Boxer Who Grew Up In Woodbridge Will Box At Pru Center Oct. 12

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — A boxer who grew up in the Iselin section of Woodbridge will fight Oct. 12 in a highly anticipated boxing match at the Prudential Center in Newark.

The Woodbridge native is “Dangerous” Danny Gonzalez, 29 years old. He picked up boxing only four years ago, at the age of 25, and quickly was good enough to turn pro.

In high school, Gonzalez was a running back and defensive back for John F. Kennedy Memorial High School. He started playing his sophomore year of high school in Woodbridge, in the 2010-2011 season, and played until graduation after the 2012-2013 season.

Gonzalez is trained by former pro boxer Derrick “Poppy” Rolon. Gonzalez has won all three of his pro fights so far, all by knockout, including his most recent outing on September 7 against Zachary Davis, whom he stopped in three rounds. Prior to turning professional last year, Gonzalez was a standout amateur, winning the 2022 New Jersey Golden Gloves title at 147 pounds, and competing at the National Golden Gloves.

The Oct. 12 fight will be Gonzalez's toughest test to date as a professional, when he meets fellow unbeaten prospect Gabriel Gerena. The 22-year-old Gerena (6-0, 5 knockouts) is from Piscataway and has been a professional since 2022, with an impressive amateur career of his own, competing in several national tournaments. He last fought in June, stopping Lyle McFarlane in five rounds in Atlantic City.

The six-round fight will be fought in the junior welterweight (140 pounds) division, and will be part of Brick City Fight Night Series, which is presented by Rising Star Promotions and Prudential Center in association with Joe DeGuardia's Star Boxing.

“I’m excited for this upcoming fight and more focused than I ever have been. I’m coming off a knockout victory so my confidence is high going into this fight,” said Gonzalez. "It should be an exciting, fan-pleasing fight of two Central Jersey prospects clashing early in our careers. I’m looking to stamp my spot in the division and make a statement with this win."

Tickets, priced at $306, $231, $121 and $60, are on sale now and can be purchased at www.prucenter.com or www.Ticketmaster.com. Doors for Brick City Fight Night Series open at 6 p.m., with the first bout scheduled to begin at 6:10 p.m.

“I’m very excited to add this fight to the already stacked event. I take my hat off to these two for taking the challenge early in their careers,” said Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna, President of Rising Star Promotions and WBA Gold Middleweight world champion.

“This is what the Brick City Fight Night series is all about: competitive, 50/50 matches.”

The event will be headlined by an exciting welterweight crossroads fight as Michael “Slick” Anderson (24-3-1, 18 KOs) of Newark faces Daniel “El Gallo” Gonzalez (21-4-1, 7 KOs) of Queens, N.Y. in a ten-round bout.

The rest of the card will feature other top talent from the New Jersey and New York areas, including Emmanuel “Salserito” Rodriguez (15-2, 8 KOs) of Newark against Brooklyn’s Khalid Twaiti (13-0, 5 KOs) in the ten-round co-main event, plus Anthony Johns (8-1, 6 KOs) of Newark, Kristian Prenga (15-1, 15 KOs) of Edgewater, N.J., Ghandi Romain (4-1, 4 KOs) of Irvington, N.J., Kahshad Elliot (2-0, 2 KOs) of Plainfield, N.J., Jean Pierre Valencia (1-0, 1 KO) of Irvington, N.J. and more.