Varmall Meets Lamont Capers in Cruiserweight Action at Brooklyn Masonic Temple Brooklyn, N.Y.
(Wednesday, July 22, 2015) – Ronson Frank’s Uprising Promotions returns to the Brooklyn Masonic Temple on Friday night, featuring both local and top prospects on a loaded fight card entitled Ring of Fire. Among the rapidly rising stars on the show is cruiserweight Alvin “Iron Majik” Varmall, Jr. (6-0, 6 KOs), who will look for his seventh consecutive knockout when he faces Lamont Capers in a scheduled six-rounder.
“Training has been going great. I’ve been getting in some good work,” Varmall said of his preparation for Friday night. “I went down to Manhattan and got in some good sparring with former cruiserweight champion Wayne Braithwaite. My trainer, Greg Young, and I have been training hard and putting in a lot of hours at the gym. I feel mentally prepared, as well as physically prepared. We’re just looking forward to putting on a good show for you all.”
Varmall, 23, is a native of Louisiana and bears much resemblance to a fighter he always admired, former undisputed heavyweight champion “Iron” Mike Tyson. His 100% knockout ratio and “Iron Majik” moniker are two distinct similarities, but his new training location is the icing on the cake. Earlier this year, he began working out of the Catskills, New York, at Cus D’Amato’s Gym, which holds the name of the legendary late trainer who brought Tyson to heavyweight dominance. However, Varmall says there is much more to his game than just fantastic knockout power.
“I really like to let people decide for themselves,” he responded when asked what type of fighter he is.
“I really like to just go out there and do what I have to do. I like to look as myself as a throwback fighter, like a Mike Tyson, a Sugar Ray Robinson or a Joe Louis. Guys like that. I just want to go out there, put on a good show and leave the crowd saying ‘Wow. When is that guy gonna fight again?’
“I’m not a flashy guy. I don’t jump up and down after I knock somebody out. That’s not my style. I just like to keep it simple. Go in there, take care of my business and get up on out of there. A lot of people commend me on my power, but I’m a boxer as well. I’m a boxer-puncher, and I like to use my mind in there. A lot of guys try to keep me on the outside because I’m a much shorter fighter (5-foot-8) than these guys in my division, but I don’t look at it as if I’m in there with these 6-4 guys. I look at it as if these guys are in the weight division with me. I don’t look at it as a disadvantage because of my height or my reach. At the end of the day, you have to work with what God gave you, and I feel like I’m blessed with a lot. I just go out there, and I try to break my opponents down systematically. Putting my punches together, coming behind my jab with movement and controlled aggression. I stay in these guys’ chests because they’re taller, and I like to stay on the inside.”
In terms of what spectators can expect on Friday night, Varmall kept it short and simple.
“Expect to see an exciting show and a future champion,” he predicted. “I just want to go out there and do what I do. Expect an exciting fight, that’s for sure.”
Scheduled to headline Friday night’s show is a featherweight scrap between two aggressive fighters, with Dominican fighter Yenifel Vicente (26-3, 18 KOs) facing Manuel de los Reyes Herrera (21-16-1, 15 KOs) of Colombia. With 33 knockouts between the duo, sparks will certainly fly in this bout.
Also slated for action on the card is lightweight Scott Burrell (9-2, 6 KOs), who will be fighting on his second consecutive Uprising Promotions show when he steps into the ring to meet California native Moris Rodriguez. Also returning for his second straight appearance on an Uprising Promotions card will be Villi Bello (2-1), a converted mixed martial artist who will square off against Francisco Cruz.
Another key participant on the card is hard-hitting Queens native Joseph Williams (6-0, 5 KOs), who welcomes southpaw Michael Wilmer to New York in light heavyweight action. Also, New York native Jeff Laguree (1-0, 1 KO) will fight in front of his home crowd for the first time when he battles 28-bout veteran David Johnson of Los Angeles in a heavyweight tilt. Also on the card is a middleweight contest between Akil Auguste (7-1, 6 KOs) and 16-fight veteran Justin Williams, while welterweight Julian Sosa (1-0-1) will face Jose Sanchez and flyweight Timmy Ramos (1-0, 1 KO) will battle Leonel Garcia.
Three significant professional debuts are on tap for Friday night, with must-see pro entrances by middleweight Nikita Miroshnichenko (facing Sean Nurse), welterweight Carlos Adams (facing Jeff Souffrant) and junior middleweight Matthew Armstrong (facing Anton Williamson).
The Brooklyn Masonic Temple is located at 317 Clermont Ave #4 in Brooklyn. The intimate setting ensures that there is not a bad seat in the house, and tickets are priced at $60 for general admission and $100 for ringside seating. There is also a table option with dinner, beer/wine and seating with a celebrity fighter. For pricing on those tables, call (516) 451-6773.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
