00:00How long have you been boxing for?
00:01Since a baby.
00:03Since a baby.
00:03I grew up in the gym.
00:05I grew up at Morris Park Boxing Club my whole life.
00:07Tell us a little bit about your grandpa and how he started.
00:09So my grandfather, you know, he used to fight pro.
00:12He was fighting pro, he used to be trained by Angelo Dundee.
00:16And then, you know, he always used to say, one day he was in the corner in a fight,
00:20and he said, you know, I lost the hunger.
00:22So after that, he was like, Joe, you know, a couple more fights, we got this, we got this.
00:26He was like, no, that's it.
00:28So he always said, when you lose the hunger, that's it, that's when it's time to hang him up.
00:31So he decided to hang it up.
00:33And he opened up Morris Park Boxing Club to try to kind of keep kids off the street.
00:37And then he opened up like a couple of fundraisers and, you know, events to do,
00:43it was called BATOY, B-A-T-O-Y.
00:46So Better America Through Our Youth.
00:48And he did that to kind of keep kids off the street.
00:50So the Morris Park Boxing Club was opened in, I want to say, 1975, maybe 76.
00:58So it was actually the second longest run in the boxing club in the city, besides Gleason's.
01:03You're fighting in your youth, you take a break, you come back and, you know, you're looking to go amateurs,
01:08you're getting involved with the FDNY.
01:10Tell me a little bit about what it was like, you know, straddling, you know, the intense day job that
01:14you have in training and fighting.
01:16Sure. So I was fighting amateur before I got called for the fire department.
01:19But, you know, I've been one in the fire department my entire life.
01:23So I had taken the test in 2011, and I didn't get called.
01:27And then years later, the next test, I got called.
01:29And it was 2019 where they called me.
01:31I was actually getting ready.
01:33I just came off a pro amateur win in that September.
01:37I was actually getting ready to fight that November in Atlantic City as a pro debut.
01:42And I got called for the fire department.
01:44I was like, you know, I've always wanted this.
01:46This is my priority, you know, boxing going hold.
01:50So I went to the academy, graduated academy.
01:53And when I came out, it was COVID.
01:55So all boxing was suspended, amateurs, pros and whatnot.
01:59And then also, the plan was to have a couple more amateur fights, get the ring rust off.
02:03Didn't work out that way.
02:05So because of COVID, you know, we just turned pro.
02:08And that following September, I had my pro debut.
02:11I actually had the paramount.
02:12So tell me about your nickname and how you got it.
02:14So they called me a Martello.
02:17It means the high brand Italian.
02:19I was actually sparring in Mars Park Boxing Club.
02:23There was a group of guys there, all Italians.
02:26And I hit the guy with the right hand.
02:28And they were like, oh, you know, you throw that punch like a hammer.
02:31You throw that punch like a hammer.
02:32So the kid who was sparring was like, yeah, you know, it's hard.
02:36So they started calling me a Martello.
02:38I mean, a hammer.
02:39And they stuck with me through the amateurs.
02:41Stuck with me to the firehouse.
02:43And then the pros.
02:44So tell me a little bit about how you said the paramount has really become close for you.
02:48The paramount has become home away from home.
02:51I've had a ton of fights there.
02:54I would say maybe 12.
02:56You know, pretty much my whole career has been at the paramount.
03:01You know, they're great.
03:03The venue's great.
03:04It's a blessing that I'm constantly back there.
03:07And tell us a little bit about Saturday Night.
03:09You know, I know you said that it's going to be a...
03:12Yeah, Saturday Night's going to be a war.
03:13You know, my opponent is Eduardo Monrel.
03:16He, you know, like me, you know, he's never turned down an opponent.
03:20So I've hit my captain.
03:21Tough guy.
03:22You know, all his wins are by knockout.
03:24He's a knockout artist.
03:25Calls himself a demolisher.
03:27But Saturday Night, the demolisher gets demolished.
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