Dwyke Flemmings, Salserito Rodriguez, Gabriel Gerena score wins in Philly
New Jersey fighters Dwyke Flemmings Jr and Emmanuel “Salserito” Rodriguez bounced back Saturday from defeats with wins in Philadelphia while Gabriel Gerena continued to build momentum with his third straight win.
Flemmings, a middleweight from Paterson, bounced back from the first loss of his career with a third round stoppage of Andy Arteaga, while Rodriguez, a Cherry Hill-based featherweight from Newark, snapped a two-fight losing streak with a unanimous decision over Luis Morales. Gerena, a welterweight from Piscataway, got rid of Marklin Bailey in the fifth round. The fights, which took place at the 2300 Arena, were promoted by Rising Star Promotions.
Flemmings (12-1, 11 KOs) wasted little time reestablishing himself as one of New Jersey’s most dangerous punchers as the 26-year-old dropped Arteaga (9-2), a Bolivia native now living in Texas with a right hand late in the second round and never allowed him to recover.
Arteaga survived the remainder of the round, but Flemmings came out aggressively in the third, unleashing a barrage of power shots that forced referee Shawn Clark to intervene and stop the contest at 1:31 of the round. The victory earned Flemmings the WBA-NABA Silver middleweight championship and helped erase the disappointment of the split-decision defeat he suffered in April against Yan Marcos.
For Rodriguez (16-3, 8 KOs), Saturday represented an opportunity to halt a slide that had seen him lose his previous two bouts. Rodriguez showcased superior hand speed and accuracy throughout most of his six-round contest against Luis Morales (8-6-1, 3 KOs). After establishing control in the opening rounds, Rodriguez weathered Morales’ best moments in the fourth and fifth before reasserting himself in the sixth.
All three judges favored Rodriguez by scores of 60-54, 60-54 and 58-56, giving the crowd favorite his first victory since 2024 and providing a much-needed confidence boost as he looks to work his way back into contention.
Gerena (9-1, 7 KOs) engaged in a fan-friendly battle from the opening bell, applying pressure to veteran Marklin Bailey (10-16, 6 KOs) of Durham, North Carolina. Bailey had moments of success, but Gerena consistently landed the cleaner and more damaging punches.
Bailey’s frustrations became evident in the fourth round when he was deducted a point for repeatedly losing his mouthpiece. Gerena continued to press the action, and after another sustained offensive attack in the fifth round, referee David Braslow stepped in to halt the bout at 1:30 of the round.
Photo by Carlo Estonactoc