Rodriguez-Toribio headline Jan. 15 card in Yonker

Bronx welterweight Jose Angel “Silber Boy” Rodriguez is stepping up in terms of competition when he fights Dominican veteran David Toribio in the 8-round main event January 15 on the “New Year, New Stars” card, presented by O’Shea Brothers Boxing Promotions, at the PAL Gym in Yonkers, New York.

Rodriguez (14-1-1, 2 KOs) has lost only once, out-pointed a year ago by Big Apple rival George Walton, while battled-tested veteran Toribio (16-12, 10 KOs) has proven to be an upset specialist with past victories against previously unbeaten prospects (11-0) Juan Camilio Novoa (TKO1) and (14-0-2) Ishmail Arvin (DEC8). Toribio has also been in against the likes of James Kirkland, Oscar Diaz, Daniel Edouard and Marco Antonio Rubio.

“O’Shea Bros. Boxing is all abut bringing old-school boxing back to the fans and this card is a perfect example of that,” promoter Brian O’Shea explained. “A lot of guys won’t fight Rodriguez because he’s a southpaw boxer. They stay away from him because he’s a lefty who is slick. A lot of guys have turned him down as an opponent. This fight is one of the biggest, if not the biggest fight of his career. Toribio is a tough veteran who isn’t coming here as an opponent. He’s coming to fight and win.

“We have some of the best young local fighters on this card. They’re in real fights, too. That’s what the fans want and we’re giving it to them. We’re not into protecting fighters to build-up their records. Some like Jose are stepping up the competition and some of the guys just starting their pro careers are fighting opponents of equal talent, from rival or even the same neighborhoods in some cases. We’ve gone back to putting on shows just like in the old days.”

The 6-round co-feature has undefeated African welterweight Issouf Kinda (6-0, 3 KOs), now fighting out of Harlem, matched against Dominican power-puncher Franklin Gonzalez (13-3, 10 KOs).

On the undercard in 4-round bouts in the battle of Bronx bantamweights, Raul Lopez (1-0, 1 KO) vs. Alex Monte (1-0, 0 KOs), New Rochelle super flyweight Jose “Chilli” Rivera (1-0, 0 KOs) vs. pro debuting Miguel Diaz, Bronx featherweight Nydia “Da Phenominal” Feliciano (1-0-1, 0 KOs) vs. Norma Faris (3-1), 2-time New York Golden Gloves champion Adam Kownacki (1-0, 1 KO), fighting out of the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, vs. Bronx heavyweight Abdighano Bousman in his pro debut; Manhattan super featherweights Takeshi Sato (0-1) and Jonathan Cuba (1-1, 1 KO), Yonkers hometown favorite Chazz McDowell makes his pro debut against Bronx featherweight Alex Cooper (0-2).

All fights and fighters are subject to change.