Monroeville promoter plans amateur, pro boxing cards at Murrysville SportZone

Monroeville boxing promoter Derek Gionta had just put on a successful evening of fights in March 2020, and planned to continue cards in larger Pittsburgh-area venues. Then the covid-19 pandemic hit.

Sports in general went by the wayside, to make no mention of a full-contact sport like boxing.

“I stepped back and started looking at other options for how to do a show,” said Gionta, a 1999 Plum grad and boxing trainer. “A minimal crowd, no crowd, a streaming service — and I looked at what the larger promoters were doing.”

Roughly a year later, in February, Gionta was able to put on an event at the Washington County Fairgrounds with proper health, safety and capacity measures in place. “We ran that show and it did well financially,” he said. “And it went from 350 people in February to nearly 800 people at the same venue in June.”

Next month, Gionta will bring boxing to Murrysville, with a two-show day featuring amateur boxers in the afternoon and pros in the evening, Sept. 18 at the Murrysville SportZone.

“It was a rough year, but it gave us a chance to strategize a little bit and it will make us more successful as we head into bigger shows,” Gionta said.

Co-headlining the pro card will be Rich “Pretty Richie” Cantolina (7-0-1, 3 KOs) of New Kensington fighting six rounds in the 154-160-pound range, and Matt “Sweet Child” Conway (19-2, 8 KOs) of Washington fighing eight rounds in the 130-pound range, both with opponents to be determined.

Finding venues close to his fighters’ hometowns is an important consideration, Gionta said.

“Matt is a 10-round fighter approaching his 20th win, and he lives out near Washington, so it makes perfect sense to have him headline those shows,” he said. “Richie is from the Alle-Kiski Valley area, so it makes perfect sense to have him featured.”

Gionta was originally looking into New Kensington’s Pittsburgh Ice Arena as a possible venue, just up from the street from Cantolina’s house.

“The guy who manages it also manages the Murrysville SportZone, and he said we’d be able to do an event there,” Gionta said.

The plan is to set up the ring in the center of the main dek hockey rink, with ringside seating, tables and floor seats at prices ranging from $40 to $125 for the pro card, and $20 general admission for the amateur card.

Gionta is hoping the event will feature at least one female boxing match with Tika Hemingway (1-0) of Pittsburgh, a 2019 Golden Gloves national champion with a stellar amateur career that also includes a 2006 Golden Gloves national championship and a stint on USA Boxing’s national team.

It will be the largest event Gionta has promoted yet on both the pro and amateur sides, and he said he’s excited to put on a full day of fights.

“I know there are people out there like myself who would be interested in that,” he said. “I thought we could do an amateur show in the afternoon around 12:30 p.m., take a three-hour break and open the doors back up for a pro evening show at 7 p.m.”

In the future, he wants to return to all three venues he’s used including the fairgrounds in Washington County and the Pittsburgh Shriners Center in Cheswick.

For the time being, he’s focused on lining up fighters for the Sept. 18 card at the SportZone.

“It’s a nice big place, it’s easy to find, right there off of Route 22,” he said. “And I don’t know that Murrysville has ever had a professional boxing event before.”

For more, including tickets, call 412-759-0407.