Melson to meet Parsley in Battle of Unbeatens!
New York, NY (February 23, 2012) – Junior Middleweight Captain Boyd “Rainmaker” Melson will put his perfect record on the line when he faces fellow unbeaten Delen “Sniper” Parsley of Brooklyn, NY in an eight round contest Wednesday, March 7 at BB King Blues Club in New York City.
A Brooklyn native who currently resides in Manhattan, Melson is amongst the most popular fighters in the tri-state area. In his most recent match, Melson, 8-0 (4 KO’s), impressed a capacity crowd at the Roseland Ballroom by dominating Shawn Rawley Wilson over six one-sided rounds.
Long and lean, the 6’2 Parsley is 6-0 with 2 wins coming by way of knockout. The 24-year-old Parsley outboxed Jevon Boisseau in October of last year and has won all six of his bouts with ease.
“Delen is a tremendously gifted athlete with a great deal of natural ability in the ring,” said Melson, who was selected as an alternate for the 2008 US Olympic Team but withdrew due to an injury. We sparred twice prior to my second pro bout, and I think he’d agree that we both held our own. This is going to be a strong test for me and it’s also my first eight rounder, so I have to look to what beats inside my chest.”
Following all eight of his professional bouts, Melson’s donated his entire purse to justadollarplease.org to support America’s first Clinical Stem Cell Trial using umbilical cord cells. After his bout with Parsley however, the West Point grad will give his earnings to childhood friend Jason Shelbourne, whose three year old son is battling brain cancer.
“This morning, I saw a Facebook group called “Prayers for Adler Shelbourne,” stating that Jason's son has brain cancer and tears just started to flow. Jason and his wife Stephanie are incredible human beings and now they have had to hold fundraisers because of the massive medical bills. It’s my pleasure to be helping out a lifelong friend, especially when his family needs it most. I told Jason you better not feel bad for your son. God made him strong enough to handle this and you underestimate his strength by feeling bad for him. You never need to feel bad for those strong enough to handle life's challenges.”
The card is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and tickets starting at $55 are available by calling 212-947-2577.
In association with Justadollarplease, Melson created Team Fight to Walk, whose mission is to raise awareness within the boxing community about the importance of stem cell research for spinal cord injuries. Team Fight to Walk is comprised of Melson, former two-time cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, title contender DeAndre “The Bull” Latimore, Edgar “El Chamaco” Santana, Hector Camacho Jr., 2008 US Olympian Shawn Estrada, and prospects Sid “The Messenger” El Harrak, Denis “Da Momma’s Boy” Douglin, Frank Galarza, Will Rosinsky, Vinny “The Lion” O’Brien, Ahmed “Prince of Egypt” Samir and Delen “Sniper” Parsley.
For more information or to make a donation, go to teamfighttowalk.com or Justadollarplease.org.
