Tourney reaches halfway mark

There are 31 bouts slated for Tuesday at Hubbard High.
HUBBARD -- The K.O. Drugs High School Boxing Tournament reaches its halfway mark Tuesday, the third night for the 17th annual event, with many of the week one winners back in the ring.
The action at Hubbard High's gym will have 31 scheduled bouts.
There will be 25 undefeated boxers coming into the ring from the first week of the tournament. With all of those undefeated boxers only two fights will have undefeated boxers matched up and both of those bouts are in the upperclass (11th and 12th graders) division.
Super lightweight bout
One is a super lightweight fight between Matt Cower of Western Reserve and Marco Hall, a sophomore running back from Warren Harding. The other one has Larry Starr from Hubbard, a free swinging belter, in the ring with Poland's John Aldan, a young man with better than average boxing skills, in a light heavyweight battle.
Mike Marvin (1-0), a heavyweight from Liberty who is going for a fourth KO Drugs championship after winning the other three at different weights, leads a parade of tournament veterans in action Tuesday night.
Kiez Smith from Boardman, Chris Pankewicz from Canfield, Jon Drennen from Liberty, Mike Duponty from Struthers, Josh Fette from West Middlesex and Starr are all in at least their third year of KO Drugs action.
In the underclass (9th and 10th graders), three of the undefeated boxers, all 1-0, who return from first night wins and have family connections to the area's boxing past are Fitch's Dave Castronova, Lowellville's Rocky Nolfi and Ursuline's Don Hanni.
Boxing background
Castronova is a junior middleweight with a father, an uncle and a grandfather who have backgrounds in boxing.
Nolfi is a super middleweight with a father who has managed in the fight game and now is associated with a pro boxing organization, and Hanni, a belting heavyweight, has a grandfather who in the past was associated with the Youngstown Golden Gloves.
With good matchups in both divisions KO Drugs founder and tournament director Chuck Nelson feels the tournament is just peaking.
"We have had outstanding fights in the first two weeks of the tournament and if this year is like the past, the best is yet to come." he said.
Nelson said the female boxers will not be in action until May 18 when there will be three semifinal bouts, and the following week, in five championship fights.
The doors will open at 6 p.m. with the first of the 31 bouts at 7:30. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students.