photo courtesy of Kevin Rooney Jr. / Star Boxing

On this weeks edition on ESPN Friday Night Fights, Philly Jr. Welterweight "The New" Ray Robinson (10-0, 4ko's) bulldozed the previously undefeated Darnell Jiles (8-1, 3ko's) of Rochester, NY scoring a 3rd round TKO in the nights co-main event. Robinson, promoted by Joe DeGuardia's Star Boxing of NYC, stepped up the competition and convincingly got the job done on this night, consistently outworking his 20 year old standout foe, and then broke the seal late in the 3rd, connecting with a lot of left handed bombs that almost had Jiles out of it. Jiles, to his credit, did survive the attack but between rounds his corner called for the stoppage due to the beating and an obviously broken right hand on Jiles.

It's a big win for the young Philly 140 lb southpaw prospect out of the Front Street Gym  and a credit to the sport when two young hopefuls with good records throw the politics out the door and decide to go in against one another. Give Jiles his due as well. The former amateur standout from Rochester still has a bright future and will be very well served from a fight like this. Many out there still would like to see Jiles and South Philly's "Hammerin" Hank Lundy settle the score from their lights out fight which ended in a draw from last year. A rematch that Jiles camp questionably stated Lundy didn't want any parts of.... I don't know about all that Joe Tessatore! Either way congrats to both fighter and also to ESPN for putting together such an interesting fight.

Click here for the ESPN pre fight night analysis of Robinson vs. Jiles & Camacho vs. Molina

They said it would never happen in a million years...but to the surprise of many it was recently announced that J. Russell Peltz struck a 6 fight deal which will bring his promotional outfit back to the building he made famous, The Legendary Blue Horizon. The talk of the boxing town starts with a potential lights out card on March 6th which will see the world rated and current NABA Welterweight champion Mike Jones make his first title defense against LA's Larry Mosley (15-3-2, 6ko's) in the 10 round main event. Jones is a hot name right now and was even pegged by the well respected Steven Kim of www.maxboxing.com as the sports prospect of the year in 2008. In Jones last fight, he posterized Luciano Perez with one of the best left hooks in recent memory, a punch which cleaned up a wild, sloppy slugfest in Reading, PA. Mosley was once a highly decorated amateur who has been a pro since 2000 and is the cousin of Sugar Shane. He is best remembered in this town for boxing to a 12 round draw against Miguel Figueroa back in 2005. He also held the previously world rated Golden Johnson to a draw in his very next fight. He has dropped his last two fights since then and is dangerously close to falling permanently into "opponent" status. It will be interesting to see how Jones fares against the experience of Mosley, as the Cali native is best known for his outstanding hand speed which is the type of fighter Jones has yet to see.

In the co-feature we will see rising super bantamweight Teon "The Technician" Kennedy (11-0, 5ko's) face Andre Wilson (11-1-1, 9ko's)  of Mississippi in a scheduled 8 rounder.  The fight will be at 120 lbs give or take a pound. It was originally expected that Teon would get a warm up fight of sorts but Wilson, a southpaw, should pose a good test for the North Philly Technician. Wilson's only loss came while fighting in an undefeated opponents backyard and his most recent wins include early knockouts over Francisco Rodriguez (now 14 - 2) & a 10 round decision win over the well traveled Alex Baba, a fighter who has fought quite a few names in the business. Teon is a fighter that some feel is the best prospect in the city. He and his team have eyes on a shot at the divisions USBA title very soon, and this is the type of fight should prepare him for stiffer challenges down the line. Just don't look past Wilson, who is already has a top 30 ranking in the WBC after only 13 fights.

The undercard is looking very good as well with  Philly middleweight Jamaal "Da Truth" Davis (8-4, 6ko's) set to face Clarence "Sonny Bono" Taylor (13-20-3, 6ko's) in a fight that will mark Davis' first match as a member of the Peltz boxing stable. In Davis last outing, he convincingly beat Chris Hall at the National Guard Armory. In Bono's last fight, he showed his is not done yet despite his record as he hung in there with the well regarded Derek Ennis over 8 rounds at The Arena last month. This one could turn out to be a very good action fight since both men prefer to come forward and bang it out.

Kaseem Wilson (10-1-1, 3ko's) continues his comeback when he takes on Martinus Clay (13-19-4, 5ko's) in a scheduled 6 round Jr. Middleweight contest. Wilson recently returned from a 15 month layoff to win his last fight by unanimous decision. Clay most recently was knocked out by Kassem Ouma back in August. While that was a bad night, he has proved in the past he can hang with any fighter who thinks he is an up and comer. Styles might clash in this one though as neither fighter seems comfortable being the aggressor, more relying on movement and counter punching.

