Calero and Freeman, who train in the Bronx, dominate at
Orchard Beach
“This is my house,” Richard Calero said Saturday prior to the 20th
Annual Bronxboro Championship.
The 29-year-old middleweight armwrestler was not being brash. Those who
know Calero know he carries himself with a sense of decorum both on and off the
table. But the Bronx native knew he would have to be confident to pull out two
hotly contested weight classes on the main stage that sat smoldering on the
pavement abutting Orchard Beach.
Calero, who may have the best left-arm in the state in his weight class
still had to prove his worth to Manhattan’s Angel Cosme. Cosme, a big
175-pounder had never lost to Calero in a competition before.
Also in the running was a budding Eddie Riotte of Durham, Conn. as well
as the Hall brothers, Jason and Michael that made a splash last year at the
event. Michael Hall won the lightweight class last year, while his brother
Jason was in contention in two loaded middleweight classes left and right
handed until the final rounds.
Hall drew Cosme early on and was put in the losers’ bracket as Cosme
caught him and threw him across the table in a hook for the win. Calero flash
pinned Riotte, whose hook and top-roll have progressed quickly in the last few
months.
Cosme drew Jason Hall in the winners’ bracket in round two and once
again played catch. After corralling Hall’s hit inside, Cosme rolled him to the
pad for the win.
Meanwhile, Riotte found himself in a long hook match with Michael Hall.
After a fairly long inside pull, Riotte managed to back Hall out with his lat
and then rolled him out for the win.
Riotte would survive through the losers’ bracket and make it to the
finals where Cosme and Calero had remained unbeaten. In their first match,
Calero shocked everyone as his hit Cosme hard into a shoulder roll and almost
got the pin off of the ‘go.’ Cosme was able to catch the hit but could not back
Calero out and Calero held on for the pin.
Cosme would have to beat Riotte to get another shot at Calero. Prior to
the ‘go,’ Riotte was loading up with a ton of backpressure but was losing his
wrist. With enough knuckles-up strength, he might have been able to roll Cosme
out, but Cosme won the battle up top slowly rolling Riotte out for the win.
Riotte took third.
The rematch between Calero and Cosme may have been more of a shocker
than their first match. With a resounding, “I have arrived,” Calero flashed
Cosme into a shoulder roll and secured the Bronxboro championship, making him
the frontrunner for the Empire State Title later this fall.
“That is a real strong move for him,” said Cosme of Calero’s shoulder
roll following the tournament. “I can tell he has been training a lot because
his technique has gotten so much better.”
After the win, Calero jumped off the stage and gave his father a hug.
It was the first time his father had ever come to a competition to see him
pull.
“I was so nervous when I saw I would have to go up against Angel
(Cosme),” Calero said. “He has dominated me in the past but I had faith that I
could do it. Winning this in front of my dad made it so much better. It was
more special.”
Though Calero won his second straight left-handed middleweight
Bronxboro Championship, he would have his work cut out for him to win his first
right-handed. Last year, Tony Kaiser dominated the weight class, flashing
through all comers. This year, standing in his way would be the young star Alex
Josowitz and veteran Harry Wilson, both of Brooklyn, NY.
Josowitz burst onto the scene in February when he won some convincing
matches at the Tune-up held in Elmhurst. Josowitz’ top pressure has increased
considerably in the past few months and he was ready to break it out on Wilson
in round one. From the start, Wilson was much too late trying to turn Josowitz
inside and was flashed.
Calero drew a bye in the first round, but would dispose of Jason Hall
in the second round as Josowitz quickly beat Riotte.
In the following round, Calero broke through Josowitz’ wrist chopping
him into a shoulder roll for the pin.
As Calero cruised through the winners’ bracket right handed, Josowitz
made it to the finals where Wilson awaited him. Wilson, who is typically
dedicated to his inside move, decided to employ a top roll against Josowitz.
The first time the two set up, Wilson hit him straight to the pad but was
called for an elbow foul. Off the restart, it appeared as though Wilson jumped
the ‘go,’ but he managed to roll Josowitz out handing him third place.
Following the match, Wilson had nothing but good words for Josowitz.
“He’s gotten good, excellent,” Wilson said. “He is real fast too, I
can’t catch him. The ref’s gave me a good start on the second match.”
Josowitz agreed.
“I feel like I should have pulled out that second match,” Josowitz said.
“But the ref just started without me.”
Wilson knew he would have to defeat his old friend and rival Calero
twice to be crowned champion. However, with a much-improved inside game, Calero
drove right into Wilson’s forearm and pinned him for the title and the Arm Star
Award given to the puller who wins the title with both arms.
Seldom are there two Arm Star Awards given out at the same tournament
but making the attempt on Saturday would be Joe Milano of Stratford, Conn. and
Shaun Freeman of Maspeth, NY, who trains at Calero’s house in the Bronx on
Tuesdays.
Accompanying the two in the super-heavyweight right-handed weight class
would be 6-time Bronxboro Champ Luis Diaz. Early on, Freeman made his presence
known, taking advantage of Diaz’ wrist and hitting him to the pad fast up top.
Meanwhile Milano popped over Zepf Alia early on setting up a match in
the winners’ bracket with Freeman. Freeman used his superior hand and wrist
strength to roll Milano to the pad securing a spot in the finals.
Too stay in contention, Alia and Diaz would pull for a crack at Milano.
Off the go, Alia gained hand control, but Diaz slipped and the two decided to
set up in a hook. On the restart, Diaz was too much inside but would have his
work cut out for him if he wanted a seventh title in his home borough.
In the finals, Milano came out with a vengeance. His explosive hit
flopped Diaz’ wrist but Diaz pushed behind it in a tricep and managed to slip.
