'March Mayhem' boxing card in Cheswick will feature local, regional fighters

Local promoter Derek Gionta of Plum is excited to see more boxing events happening in the Steel City.

“A friend of mine is doing cards three or four times a year, plus you have the Meadows and the Rivers casinos,” said Gionta, who is promoting a March 7 card, “March Mayhem,” at the Shrine Center in Cheswick that will feature a number of local and regional fighters.

“Richie Cantolina is my main event,” said Gionta, who has spent the past few years managing and training fighters at the amateur and pro levels. “He’s from Ambridge and is now living in the (Alle-Kiski Valley) area.”

Cantolina (6-0, two knockouts) will fight in the junior middleweight division as the main event. Pittsburgh boxer and Ukraine native Oleg Dovhun (10-0, three KOs) will fight in the junior featherweight division in the co-main event.

Other local fighters include heavyweight Freddy Latham Jr. and super middleweight Eric Lomax, who both hail from Penn Hills, and super middleweight Leemont Johnson, who is a Woodland Hills graduate.

Other Pittsburgh-area pugilists include Deon Goodlow, James Brown, Jordan Zlacki and James Bryant, along with Donovan Malovich from Butler, Max Leasock of Somerset and Alliance, Ohio, native Ryizeemmion Ford.

Gionta said his fighters are more than ready to hit the ring by this time of the year.

“It’s nice to be doing something during the first few months of the year because a lot of the guys, they don’t want to wait until May or June to start,” he said. “This (card) was something I thought was necessary in order to keep these guys busy before some of the other shows kick into gear.”

Gionta also is excited to promote another event at the Shrine Center in Cheswick, which has much more of a vintage, old-school feel than some other events.

“You go to some fights, and it’s sort of at a bingo hall or banquet hall type of place, and you start to worry that the heavyweights are going to hit their head off the ceiling,” Gionta said. “But this place has nice high ceilings, a beautiful chandelier … It’s a neat place to have an event because it’s a little more (ornate) than your typical hall.”

Tickets for the event range from $35 general admission to $125 ringside seating. To purchase tickets, call 412-759-0407.