Victor Vasquez (8-2, 5ko's) looks to have his hands full (at least on paper) as he is set to take on the undefeated Rod Salka (6-0, 2ko's) of Bunola, PA. Vasquez recently returned from a 6 month medical suspension to stop Mario Galan inside of 2 rounds at The New Alhambra. Not much is known about Salka and his record doesn't indicate that he has walked murderers row. Anyone who knows Victor Vasquez knows he will make his opponent fight so we will learn a lot about Salka here.

Alex Sanchez (1-0, 1ko) is set to take on the pro debuting Tyrone Miles in a 4 round Jr. Middleweight contest.

Bozy's Gym hopeful Derek Bivins (1-0) will face Felix Arroyo in a 4 round Super Featherweight battle.

Kensington's Dennis Hasson (6-0, 2ko's) is also scheduled for action against a fighter TBA.

Get your tickets at www.peltzboxing.com or by calling 215-765-0922

Former Philly world champion Charles "The Hatchet" Brewer knows all about fighting for and defending titles overseas in enemy territory. Hatchet had a chance to get a few words in with LaJuan about his upcoming fight against the man many feel is the best middleweight in the world. Read it here

It is official, Philly lightening fast heavyweight contender "Fast" Eddie Chambers (33-1, 18ko's) will fight former world heavyweight champion Sam Peter (30-2, 23ko's) of Africa on ESPN Friday Night Fights, March 27th. Location has not been announced just yet. To say the least, it's a prime opportunity for the former area headliner. Chambers, the original #1 on the Philly Keith top 10 pound for pound list, made his bones as a youngster coming up through the Blue Horizon. He won his first 29 fights and was in position to get a crack at Wladimir Klitschko's belt until dropping an IBF title elimination fight to Alexander Povetkin in Germany last January. Since losing by decision overseas, Fast Eddie has reeled off three straight wins against limited competition. Peter, who has recently been labeled a quitter by some, is coming off a horrible spanking at the hands on Vitali Klitschko in a fight where Peter refused to get off the stool after 7 one sided rounds. Whether that quitter label is warranted or not, it is easy to forget that less than a year ago, Peter was one of the most feared Heavyweights in the world, scoring some highlight reel KO's as a prospect, contender and as a champion against good competition. It's an old fashioned crossroads fight and many are saying the winner will get a great opportunity soon after while the losers career will be in the toilet. Call me a homer but I love Fast Eddie's chances in this one as a big lug like Peter will be baffled by the hand speed and movement that Chambers presents. Then again, I have been wrong in the past and Peter has power to punch through brick walls and Chambers has never really been rocked before. Tune into ESPN2 to see how it all goes down.

It's been reported on ESPN.com that Bridgeport's Harry Joe Yorgey (21-0-1, 9ko's) will face Detroit's Ronald Hearns (21-0, 17ko's) as the opening fight on the March 28 edition of Shobox: The Next Generation in a battle of undefeated prospects / fringe contenders in search of a road to the big time. Yorgey, another former #1 on the Philly Keith local top 10 pound for pound list, moved on from the Philly circuit over a year ago and recently won two yoheim titles with a 12 round thumping on the previously undefeated Jason LeHoullier in Tennessee back in August. The fight was ruled a majority decision but the judges must have been intoxicated. Moving forward, with the legal and managerial obligations which kept him from fighting out of the way, it looks like Team Yorgey and their new promoter Art Pellulo are wasting no time to make their run at the top. His opponent, Ronald Hearns, son of the old school icon Tommy the Hitman, is also a well regarded young fighter who has already had major exposure on the big networks. Both are a bit older than most at this stage of their career but all that means to me is that both will lay it all on the line in a fight that has potential to be a very good rumble. Yorgey is more of the boxer, Hearns is more of the puncher, and both want a crack at the world title soon. It is a great piece of matchmaking here and the winner is in line for a shot at the winner of the IBF title fight between Cory Spinks - Deandre Latimore so be sure to tune in. In the main event, hot Light Heavyweight prospect Andre Dirrell will go in against an opponent TBA soon. Give him hell Harry!

There have been many careers shortened for various reasons and Philly fighters are no exceptions.  There were 3 due to eye injuries and 2 do to death of which one was a killing!  Their combined records were 112-8-2.  Of the 3 with injuries, 2 went on to become well respected trainers.  They have all been inducted into the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame. Ken Hissner takes an in depth look at the shortened careers of Gypsy Joe Harris, Wesley Mouzon, Dick Turner, James Shuler & Tyrone Everett , all great fighters from back in the day.