For Emmanuel “Tranzformer” Taylor, 16-1 (11), of Edgewood Arsenal, MD, it will be his first time as a professional in the spotlight over ESPN2 Friday at Resorts Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, as he faces Victor Manuel “Mermelada” Cayo, 31-3 (22), of the Dominican Republic.
Taylor bounced back after his lone loss in 2011 some 11 months later and defeated George Sosa, then 6-0 and Ray Serrano, 18-1, in 2012. His biggest win was over Ayi Bruce then 15-1 in 2010. He had an outstanding amateur career. He is managed by D&D Management, David Price and Doc Nowicki.
Cayo won his last 4 fights including in his last fight he defeated Vladimir Baez, 17-0-2, for the WBC Latino title over 10 rounds in December. His losses were to top rated boxers Nate Campbell, Lamont Peterson and Marcos Maidana, all world champions with Peterson still holding his title. Cayo is ranked No. 10 in the IBF light welterweight rankings.
On Wednesday they had a press conference with Taylor thanking ESPN2 and the hotel for having him. “He looked good and is ready. The No. 1 spot is open and the winner is to get a chance to fight for it,” said Nowicki.
The main event is promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and the rest of the card by Sampson Lewkowicz’s Sampson Boxing LLC. At 9pm Russian southpaw Magomed Abdusalamov, 16-0 (16), out of Oxnard, CA, will face Victor Bisbal, 21-1 (15), of Salinas, Puerto Rico in a heavyweight 10. Abdusalamov is ranked No. 10 and Bisbal No. 15 in the WBC rankings. Abdusalamov won the the WBC USNBC title in his last fight in September stopping Jameel McCline. He is a former 2-time Russian amateur champion. Bisbal was in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Cayo and Taylor will follow in the main event.
The son’s of former WBA light middleweight and WBC Middleweight champion Julian “Hawk” Jackson will be on the undercard along with their cousin Samuel Rogers. Julius “The Chef” Jackson, 14-0 (10) will be in a 6 round super middleweight fight against Anthony Pietrantonio, 7-10 (6) of Youngstown, OH. Jackson and his brother John, 14-1 (13), a light middleweight represented the Virgin Islands in the 2008 Olympics. John takes on Alexis Pena 7-1 (5), of Mexico over 6 rounds. Rogers, 12-0 (7), also of the VI takes on Ivan Ziglar, 7-2-1 (4), of VA Beach, VA, over 6 rounds in the light middleweight division. Rogers won the FECARBOX title in 2011.
Thomas “Cornflake” Lamanna, 10-0 (6), of Millville, NJ, takes on Joshua “Berlin Bombe” Snyder, 9-8-1 (3), of Berlin, MD, over 6 rounds in the middleweight division. Scott Burrell, 6-1 (5), of Brooklyn, NY, meets Edgardo Torres, 2-1 (2), of Vineland, NJ, over 4 rounds in the light welterweight division. Michal Chudecki, 4-0 (2), of Poznan, POL, is scheduled in a 4 round super featherweight bout with TBA.
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