Rosta returns to cage tonight

July 14, 2018 at 12:06a.m.

Downtown Boxing’s

two-way fighter back

from knee surgery

YOUNGSTOWN

Downtown Boxing Club light heavyweight Dalton Rosta will meet Devon Williams of Philadelphia in the amateur feature of tonight’s Rivers pro-am “Rumble IX in the Cage” at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh.

The 14-bout card features seven amateur matchups with Rosta and Williams opposing each other for the Made Men Promotions Belt.

Coming off May 4 meniscus surgery — the third knee surgery of his career — the undefeated Rosta (he is 5-0 in MMA and 4-0 in his amateur boxing career) says he is ready to return to the cage.

“This will be the largest crowd that I have ever fought in front of, but I like the pressure and will definitely enjoy the crowd,” Rosta said.

The last time out (March 24), Rosta defeated Trenton Zdarko of Titusville, Pa., by KO at 1:29 of the opening round at Printscape Arena at Southpointe in Canonsburg, Pa. That was for the Pinnacle PFC light heavyweight championship belt.

Williams (4-0) is also undefeated and while Rosta doesn’t know much about his opponent, he doesn’t view that as a roadblock to what would be his second title belt in a little over three months.

The fight is scheduled for three three-minute rounds.

“My knee surgery went fine and I’ve been training hard the past six weeks, so I am set and ready to go,” Rosta said. “I know that my opponent is also undefeated, but other than that I know very little about him. I saw a YouTube video of him, but it’s tough to judge what he is like from that clip.

“The game plan remains the same and that is to just go out and fight. If I run into a problem, then I will correct it right then and there in the cage.”

Rosta credits trainer Sammy Calderon with honing his skills as a boxer, using that training now to his advantage when he is in the cage.

“Sammy has been very helpful, especially with my striking,” Rosta said. “There are a lot of gyms around here, but Sammy pushes me hard and I have learned a lot from him. About 99 percent of what I have learned from Sammy and boxing carries over to MMA.

“Boxing is like MMA in that it is an aggressive sport and you move straight ahead. Kickboxing and Muay Thai are neutral martial arts and not as aggressive.”

Rosta, who will earn his BS in finance from Youngstown this December, currently works as a cost analyst at First National Bank in Hermitage, Pa.

He will have Calderon working his corner tonight.

“Dalton is definitely ready to go. There are no lingering effects from surgery and he cannot wait to get back into the cage,” Calderon said. “Everything Dalton does, he does hard and is absolutely focused on the task at hand. He loves MMA and you can just see that he has a very bright future.

“I’ve been blessed to have some very good fighters, but Dalton is that one guy that walks through your doors that you just know will go really, really far.”

All five of Rosta’s MMA wins have come by KO or TKO. Of his four boxing matches, one was by TKO with the other three by unanimous decision.

While some fighters dream of furthering their careers, Rosta already has a plan in place once he earns his degree from YSU.

“I plan on going to UFC. It’s not just a dream, I will get there,” Rosta said. “The plan is to turn pro after next year’s Cleveland Golden Gloves tournament.”

The pro main event will pit Pittsburgh’s Khama “The Deathstar” Worthy in his return as he takes on Texas brawler Raymond Rando in a three-round pairing.

Tickets start at $30 (complimentary $10 given to ticket holders at the door). The event welcomes all ages but anyone under 21 is not permitted inside the casino or the casino’s parking garage.

Tickets are available at mademenpromotions.com.