Team Gladiator Dominates!

Posted by the Times Beacon 2-1-07

Gladiator Boxing in Forked River recently held its first sanctioned amateur event, and the sell-out crowd in attendance got to enjoy quite an evening of local youngsters punching their way to victories.

Lacey High School freshman Rob Smith was one of the victors, as the 14-year-old won by unanimous decision against 13-year-old Lacey Middle School eight grader Lou Muzyka in a 112-pound Junior Olympic class bout.

Frank Serritella, an 11-year-old from Lacey also scored a unanimous-decision victory during the event, beating Treshawn Golden from Ike's Gym in Newark in an 80-pound Junior Olympic class contest.

Little Egg Harbor resident and 13-year-old Silver Gloves champion Mike Smith captured a unanimous decision over previously undefeated Jeffrey Aniagyei from Elite Boxing Club in Newark in a 106-pound Junior Olympic class matchup.

And in the last bout of the evening, Team Gladiator co-captain Larry Desposito, a 19-year-old Barnegat resident, won by technical knockout against 21-year-old Mike Wishrull of Brick PAL during a men's 165-pound novice bout.

The last event also turned out to be the judge's "Fight of the Night," which garnered a special award. After twisting his right ankle in the first round, Desposito hobbled back to his corner complaining of the pain to trainer and Gladiator owner Shawn Darling.

"I yelled at him to block out the pain, that he worked too hard for this," Darling said. "I told him, "You know what to do, so go out there and finish the job.' "

Desposito then exploded from his corner and unleashed a series of hook shots at Wishrull. The referee jumped in to save Wishrull from the onslaught and stopped the fight.

Mike Spicer, the other Team Gladiator co-captain, also won a unanimous decision over Isaac Mays of Pleasantville in a 132-pound Junior Olympic class contest. The 16-year-old Spicer moved up to the 132-pound class when his original opponent didn't show, but after getting bloodied in the second round he bounced back in the third to earn the victory.

Unfortunately, not all of Gladiator's boxers managed a victory, as 15-year-old Pinelands Regional freshman Brandon Bezak lost a technical knockout against Dover Boxing Club's Anthony Gangemi in a 152-pound match.