Stewart-Rubio Done.

ByBoxing Press

Mike “No Joke” Stewart, of New Castle, DE, hopes to maintain his world ranking when he boxes Juan Carlos Rubio, of Guadalajara, Mexico, in the 10-round junior welterweight main event Friday, March 18, at the New Alhambra Sports & Entertainment Center, Swanson & Ritner Streets (next to Forman Mills), in South Philadelphia. First fight at 7.30 p.m. Featherweight Rogers Mtagwa, of West Philadelphia, goes against Fernando Trejo, of Mexico City, in the 10-round semifinal. Telefutura/Univision will televise the fights nationally beginning at 9 p.m. The eight-fight card is courtesy of Peltz Boxing, Joe Hand and Don Chargin Productions.

Stewart, 27, is ranked No. 8 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF), but is coming off a rough year in 2004. He knocked out Juan Carlos Escobar midway through 2004 at the New Alhambra, but that win was sandwiched between losses to Sharmba Mitchell and Ricky Hatton, both in Manchester, England. Mitchell gained a 12-round decision over Stewart for the IBF interim world title and Hatton won by knockout in five rounds in a world-title elimination contest.

Stewart rebounded Feb. 18 at the Atlantic City (NJ) Convention Hall when he knocked out Corey Alarcon, of Denver, CO, in the second round. A pro since 1996, Stewart has a 37-3-2 record, 21 K0s.

Rubio, 27, is best known for his 10-round upset over then-unbeaten Francisco “Panchito” Bojado on Feb. 16, 2002, at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT. A pro since 1993, he turned pro at 16. Rubio has a 30-7-3 record, 11 K0s. In his last fight Oct. 22 in El Paso, TX, Rubio boxed a 10-round draw with Adrian Mora.

Mtagwa, 25, is originally from Tanzania but moved to Philadelphia five years ago. His 17-9-3 record, 13 K0s, was compiled against some of the best, including Debind Thapa, Emanuel Lucero, Antonio Diaz, Edwin Santana, Jose Reyes and Valdemir Perreira. In his last fight Oct. 14 in Whippany, NJ, Mtagwa lost a 10-round majority decision to former World Boxing Organization (WBO) super bantamweight champion Agapito Sanchez, of the Dominican Republic.

Trejo, 30, brings a 23-8-4 record, 15 K0s. He upset once-beaten Darling Jimenez, of the Dominican Republic, last May 8 in Tucson, AZ, before losing a 10-round decision to lightweight contender Ebo Elder on July 9 in Atlanta, GA.

Five preliminary fights complete the March 18 schedule.

The New Alhambra in South Philadelphia opened for pro boxing May 14. Omar Sheika, of Paterson, NJ, knocked out E.T. Whitaker, of Warren, OH, in the second round of the light-heavyweight main event.

The second show on June 18 featured Mike Stewart’s stoppage of Juan Carlos Escobar, of Culiacan, Mexico, who did not answer the bell for the eighth round of their junior welterweight contest.

The third on Oct. 12 saw junior middleweight Aslanbek Kodzoev, of South Philadelphia, survive three knockdowns to earn a technical knockout in the ninth round when Julio Cesar De La Cruz, of the Dominican Republic, could not continue due to a severely cut left eye.

Junior welterweight Miguel Figueroa, of Camden, NJ, K0’d Julian Burford, of Cleveland, OH, in seven rounds on the last card, Nov. 12.