Local favorites fall as Daniel Gonzalez defeats Michael Anderson, Twaiti defeats Rodriguez in Newark
Khalid Twaiti hit Emmanuel Rodriguez. Photo by Carlo Estonactc
NEWARK – New Yorkers Daniel Gonzalez and Khalid Twaiti had a successful trip across the Hudson River on Saturday, October 12, defeating hometown favorites Michael Anderson and Emmanuel “Salserito” Rodriguez respectively at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.
Gonzalez (22-4-1, 7 knockouts) of the Woodhaven division in Queens, NY showed the versatility of the outgoing boxer “Slick” Anderson to get the biggest win of his career. The 34-year-old Gonzalez won by scores of 99-91 on two cards and 100-90 on the third, handing the 43-year-old Anderson (24-4-1, 18 KOs) his first loss in five years. .
In the main event, Twaiti (14-0, 5 knockouts) took a big step toward a legitimate 118-pound title with a one-sided decision over Newark’s Rodriguez (15-3, 8 KOs) in a ten-round bout. Scores were 99-90 on one card and 98-91 on the other two.
It was clear from the start that Anderson was looking his age as he struggled to land a shot on Gonzalez, who changed his tactics from his aggressive approach and gave Anderson a sideways move. Gonzalez used his jab and side movement to keep Anderson guessing, running to the head and body while Anderson tried to land more than one punch at a time.
Gonzalez beat Michael Anderson. Photo by Carlo Estonactc
Realizing that he was far behind, Anderson came out in the tenth round looking determined, landing left hooks to the body with Gonzalez on the ropes but was unable to turn the fight in a meaningful way.
“It’s just another step forward in the right direction,” said Gonzalez, who is promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing. “I just showed that I’m growing in my body and I’m growing into my talent. I feel like a guy like that, a lot of people think I’m going to fire him but I changed and I trashed him.”
The victory was the second in a row for Gonzalez, who had lost back-to-back fights before defeating Keane McMahon in February via unanimous decision. Gonzalez, who is trained and managed by Moises Roman, says the next fight he will be most interested in is against another New Jersey champion – Roseland’s Vito Mielnicki Jr.
“I hope to get a big call, something from Top Rank. Give me any of those guys, I’ll take them out. I heard [Vito Mielnick Jr.] you’re talking bad, let’s see what happens,” said Gonzalez.
Twaiti owns Rodriguez
Twaiti lived up to his “Pure Gold” nickname, knocking Rodriguez out in the fourth round and winning by scores of 99-90 on one card and 98-91 on the other two cards.
Twaiti, a Yemeni-American who lives in Brooklyn, NY, dominated the fight with his sharp left jab, keeping Rodriguez on the outside as he picked up punches from the distance. Twaiti hit the highlight of the fight in the fourth when a left hook to the body dropped Rodriguez to the ropes. Rodriguez survived the attack but it was clear that he had passed out by then.
Twaiti, who won the NY Golden Gloves title at 114 pounds in 2013, was not satisfied with staying at the top as he pushed for his chance and sought a knockout. Rodriguez was added with a cut above his right eye, which created another target for Twaiti to land his left hook.
Twaiti watched the finish until the final bell rang as Rodriguez could do little more than shake his head at the way his luck was running tonight.
In the upset of the night, “Dangerous” Danny Gonzalez (no relation to the main event fighter) proved to be the one to expect, knocking out undefeated Gabriel Gerena in the Garden State’s undefeated junior welterweight championship.
Gonzalez (4-0, 4 KOs) had never beaten a superstar with a win on his record, but the Iselin, NJ native flashed his first six-rounder, hurting Gerena (6-1, 5 KOs) with a left. upper hook to the temple before another left hook puts Gerena on her back. Gerena, 22, of Piscataway, NJ hit the count but was ruled unable to continue.
The win was a major achievement for the 29-year-old Gonzalez, whose career seemed to have stagnated after switching gyms and struggling earlier in the year.
“I saw it coming. The first left hook I landed, I could see in his eyes that it hurt him. But I’m thankful that I have a good team behind me because I have a history of hurting people and going crazy. I saw that he had opened a left hook, I saw him drop a right hand and I hit him with it and knocked him down,” said Gonzalez, who is the NJ Golden Gloves champion in 2023.
The fight took place at 141 kilograms, which is ten pounds heavier than Gerena weighed when he debuted in March of 2023.
Anthony Johns (9-1, 6 KOs) gave his hometown fans something to cheer about, defeating Edwin Reyes (8-9-3, 5 KOs) of Guatemala City, Guatemala by majority decision in their six-round junior flyweight title fight. One judge had the fight even at 57-57, while two others had it 60-54 and 59-55 for the Newark native.
Johns, 31, the 2019 National Golden Gloves champion, picked up his third straight win since suffering a lone, dubious loss in Argentina to a local fighter 13 months ago.
Heavyweight Kristian Prenga (16-1, 16 KOs) has gotten the better of his experienced opponent so far, though not in the way he would have liked. The 33-year-old Albanian native of Edgewater, NJ was declared victorious over heavyweight Joey Dawejko (28-13-4, 16 KOs) when Dawejko injured his shoulder in the fifth round of their eight-round heavyweight fight. .
Dawejko, 34, of Philadelphia was throwing a left hook to the body when he fell. After a few seconds of consultation with the ringside doctor, the fight was called off, giving Prenga the win.
The loss is Dawejko’s second by questionable means in a month. Last month, Dawejko was knocked out in the same round for excessive spitting against Richard Torrez Jr.
Earlier on the card, junior middleweight prospect Jean Pierre Valencia (2-0, 2 knockouts) of Irvington, NJ by way of Esmeraldas, Ecuador remained undefeated with a first-round KO of Cody Jenkins (0-4). Jenkins of Culpeper, Va. he landed from a left hook to the body and was unable to win the count.
The show is promoted by Rising Star Promotions.
Ryan Songalia has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler and The Guardian, and is part of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Class of 2020. He can be reached at [email protected].
