July 11, 2021. Three years ago, Miami’s Marlon Kelly was the Sugar Bert National Champion, the #1 amateur in the country. In 2019, he was a semi-finalist in the Olympic Trials. He trains at KOFitness in Hialeah, alongside another former top-ranked amateur turned pro, Aaron Aponte. Last night, Kelly scored his third technical knockout of his professional career, keeping his record a perfect 3-0, with 3 KOs. The bout also marked his second appearance with Road Warrior Promotions, the South Florida based promotion headed by former world champion Glen Johnson.
Kelly shared the card with other South Florida favorites including cruiserweight Isaiah “Night Knight” Thompson, known for knocking out opponents as an amateur in the Golden Gloves as well as the professional ranks. Night Knight devastated Leroy Jones in the first round forcing a TKO stoppage, bringing his record to 5-0, 4 KOs.
Featherweight Daniel Bailey also won several titles as an amateur and competed in his seventh professional event this evening. Bailey displayed an impressive skillset-speed, technique, defense and dominated his opponent Mike Fowler to retain his undefeated record.
Manuel “Sweet Dreams” Correa (9-0, 6 KOs) brought a large following to the Miami Airport Convention Center last night, as did “Gorgeous” Alvin Davie (6-2, 5 KOs) and both men added a W to their resumes via TKO in their respective bouts.
Super featherweight Malik Lewis could be considered Glen Johnson’s “protégée,” as it was the 26-year old former mixed-martial artist who convinced the Road Warrior to become a trainer. Johnson has taken Lewis to a PAL championship as an amateur and now a 4-0 (3 KOs) professional who continues to improve with each fight.
Ermal “The Sniper” Hadribeaj (9-0-1), training out of The World Famous 5th Street Gym, also known as the “Albanian Lomachenko,” and well known for his victory back flips, continued his tradition of bringing fans and excitement to the venue. With a background in parkour and training partners such as Jeison Rpasrio, The Sniper is one to look out for in the future.
Veteran Heavyweight Carlos Negron (24-3, 19 KOs) was a surprise on this card. Negron scored a devastating knockout with a body to head combination that stopped pponent Antwaun Tubbs in his tracks.
The star of the promotion is Nigerian-born heavyweight Raphael Akpejiori. Akpejiori is a gifted athlete who came to the United States on a basketball scholarship to the University of Miami. He went on to play football for them as well and was later scouted by the Miami Dolphins. Now he has found his calling as a pugilist and has shown remarkable knockout power. His record stands at a perfect 12-0 with 12 KOs. Akpejiori continues to improve under the tutelage of Glen Johnson. And yes, he did call out Tyson Fury.
