination and the bout was immediately halted.

In a crowd-pleasing, junior welterweight bout, Allan Benitez (7-1, 1 KO) won a six-round, unanimous decision against veteran Osnel Charles (9-4-1, 1 KO). Official scores were 59-55 twice and 58-56. Both fighters landed solid punches throughout the fight, but neither man severely hurt the other. Benitez is trained by the well-known Robert Garcia.