Exclusive Boxing Interview: Joseph Donofrio

Donofrio Boxing’s “Boxing Under the Stars” took place this past Friday at the Meadow Brook Music Festival in Rochester Hills, MI and was an action-filled night. With four professional fights that didn’t go the distance, it was a host of battles all night long.

Shortly before the card took place, SaddoBoxing had the opportunity to speak to the man who made it all happen, Joseph Donofrio, a Golden Gloves contender in the mid and late 1960’s who’s been putting fights on in the metro Detroit area since pairing up with Emmanuel Steward a few years ago.

SaddoBoxing: This is an amateur and pro event, right?

Joseph Donofrio: “That’s correct.”

SB: How many fights will there be?

JD: “Ten or eleven; there’s eleven scheduled right now. We’re trying to limit it to ten.”

SB: What boxing clubs can we expect?

JD: “I got a whole list of them right here. Dynamic, Unity, Casa De Boxeo, Laskey, Azteca, Toledo Boxing Club, Border City, and Big Dog Boxing Club.”

SB: Rene Nunez (Casa De Boxeo). Great guy. There are the guys over at Starlite, Al Low, you and a couple others, I’m sure. I missed some boxing event that went down at the Fox Theater a couple weeks ago. There’s a lot going on in boxing in Detroit. Do you see Detroit returning to its former glory in regards to boxing?

JD: “Absolutely.”

SB: Every sport other than boxing has an organized league; do you think an organized boxing league could work and do you think it would be good for the sport?

JD: “Yeah, I do, absolutely. I think that the state, with the direction of Al Low, is going to come up with a boxing league also with state titles.”

SB: How many fighters do you promote?

JD: “I don’t have any fighters signed with me. My main concentration is fight events. Several fighters have asked me to promote them and I just don’t have the time or energy right now but that will probably change after the first of the year.”

SB: I saw Lanardo Tyner on one of your cards last year; he’s a little powerhouse.

JD: “Yeah, he is. He thinks he’s going to knock his opponent out.”

SB: What can we expect to see other than the fighters?

JD: “You have an outdoor venue that’s completely covered. It’s only 2800 seats. I’m gonna assume we have 2000 people in the pavilion and 300 ringside. I really call Meadowbrook an intimate venue. Everybody will be close to the stage. We’re going to do a big light show. We’re filming it for TV. We’re looking to show it on Comcast local. Also show on Dish Network, they have a channel called Colors. It’s not going to be shown live; it’ll be re-edited.”

SB: When will that be broadcast?

JD: “Not sure. My contact will be there Friday night and I’ll have more information then. Usually within seven days.”

SB: All your events have Kronk fighters, either the pros or amateurs.

JD: “I’ve always had a great relationship with Emmanuel Steward. We finally decided to do a show together. Emmanuel’s career took off in another direction and I just took over the shows at the Palace.”

SB: That’s a shame about Kronk gym closing.

JD: “The problem of the Kronk fighters, I could do something, but it would probably be in the suburbs.”

[Emmanuel Steward is on record as saying he wants Kronk to be located within the city of Detroit]

My wife and I arrived at Meadow Brook Music Festival shortly after having dinner at a nearby restaurant. It’s located on the northeastern corner of the campus of my alma mater, Oakland University. We crossed the winding sidewalk, past the restrooms and concessions, making our way into the open area of the venue proper, down the bowl-shaped area where the seats were.

At the bottom sat the ring, already occupied by two amateur fighters. Security checked our media passes at regular intervals until we were in the media section where there was a single row of chairs.

After finding our seat, we finished watching the amateur fights, sat through the intermission and then the pro fights began.

First up, Darryl “People’s Choice” Cunningham versus Edgar “The Almighty” King at light heavyweight. After four decent rounds, southpaw Cunningham, 7-1 (3), took the bout by majority decision over the sluggish-looking King, 4-7-1 (1).

Jeannine “G9” Garside took on Brooke “No Mercy” Dierdorff in a bout of undefeated featherweights. The heavier Garside was easily the stronger of the two, but Dierdorff’s more accurate punching leveled the playing field for a time. In this writer’s opinion, the bout should have been ruled a disqualification after Garside knocked Dierdorff down and continued to pummel her after she was on her knees.

But the fight was allowed to continue. After wearing her down over the course of the next five rounds, Garside, 7-0-1 (3), finally succeeded in knocking Dierdorff, 4-1-1 (3), down with a sweeping left hand and then scored another knockdown before referee Frank Garza called the fight at 1:10 of the sixth.

The next two fights, “Pistol” Pete Cantu, 11-6-1 (8), against Reggie “Two Gun” Nash, 9-19-1 (2), and Lanardo “Pain Server” Tyner, 17-0 (10), versus Marteze “Too Sweet” Logan, 25-30-2 (6), were equally exciting contests.

Cantu KO’d Nash at 2:53 of the fifth and Tyner dropped Logan in the first before forcing the veteran to retire in his corner before the ninth round began.