Harley Burke lands a left cross on the jaw of Louis Maietta in their fight in White Plains, New York, last weekend. Burke won the six-rounder via unanimous points.
Harley Burke and Ryan “The Silent Assassin” O’Rourke were both victorious on last Saturday’s Star Boxing card at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. They extended their undefeated records in the paid ranks with unanimous points decisions over Louis Maietta and Boubacar Sylla, respectively.
In Rockaway, Queens, a day earlier, Dundalk native Timmy Egan, the MSG Boxing Ring Masters 165-pound novice titlist, outpointed FDNY’s Andrew Tanzi in a special attraction match on the FDNY vs. Garda “Thrilla at Camilla” card at St. Camillus Church. The Garda team was edged 3-2 by the local firefighters. Egan was representing Queens-based Bua Boxing Club.
PERFECT TEN
Despite a bad cut above his right eye, Burke upped his pro ledger to 10-0 [7 KOs] with a dominating performance over Maietta, a Bronx firefighter who dropped to 6-5-2 [2 KOs]. Two of the three judges had the Galway product winning all six rounds, while the other scored two for Maietta.
“I don't think I lost any round,” Burke insisted. “I controlled him. I dropped him in the first [round], I believe it was an overhand right. He went down and I was kind of thinking, OK, this is not gonna go the distance. But he was tough. He was tough. He took all my shots. It was a good battle.”
There was more drama in the third stanza when Burke was cut above the right eye. “I think it was a head butt, I don't know. I'd have to check. I got five stitches after the fight. It was a good experience to fight with the cut. It definitely was. Every pro fighter wonders how they'll deal with [it] when the time comes to fight with a cut and it was tough. Blood was in my eye, vision wasn't great, but my cutman did a great job and I fought through it.
“I was happy to get six rounds for sure. Definitely happy with six rounds. It was a good experience, the more rounds I could get the better, so I'm happy with that.”
The 29-year-old Yonkers resident was delighted by the turnout and the atmosphere generated at Westchester County Center. “The crowd was lively. My crowd was going crazy. His crowd was going nuts. Definitely a fantastic atmosphere, so we put on a great show.”
ROCK & ROLL
Before squaring off with O’Rourke, Senegalese Boubacar Sylla had only one defeat on his 12-1 [7 KO] record and was expected to test the Dubliner like no other opponent had.
There were no knockdowns but Sylla was wobbled by right hands in the sixth and seventh rounds only to be saved by the bell. He survived the eight rounder, only to suffer his second loss. O’Rourke improved to 13-0 [3 KOs].
“It was a good eight rounds. I've been out of the ring for eight months [so] for me to get a solid eight rounds, at a good pace was a was really good for me,” he said.
“As I said, I’ve been out of the ring for eight months. And eight rounds in eight months isn't enough. I feel like I need some more activity. Activity is what I’ve been chasing now. The past, maybe three years of my career, have just been stop, start, stop, start [and] struggling to get some momentum but I'm looking to get back out again in September time. Hopefully, get on a Star Boxing show so we can build some momentum,” O’Rourke added.
He’d like to build on this latest win. “A good win against a good 12-1 one fighter. It was a good 50-50 fight, on paper anyway. So, if they can build on the back of this, Keep the momentum going and maybe get a title towards the end of this year, that's what we're pushing for. Yeah. It's good to be back. Good to be back in New York, back in America, back in front of the Irish.”
“THRILLA AT CAMILLA”
Middleweight Darragh Gilroy and light heavyweight Finn McKeown were the Garda winners against FDNY opposition at St. Camillus Church.
Gilroy beat one of FDNY’s best fighters in Sean Dillon of Engine 283. It was a close scrap that could have gone either way, said FDNY official Michael Reno. But Gilroy’s high punch output would earn him the nod.
The lanky McKeown, meanwhile, eked out a split decision over Rockaway resident Danny Quinn of Ladder 9, who was ending a year-long layoff. Quinn seemed to have stung McKeown a couple of times with hard right hands, but Finn never lost his composure. He used head movement to deny Quinn the killer shot.
Light heavyweight TJ King was the other Garda winner, albeit against non-FDNY opposition. King outpointed Marc Dervil from Eastern Queens Boxing Gym.
FDNY’s victors against the Garda were lightweight Kyle McGrath, light heavyweight James Gennari and welterweight Nicole Malpeso.
McGrath, an EMT, met Jack McHugh in a rematch of their March encounter in the International Battle of the Badges that the New Yorker won. McHugh had trained hard and made some adjustments, but McGrath’s hand speed would once again be too much.
In Eoin O’Connor, Gennari, of Ladder 24, met a Garda boxer who’d beaten two FDNY members in years past. But looking good in the ring, Gennari bested his man.
At that point, the Garda and FDNY were tied at 2-2. Then came Malpeso’s match-up with the Garda’s Shauna Kearney. Both fought hard, throwing solid combinations. But in the end, Malpeso was awarded a split decision.
Going up against Dani Arellano of Harlem-based Mendez BC, the Garda featherweight Louise McDonnell lost a decision in a hard-fought bout.
