By Larry Snyder

Huntington, New York – Pittsburgh’s Oleh Dovhun (13-0-0, 5 KOs) defends his North American Boxing Association Super Bantamweight title Friday, March 18, against Geram Eloyan (7-2-0, 6 KOs) from Brussels, Belgium. This 10-round matchup is the main event on Joe DeGuardia and his Star Boxing promotion’s Rockin’ Fights 41 card at the Paramount Theatre.

Matchmaker Tony Palmieri had the 27-year-old southpaw initially putting his NABA championship on the line versus Michel Da Silva (13-0-0, 12 KOs) of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The clash changed due to visa issues. Dovhun, the Ukrainian Pitbull, claimed the NABA crown with a 10-round unanimous decision over Glenn Dezurn (14-3-1, 10 KOs) in November 2021 at the Cathedral Room, part of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox church. The victory gave him a No. 6 World Boxing Association rating as a super bantamweight. Nine of his battles have gone the distance.

Leaving his hometown of Stebnyk, Ukraine in 2017, Dovhun made it to Pittsburgh, where he joined with Mike McSorley of the Conn-Grebb Boxing Club to begin his quest to turn professional. Oleh spoke with Gene Collier of the post-gazette.com about the current situation, ““It’s dangerous, horrible, people die every day; I don’t want to think about how many. I’m in contact with my family. Every day I call. They live more in the west (Stepnyk), near Poland. They’re still working, but it’s a crazy time. They’ve taken in nine people who are fleeing. Ukraine doesn’t want to fight. They have to.”

McSorley reported on his Facebook page on February 27th, “The unimaginable situation in Ukraine over the past few days has been heart wrenching for our team. We have always found that staying active is the best way to combat adverse situations, and our team has faced more than a few these past few years. We left Pittsburgh at 5:00 a.m. At 11:30 a.m, Oleh Dovhun was welcomed with open arms by the amazing people at the Ukrainian Heritage School in Brooklyn. Oleh spoke to all of their students.”

Eloyan, 29, had his five-fight win streak snapped in his last outing Saturday, December 11, 2021, when he lost by unanimous decision to Stephane Voda (9-0-0, 4 KOs) from Hainaut, Belgium. He feels now is the time to capture the championship, and four of his meetings went the distance.

My Prediction: Dovhun wears down Eloyan by the eighth round and collects a technical knockout to retain his title and unbeaten streak.

From Oleh Dovhun / Titleboxing On YouTube.com…

Rockin’ Fights 41 Lineup:

ABO North American Super Welterweight Title (8 Rnds) – Tyrone James (11-0-0, 8 KOs) Elmont, Long Island, NY Vs. Jimmy Williams (18-6-2, 6 KOs) New Haven, CT

Super Welterweight (6 Rnds) – Wendy Toussaint (12-1-0, 5 KOs) Huntington, NY Vs. Travis Gambardella (7-1-2, 3 KOs) Revere, MA

Super Welterweight (6 Rnds) – Ermal Hadribeaj (12-0-1, 6 KOs) Miami Beach, FL Vs. Hevinson Herrera (26-19-1, 21 KOs) Barranquilla, Colombia

Cruiserweight (4 Rnds) – Emmanuel Etienne (1-0-0, 1 KO) Uniondale, NY Vs. Alexis Nieuwkerk (Debut) Amsterdam, NY

Super Welterweight (4 Rnds) – Isaah Flaherty (2-0-0, 1 KO) Queens, NY Vs. Angelo Thompson (0-1-0) Irvington, NJ

Light Heavyweight (4 Rnds) – Louis Maietta (1-0-1, 0 KO) Bronx, NY Vs. Kamron Humphrey (2-0-0, 1 KO) Brooklyn, NY

Corner Notes: Doors open for the boxing faithful at 6:30 p.m., and the first bell sounds at 7:30 p.m. The New York State Athletic Commission sanctions the contests, and the competitors in any bout are subject to change. Secure your seat online here. FITE+ is streaming the encounter. Adam Castleforte amiably supplied the top photo for this article. All Rights Reserved.