Khalid Twaiti takes a beating on Emmanuel Rodriguez. Photo by Carlo Estonactoc
NEWARK – New Yorkers Daniel Gonzalez and Khalid Twaiti Saturday October 12th had a successful trip across the Hudson River defeating hometown favorites Michael Anderson and Emmanuel “Salserito” Rodriguez respectively at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ
Gonzalez (22-4-1, 7 KOs) of the Woodhaven section of Queens, NY, showed his versatility in outboxing “Slick” Anderson for 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, sending the 43-year-old Anderson (24-4-1, 18 KOs) to his first loss in five years. .
In the co-main event, Twaiti (14-0, 5 KOs) took a big step toward legitimate contention at 118 pounds with a one-sided decision over Newark’s Rodriguez (15-3, 8 KOs) in a fight of ten rounds. The 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 pull the trigger against Gonzalez, who changed his tactics from his usual aggressive approach and instead gave Anderson lateral movement. Gonzalez used his jab and side-to-side movement to keep Anderson guessing as Anderson struggled to land more than one punch at a time.
Gonzalez gets punches on Michael Anderson. Photo by Carlo Estonactoc
Realizing that he was desperately behind, Anderson came out looking determined for the tenth round, landing left hooks to the body with Gonzalez along the ropes, but was unable to turn the fight around in any 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 growing in my talent. I just feel like a guy, most people think I’m going to fight the crap out of him, but I turned it on and boxed the crap out of him.”
The win was the second in a row for Gonzalez, who lost back-to-back fights before defeating Keane McMahon by unanimous decision in February. Gonzalez, who is trained and managed by Moises Roman, says the fight that will interest him most next is a showdown with another New Jersey staple – Roseland’s Vito Mielnicki Jr.
“Hopefully I’ll get a big call, something on Top Rank. Give me any of those guys, I’ll take them out. I heard (Vito Mielnick Jr.) talking shit, let’s see what happens,” Gonzalez said.
Twaiti dominates Rodriguez
Twaiti lived up to his “Pure Gold” nickname, dropping Rodriguez in the fourth round and dominating him to win by scores of 99-90 on one card and 98-91 on the other two cards.
Twaiti, a Yemeni-American who resides in Brooklyn, NY, controlled the fight throughout with his crisp left jab, keeping Rodriguez on the outside while picking his punches from long range. Twaiti scored the fight’s only takedown in the fourth when a left hook to the body dropped Rodriguez into the ropes. Rodriguez survived the attack, but it was clear from that point on that he was outgunned.
Twaiti, who won the NY Golden Gloves title at 114 pounds in 2013, was not content to sit on his lead as he pressed his advantage and looked for a knockout. Rodriguez was caught by a cut above his right eye, creating another target for Twaiti to land his left hook on.
Twaiti looked for the finish until the final bell as Rodriguez could do little more than shake his head at the way his luck had gone tonight.
In the turmoil of the night, “Dangerous” Danny Gonzalez (no relation to the main event fighter) showed he is a real prospect to watch, knocking out previously undefeated Gabriel Gerena in a matchup of undefeated Garden State junior welterweights.
Gonzalez (4-0, 4 KOs) had never beaten a fighter with a win on his record before, but the Iselin, NJ native shined brightly in his first six rounds of fighting and Gerena (6-1, 5 KOs) hurt with a left side. high hook on the temple before another left hook put Gerena on his back. Gerena, 22, of Piscataway, NJ, beat the score but is definitely unable to continue.
The win was a huge achievement for the 29-year-old Gonzalez, whose career seemed at a standstill after switching gyms and facing personal setbacks earlier in the year.
“I saw it coming. The first left corner I landed, I could see in his eyes it hurt him. But luckily I have a good team behind me because I have a history of hurting people and then going crazy. I saw he was open for the left hook, I saw he dropped his right hand, so I hit him with it and dropped him,” said Gonzalez, a 2023 NJ Golden Gloves champion.
The fight took place at a catchweight of 141 pounds, which is ten pounds more than Gerena weighed for his pro debut in March 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 bout. One judge had the fight even at 57-57, while the other two had it 60-54 and 59-55 for the Newark native.
Johns, 31, a 2019 National Golden Gloves champion, picked up his third straight win since his lone loss, a questionable loss in Argentina to a local fighter 13 months ago.
Heavyweight Kristian Prenga (16-1, 16 KOs) picked up a win over his most experienced opponent to date, although not in the way he would have liked. The 33-year-old from Albania and now residing in Edgewater, NJ, was declared the winner over heavyweight fight Joey Dawejko (28-13-4, 16 KOs) when Dawejko suffered a shoulder injury in round five of their eight-round heavyweight -match claimed. .
Dawejko, 34, of Philadelphia, was throwing a left hook to the body when he collapsed to the floor. After a few moments of deliberation with the ringside doctor, the fight was abandoned, giving Prenga the win.
The loss is the second in questionable fashion in a month for Dawejko. Last month, Dawejko was disqualified in the same round for taking the mouthpiece against Richard Torrez Jr.
Earlier on the card, junior middleweight prospect Jean Pierre Valencia (2-0, 2 KOs) of Irvington, NJ by way of Esmeraldas, Ecuador remained undefeated with a first round KO of Cody Jenkins (0-4). Jenkins of Culpeper, Va. went off a left hook to the body and couldn’t beat the count.
The show was 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).