Referee and double-armed national champion Mike Selearis decided to put the two
in the straps to determine who would move on.
Though it looked like Milano left early on the ‘go’ he managed to drive
Diaz straight over for the win and a chance to redeem himself against Freeman.
“I think Luis Diaz - if he worked out on his wrist – could be a tough
competitor in this sport,” Milano said following their match. “He has a very
strong hook, but since his wrist flopped over I gave him a hard time.”
Milano added that his strap technique came from someone he would only
refer to as “the left-handed Pennsylvania State Champ.”
During the final match, it was plain to see that both competitors would
be going up top. Off of a running start, Freeman looked to have the hand
advantage but Milano slipped just past center. In the straps, Milano looked
perfect prior to the start with his strap low around his wrist. From the start,
however, Milano did not have enough post pressure to open Freeman up. He
stopped Freeman about four inches from the pad and held but Freeman was able to
wear Milano out and drive him to the pad for super-heavyweight title.
Left-handed Freeman would find himself in the finals with Milano and
Joe Maresch of Bronxville, NY.
Milano, a natural lefty was hungry…for a shot at Freeman left-handed
that is. First, Milano would have to pull Maresch and would slowly roll him to
the pad for the victory. Against Freeman, Milano would once again test his top
pressure but Freeman had too much for him.
Milano beat Maresch once again and would change tactics with Freeman
the second time around. This time, he would try to turn Freeman inside from the
start. With a burst of side pressure, Freeman put Milano almost to the pad when
Milano managed to turn into a hook. It was too late as Freeman held on for the
pin and the Arm Star sweep.
“In the finals I intentionally slipped because I thought I had a better
chance with Shaun (Freeman) in the straps,” said Milano, who anchored Team
Connecticut helping the squad win the team points championship. “I stopped his
hit, but he had too much side pressure. He was the only thing stopping me in
both weight classes today.”
Following the tournament, Diaz was so impressed with Calero and Freeman
that he decided to become a new member of the Bronx team.
“I have never really trained for this sport,” Diaz said. “I have never
really lifted any weights; I’m just naturally strong. I have no transportation
to train out in Whitestone, so I am going to start pulling in the Bronx with
Shaun Freeman and Richie Calero. I am going to get strong and then I am going
to test out how far I have come at the Columbus Avenue Street Festival
tournament.”
With the super-heavyweight Arm Star Award, Freeman was poised to win
the M.V.P. as well. Waiting in the wings would be Kristian Gelencser of College
Point, NY. Gelencser was at one time a mainstay in the 175-pound class, but has
beefed up since his last tournament, nearly two years ago.
Gelenscer flashed through everyone in his weight class including Julio
Rosario of the Bronx and Riotte a natural middleweight that managed to take
third in the heavyweight class. Though Rosario was too much inside for Riotte,
Gelenscer was far too much for Rosario, giving him the heavyweight
championship.
Freeman flashed through Gelenscer in the overall, however, winning the
M.V.P. He said Joe Milano was his most formidable opponent of the day.
“I have to say that my toughest match today was against Joey (Milano)
in the straps,” Freeman said. “In the straps I remember thinking back pressure,
post from the wrist.”
Freeman said he never imagined winning an Arm Star and M.V.P. in the
same tournament but said it was a great feeling.
“I never thought I would ever do anything like this in the sport,”
Freeman said. “But I did and it feels good.”
The lightweight finals featured three newcomers that look to have a
great deal of potential. John Kagan, a Yale student living in New Haven, Conn.
looked to be the man to beat early though Vardan Krpeyan of Dumont, NJ and
Andrey Martyanou of Bensalem, PA were equally impressive.
Kagan and Martyanou would meet in the middle rounds and battle through
a long hook match that saw Martyanou come out on top. Both would find
themselves in the finals with Krpeyan who defeated Muhammed Azam, a strong
inside puller in his own right.
In the finals, Krpeyan dove in on Kagan and, though Kagan stopped him,
he could not manage to drag him across the table. Kagan took third. Krpeyan
pumped and secured the pin and a shot at first place. In the final match,
Krpeyan would hit Martyanou the same way and laid back into a drag hook for the
pin and the title.
In the featherweight finals, last year’s champ Floyd Ryder of Bristol,
Conn. was accompanied by 16-year-old Andrew Castellaneta of Massapequa, NY and
John Cruz of the Bronx. In their first match, Ryder kept a very tight tuck and
managed to roll Cruz to the pad for the win.
Cruz quickly defeated Castellaneta, but bowed out in the finals setting
up a championship match between Ryder and Castellaneta. Ryder quickly defeated
Castellaneta to take home his second straight 132-pound title. Ryder, who took
third at Empire States last year, should be the frontrunner for the title this
year based on his performance.
It was a repeat performance for both Cindy Looney and Carrie Wilson of
Milford, Conn. Much like last year, the two would once again take first and second
at the Bronxboro. Carol Varga of the Bronx rounded out the women’s open weight
class taking third after two hotly contested battles with Wilson. Though Wilson
did manage to force Looney into the straps in their first match, in match two
it was all Looney.
In the lightweight class, Rouzanna Brownell and Araksya Kovsepeyan of
Dumont, NJ took first and second as Jennifer Griffith of the Bronx rounded out
the weight class taking third.
In the women’s overall, Looney quickly disposed of Brownell, taking home
the women’s M.V.P.
As a result, Connecticut scored 26 points and the team championship. Queens
took home 21 points behind Freeman’s performance and the Bronx took home 18
points thanks to Calero. The event was sponsored by the City of New York Parks
and Recreation.
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