Star Boxing's "Rockin' Fights" series had its 34th event Friday night at the Paramount in Long Island, New York. The night included six compelling bouts that included the return of Huntington's own JOHNNY "HITMAN" HERNANDEZ who went to battle with Texas native MARQUIS "THE HAWK" HAWTHORNE. In the international co-main event, JOEL "BIG JOE" DJEKO and SIMONE "TYSON" FEDERICI settled their differences in the squared circle. On the undercard, TERELL "THE PROBLEM CHILD" BOSTIC. DASHAUN "TOOSWEET" JOHNS. ALEX "EL TORO" VARGAS and JEFFREY GONZALEZ took care of business in worthy fashion.

JOHNNY "HITMAN" HERNANDEZ (now 10-4 1KO) and MARQUIS "THE HAWK" HAWTHORNE found themselves in a tactical battle over the scheduled 8-round bout. From the first round on, both fighters continued to make in ring adjustments, seemingly trading rounds between in a good scrap. Hernandez found success using his speed and footwork to score on Hawthorne, however as the fight went on, Hawthorne (6-10 1KO), used his length to subdue Hernandez's attack, in an effort to get to him first. At the finish of the competitive 8-round, contest, the judges' scorecards read, 76-76, 77-75 (x2) as Hernandez outpointed the game Hawthorne by close majority decision.

Cruiserweights, JOEL "BIG JOE" DJEKO (now 15-2-1 7KO's) and SIMONE "TYSON" FEDERICI (now 14-2-1 6KO's) finally had the chance to glove up, and settle their differences in the ring, after Djeko pushed Federici at Thursday's weigh-in. Federici came out of the gate strong, working effectively on the inside, landing a strong, short, combination that unsteadied the big Belgium. Djeko later returned the favor, with a vicious body attack on the Italian. The two continued to trade over the full 10-rounds in a fight that seemed very close.  Upon the final bell the Italian jumped on the ring ropes assuming he won with his aggression.  Ultimately the scorecards were read and the judges scored in favor of Djeko unanimously (97-93 (x2), 99-91).  The fans in attendance voiced displeasure with the decision, but the commentators on Facebook seemingly thought Djeko had edged out the victory.  

TERELL "THE PROBLEM CHILD" BOSTIC (now 4-1 1KO) of Wyandanch, Long Island took on JAVIER MARTINEZ (now 4-6 3KO's) of Laredo, Texas.  Bostic returned last night to The Paramount in search of vengeance for his first professional loss, by close split decision, at the last "Rockin' Fights".   The two super lightweights waged war for the scheduled 6-round bout, as Bostic picked his spots, landing to both the body and the head of Martinez. Martinez however was not backing down, as he spent most of the bout coming forward in attempt to create openings.  In the end, Bostic earned the unanimous decision victory by scores of 60-54 (x2) and 59-55.

DASHAUN "TOOSWEEET" JOHNS (now 2-0 1KO) showed extreme fortitude in his bout against DERON "KING" LAWSON.  Lawson came on strong in the first round, getting the best of Johns, causing the Bronx native to be on unsteady legs for most of the three minutes. However, to Johns credit, he resisted the onslaught, and managed to finish out the round. A clear game plan change from John's corner heading into the second round paid major dividends, managing to out box Lawson (now 0-3) for the remainder of the four rounds to a win a tough unanimous decision.  All three judges scored the fight the same, 39-37. 

ALEX "EL TORO" VARGAS (now 3-0 1KO), made his third straight appearance at The Paramount, against Ghana native, BENJAMIN BORTEYE (now 4-5 4KO's) and did not waste any time.  Vargas effectively cut off the ring, pinning Borteye in the corner, and landed a straight right, dropping Borteye early in the first round. Vargas continued the onslaught, dropping Borteye a second time in the second round. Vargas earned a TKO victory 3 seconds into the third, remaining undefeated in his young professional career, as well as at The Paramount.

In the opening bout of the evening, JEFFREY GONZALEZ (Pro-Debut) took on EARL HENRY (0-0-1) of Florida in a scheduled 4-round super middleweight bout. The crowd was filled with oh's and ah's as both fighters traded freely and fiercely at the center of the ring landing at will. After the full four rounds, Gonzalez notched his first professional win by scores of 40-36 (x3).

Star Boxing head, JOE DEGUARDIA had this to say about Friday's entire "Rockin' Fights" event, "It was another fun night at the Paramount and the fighters once again gave fans a thrilling action-packed night.  We look forward to our next stop-March 9th when Joe Smith Jr., another Paramount favorite, gets his World Championship title fight vs Dmitry Bivol at Turning Stone Casino." 

IN OTHER RESULTS: Cali Boxing's undefeated super bantamweight prospect, Eros Correa (6-0, 6 KOs), scored his sixth consecutive knockout to start off his career when he stopped Jose Pech by way of a second-round knockout. The 4-round bout took place in Tijuana, Mexico and was promoted by GM3 Boxing Promotions and Gonzalez Boxing Promotions.

After a dominating first round, Correa came out with a vengeance in round two, dropping Pech twice with his signature left hook to the body.  After Pech got up, Correa finished him off with a left hook to the head.

"Fighting in Mexico has been a tremendous blessing to my career," said Eros Correa, who lives and trains in San Jose, CA. "I feel I have the power and skills to compete with anyone in the super bantamweight division. I'll be back in the gym next week with the goal to fight next month. My team is doing a great job and soon I'll be knocking on the door, looking for a big fight."

"Eros is the real deal," said Andrew Bocanegra, from Cali Boxing Management. "He's dominating everyone that steps in the ring with him. We are working on getting him a fight in the Bay Area for his next bout. Right now, we feel Eros is the best rising prospect in the super bantamweight division."

"This kid has tremendous power to go along with his high ring IQ," said Jessie Sanchez, of Cali Boxing Management. "He's developing well and I can see him in a big fight by the end of the year."