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Philly-born amateur heavyweight and Briscoe Award winner (Amateur of the Year for 2014), Darmani Rock, 19, announced that he would leave the amateur ranks and enter the world of professional boxing. With offers certainly coming from every direction, Rock chose Roc Nation as his promoter. This week Roc Nation issued the following press release to stake their claim on the latest hot prospect from Philadelphia.
BOXER: Darmani Rock AGE: 19 DATE OF BIRTH: April 17, 1996 HEIGHT: 6’5” STANCE: ORTHODOX BORN: Philadelphia LIVES: Philadelphia RECORD: PRO DEBUT At the age of nineteen, Darmani Rock is already drawing comparisons to former heavyweight greats of the past. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Rock was brought to a local boxing ring by his father at age twelve after he lost a street fight to neighborhood bullies. Rock cites his father, Wayne “Wiz” McLeod, as his greatest inspiration. Rock has received high praise for his powerful jab and ambidexterity. Standing at 6’4”, he moves with an unparalleled lightness and speed for a fighter his size. Rock earned nation-wide accolades following a banner year in 2014 when he took home the USA Boxing Junior and Youth Open, Youth Continental and Youth World super heavyweight titles. During the 2014 Junior and Youth Open in Reno, Nevada, Rock shut out the 2013 National Youth Champion, John Luna, 3-0. This impressive performance was followed by another super heavyweight title at the Youth Continental Championships in March 2014 in Quito, Ecuador where he defeated Argentina’s Kervin Espinola 3-0. Rock then took home the gold medal at the prestigious World Youth Championships in Bulgaria in April 2014 by a 2-1 decision over Germany’s Peter Kadiru. Rock also took home the 2014 World Junior Amateur Championship and capped off 2014 by being named Philadelphia’s Amateur Boxer of the Year at the annual Briscoe Awards. His most noteworthy win, however, came in May 2015 when he beat Cam Awesome, a career amateur who has been called the next Chris Byrd, in Las Vegas for the National Golden Gloves title. Awesome, who touts a near-perfect record over the past eight years and three Golden Gloves titles of his own, is considered one of the toughest amateur boxers to beat in a three round bout. Rock also captured the 2015 U.S. National Amateur super heavyweight championship. He ended his amateur career as the number one rated super heavyweight in the United States (and the number five rated super heavyweight in the world) going 19-5 in national tournaments. In February 2016, Rock signed an exclusive promotional agreement with Roc Nation Sports. |
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