Martinez Upsets Napoles in Fists of Fury

By Matthew Benoliel

Hollywood, FL. Dec, 6, 2024. The Heavyweight Factory continued its highly regarded series, Fists of Fury at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida with an eight- bout card that included local favorites and rising stars.

In the main event, Armando Martinez Jr (13-0, 12 KOs) upset Yosdiel Napoles (6-1, 5 KOs), the latter of whom was featured on the last Fists of Fury card in August. The knockout victory earned Martinez the WBA Continental Americas Gold Super-Flyweight belt and will likely result in a bump up the rankings ladder.

Featured on the card were both Bonilla brothers, Andrey, who fights at bantamweight, and his twin, Ari, who fights at super-flyweight. Both were decorated amateurs who competed in the Olympic trials and made their pro debuts this year. Both moved their records to 2-0, with Ari scoring a fifth-round TKO stoppage over the previously undefeated Nelvis Rodriguez (10-1, 5 KOs) of Venezuela. This was a back and forth slugfest and Bonilla took some big shots along the way. Andrey went the distance against Claudio Lavinanza (8-3, 3 KOs), a game southpaw from Chile. In the end, Bonilla won via unanimous decision.

In another upset, local favorite Filip Stankovic (9-2-0, 6 KOs) a Serbian native who’s been training in South Florida with Javiel Centeno, lost a tough decision to Brazilian Victor Darocha (11-6-2, 7 KOs) in a six-round super middleweight contest.

Aaron Aponte (10-2-1, 2 KOs) made his return to the Fists of Fury ring, taking on a tough Carlos Manuel Portillo (23-6-0, 17 KOs) in an eight round contest. Aponte controlled the action for most of the bout, but the challenger had his moments. In the end, Aponte took home a majority decision win with scorecards of 58-56, 59-55 in favor of Aponte and one judge scored 58-56 for Portillo.

In the heavyweight division, Cuban native Yoandy Toirac made his pro debut against Lateef Kayode (22-4, 17 KOs). Kayode is a real veteran of the sport, who once fought Antonio Tarver to a draw. However, Toirac delivered a vicious knockout in round four which sent Kayode to the canvas. Toirac’s Cuban rival in the amateurs, Danier Pero (9-0, 7 KOs), will be featured on next Friday’s MVP card during the WBA Annual Convention at the Caribe Royale in Orlando.

Hometown favorite Evelyn Romo (2-0) looked very promising in her four round clash at bantamweight with Peru’s Laddy Mejia (0-1-1). Romo, who trains with Derik Santos in Boca Raton, followed her game plan to a unanimous decision victory. Romo made her pro debut in Harlingen, Texas on July 26, 2024, when she defeated Mollie Backowski of Colorado by unanimous decision. The win, however, along with the rest of the card, was not recorded by Box Rec, although it is Event #43427 in the records of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Broward County’s own Gavonne Bess (2-0) also made his second appearance on Fists of Fury. Fighting at super-lightweight, Feinting, using the ring, and taking advantages of his opponent’s weaknesses, Gavonne won every round in his contest against Raymond Benavides (1-3-0).

Matchmaker Henry Rivalta deserves credit for bringing these talented fighters together. Top Rank, take note.