SPORTS WRAP By William Hathaway, Jr.
This past weekend produced the first major boxing event in Newark since the Covid-19 pandemic. Premier boxing returned to the Prudential Center, and some local area boxers showcased their talent in a boxing exhibition.
There were several undercard fights. One of those bouts featured a crowd favorite to local area boxing fans in the welterweight division: Vito Micnicki, Jr. The young up and comer took on Noha Kidd, and dominated from the start. Micnicki took out Kidd with a 2nd Round TKO with 2:32 left in the round. Micnicki is now 9-1 overall in his career.
Other fights that had some local favor included Newark native Michael Anderson, who beat Damarcus Rogers via 1st Round TKO. In the super welterweight division, James Martin lost to James Spencer in an 8 round match. In other divisions, Naim Nelson beat Nelson Rivera by 4th round TKO, while Andre Dirrell beat Christopher Booker and Nicky Vetrone defeated Jordan Rosario.
In the main event of the night, Michael Coffie came into the heavyweight championship bout undefeated at 12-0. However, he suffered a stunning upset to Johnnie Rice, who was 13-6 coming in. Rice took the bout in five rounds over Coffie, capping off a great night of boxing.
In other sports news, the Yankees are down two starters, after pitchers Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery tested positive for COVID-19. Also, the Knicks have signed guard Kemba Walker, while Stephen Curry has agreed to a record setting 4-yr., $215 million extension with the Golden State Warriors.
