The Amazing Kreskin Predicts, and Gabriel Tito Bracero Shines in Salita Win
By Robert Brizel, Real Combat Media Correspondent- Ringside
*Photo Credit- Robert Brizel
Brooklyn, NY (November 10th, 2013)–Take an ordinary boxing event, make it extraordinary by adding a world famous mentalist to the mix, and you’ve got game. For once at a boxing event, the famous name celebrity at ringside was not a present or former boxer. George Joseph Krenge AKA The Amazing Kreskin, has been wowing television audiences in North America since the 1970s. Of course, it did not take a genius mentalist like The Amazing Kreskin to predict Lou DiBella’s welterweight Gabriel Tito Bracero would defeat Dmitriy ‘Star of David’ Salita in the main event of an eight bout card at Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday evening, November 9, 2013.
The skies were cold but calm over the former Floyd Bennett airfield outside, and in the wake of the Magomed Abdusalamov tragedy at Madison Square Garden last weekend (the heavyweight boxer remains in a medically induced coma on life support after losing a ten round decision in a preliminary bout to the Gennady Golovkin-Curtis Stevens world middleweight championship bout. Abdusalamov underwent surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain, after complaining of headaches and vomiting outside the Garden, after watching the main event at ringside and then exiting the Garden after the show ended), and everybody who attended looked forward to an exciting, pleasant local show. DiBella has humanely teamed with promoters Leon Margules and Samson Lewkowicz to establish a trust fund to cover the injured boxer’s ongoing medical expenses.
The boxing show put together by noted DiBella Entertainment matchmaker Joe Quiambo, who celebrated his birthday at the card (Happy birthday, Joe!), was a winner. The only question remaining was why the Gabriel Tito Bracero versus Dmitriy Salita bout never made onto the undercard of a Barclay’s Center Brooklyn boxing card on a higher level scale. The answer may well lie in how long Lou DiBella waited to put the epic bout together. Bracero, who usually fights at 140 pounds, and Salita, who usually fights at 154 pounds, have been granting interviews to Real Combat Media for a year and a half wanting this bout, anywhere, anyplace, anytime, any purse, at any weight. This being the case, the all-Brooklyn bout pitted the Brooklyn Jewish contingency versus the Puerto Rican contingency. The welterweight bout went off at 147 pounds, and both fighters made weight. At the event, the Puerto Rico contingency cheered loudly for Tito, while the Jewish contingency was largely silent. However the bout was not close, and the pro-Bracero crowd noise had no effect on the judges.
Salita was in top condition, perhaps the best of his career, his defense was solid, as was his ability to take a shot when he got hit. Despite the loss, Salita fought the best bout of his career, far better than his one round loss to Amir Khan. Styles make fights. Since Tito Bracero lacks a knockout punch, but is a world class technical fighter, Salita’s options were to either acquire power punching technique and knock Bracero out, or acquire superior technical prowess, and outpoint Bracero.
Salita chased Bracero all night like a rabbit in search of a carrot! His flicking left and right jabs were there, and he was able to hold fairly well whenever Bracero tried to mount an offensive flurry, keeping referee Pete Santiago busy all night. Salita’s problem was almost all of his punches fell short. Salita did not land more than five decent punches per round if that. Bracero was superfast on his feet, and super strong with his punches, keeping Salita off balance. On occasion, Bracero swung for the rafters and missed, providing the over capacity sellout crowd at Aviator Arena with some desperately needed air conditioning.
The whole bout amounted to Bracero scoring just enough to win each round, and Salita putting on a good show, just not scoring at all. Salita just did not up his game for this bout. However both Salita and Bracero did keep their word to Lou DiBella, as the two fighters did sell out the house and break the Aviator Sports Complex single event attendance record by going over capacity. Brooklyn came out for the event, and it was a good card. New York 1 sports caster Tom McDonald sat next to me at ringside and enjoyed the show. Paulie Malignaggi, Junior Jones and Amanda Serrano were the championship boxers in attendance.
Only one round brought the crowd to their feet, the weird eight round. Bracero dropped Salita with a short left to the chin for a no count flash knockdown. Both fighters wrestled and came crashing down to the canvas with a thud. A Salita left hook appeared to drop Bracero, but it was ruled a slip. Salita perhaps could have won the fifth and sixth rounds, when the two fighters went around in circles but did not land very much, perhaps Salita a few punches more, if you looked with a microscope to see them thrown and landed. Both fighters are friends who have sparred together in the gym.
In praise of Salita, also an area boxing promoter, nobody can accuse him of ducking anybody. In praise of Bracero’s promoter Tommy Gallagher, he did have Bracero trained to super speed perfection, meaning Bracero was never in front of Salita to get hit, and his jab was so fast Salita could not answer it. Bracero would like Danny Garcia in a title bout in 2014. Where Salita’s career is at this point, the ten round decision loss is not bound to shake his standing one way or another, but perhaps it can be said Salita is a more effective fighter at 147 pounds than 154 pounds. Salita versus, say Miguel Cotto or Erislandy Lara or Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Yuri Foreman-would not be a practical matchup. 147 pounds would be a better go for Salita. Bracero should fight a ten round rematch with Chop Chop Corley in defense of his newly acquired belt, which Tito is very capable of winning now.
Hats off to a well behaved all-Brooklyn crowd who came out to Aviator Sports Complex and made this event a success. Ring announcer Joe Antonacci provided the commentary. Bracero goes to 23-1, four knockouts. Salita falls to 35-2-1, with 18 knockouts.
Result: Gabriel Tito Bracero Win 10 Dmitriy Salita, Welterweights
Bracero wins the World Boxing Organization Inter-Continental Welterweight title
Scoring: 100-90, 100-89, 97-92 for Bracero / Championship Referee: Pete Santiago
Salita was down for a flash knockdown in eighth. Bracero down in eighth, ruled a slip.
In the preliminary bout to the main event, 7-0 female super bantamweight Heather Hardy of Brooklyn won the Universal Boxing Federation International Super Bantamweight title with a second round stoppage of Sonora, Mexico’s Anna Laura Gomez.
Result: Heather Hardy TKO 2 Anna Laura Gomez, Super Bantamweights
Hardy wins vacant Universal Boxing Organization International Super Bantamweight title
Time: 1:42 / Championship Referee; Tony Chiarantano
Undercard Bouts
Charlie Ota Bellamy Win 8 Mike Ruiz, Junior Middleweights
Urmat Ryskeldiev Majority Draw 6 Patrick Day, Junior Middleweights
Chris Galeano Win 4 Jamil Gadsden, Junior Middleweights
Shemuel Pagan Win 4 Jesus Javier Cintron, Super Middleweights
Junior Sugar Younan (Debut) TKO 1 Kenneth Schmitz, Super Middleweights (1:40)
Louis Cruz TKO 2 Bryan Acaba, Lightweights (1:24)
Louis Cruz, now 5-0, was the 2010 New York Golden Gloves Champion at 132 pounds.
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