By Larry Snyder

Schenectady, New York – For the main event at Rivers Casino and Resort Saturday, April 9, 2022, Joe DeGuardia and his Star Boxing promotion are bringing together a pair of cruiserweights to unify two championship titles. Pittsburgh’s Lyubomyr Pinchuk (14-2-1, 8 KOs) enters the encounter as the North American Boxing Association Gold champion when he faces Simone Federici (18-2-1, 8 KOs), who holds the World Boxing Council Continental Americas crown. The 28-year-old Federici is from Roma, Lazio, Italy.

Pinchuk collected the NABA Gold belt in a hard-fought eight-round unanimous decision (79-73, 79-73, 80-72) against Jose Mario Flores (8-3-2, 4 KOs) from Woodbridge, VA. At the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY, matchmaker Tony Palmieri had the Saturday, January 15, 2022, matchup as part of the Joe Smith, Jr. versus Steve Geffard undercard. The 25-year-old Demolition Man has gone the distance nine times in his career and seeks his third consecutive victory.

Coming from his hometown of Lviv, Ukraine, in 2017, Pinchuk arrived in the Steel City, where he trains with Mike McSorley of the Conn-Grebb Boxing Club. Lyubomyr talked with Onorato and Company about this weekend, his homeland, and his career on the WNYT NewsChannel 13 YouTube channel.

Federici reached New York in November of 2019 to battle Stivens Bujaj (17-4-1, 11 KOs) for the WBC Continental America’s title at Star Boxing’s Rockin’ Fights card at the Paramount Theatre in Huntington, NY. After ten rounds of taking the fight to his opponent, he downed Bujaj by unanimous decision (98-92, 97-93, 97-93). The pugilist nicknamed Tyson went the distance 13 times and owns a four-fight winning streak.

Star Boxing CEO Joe DeGuardia commented about the ten-round meeting on the company website, “This main event has both international allure and important world ratings at stake. Both Federici and Pinchuk have a lot on the line and their styles should matchup to create a thrilling main event on April 9.”

My Prediction: Pinchuk grinds down Federici by the seventh round and claims a technical knockout to unite the cruiserweight titles.

Rivers Casino and Resort Schenectady Lineup:

Light Heavyweight (8 Rnds) – Tony Browne (4-1-0, 0 KO) Dublin, Ireland Vs. Leandro Silva (3-5-0, 2 KOs) Woburn, MA

Super Lightweight (6 Rnds) – Omar Bordoy (11-1-0, 3 KOs) Danbury, CT Vs. Matt Gaver (2-6-2, 1 KO) Bakersfield, CA

Super Lightweight (6 Rnds) – Ryan O’Rourke (7-0-0, 1 KO) Dublin, Ireland Vs. Faycal Rezkallah (6-1-1, 1 KO) Lyon, Rhône, France

Middleweight (6 Rnds) – Jahyae Brown (10-0-0, 8 KOs) Schenectady, NY Vs. Gilberto Pereira dos Santos (16-12-0, 12 KOs) Goiânia, Goias, Brazil

Super Featherweight (4 Rnds/2 Minutes Each) – Michelle Cook (1-3-2, 0 KO) Massena, NY Vs. Elizabeth Tuani (1-6-0, 0 KO) SeaTac, WA

Corner Notes: Doors swing open at 7:00 p.m., and the first bell rings at 8:00 p.m. The New York State Athletic Commission approves the bouts, and the combatants in any contest are subject to change. Obtain your seat online here. FITE+ is streaming the fight card for a fee.

From Star Boxing Inc On YouTube.com…