Michael Brooks wins Garden debut

It's not that far from Oceanside to Madison Square Garden if you're riding the Long Island Rail Road, but it's a bumpy road if your goal is to compete at the Mecca of boxing. It took Michael Brooks two years after his pro debut and a change of trainers, but he finally made it to the ring in the Theater at MSG Saturday night on the undercard of the Nonito Donaire-Omar Narvaez WBC and WBO bantamweight title fight.

Indeed, promoters made the bout between Brooks (6-0, 1 KO) and Ramirez (6-10-1, 3 KOs) the swing fight between the co-main and the main event. It was an important step forward in his brief career and Brooks made the most of it, winning a unanimous four-round decision over a game opponent without losing a round.

"It feels great," Brooks said after hearing a contingent of local supporters chant his name in a packed Garden crowd. "There's nothing like getting a 'W' at the Garden."

Brooks admitted he's still getting used to the pro game and feels a certain level of anxiety, but he weathered a fast-charging start by Ramirez and finished the first round pressing the action and landing repeated hard body shots. In the second, Brooks ate some Ramirez right hands but fought back well in the clinches, landing left uppercuts. The southpaw stuck with his body attack and buried one left after another in Ramirez's gut, taking out some energy with each one.

Brooks had a strong third round, landing a straight left early and then fighting tough in close, putting together left uppercuts with sharp rights. He caught the game Ramirez coming in several times. For a fighter who isn't a power puncher, Brooks obviously prefers a physical style and hardly ever used a jab.

The fight was shortened from a scheduled six rounds to four so the main event could start on time, and Brooks closed the show well with another strong round dominated by his combination punching.

Although the victory was a decisive one, Brooks said, "I'm really not pleased. I'm a perfectionist . . . I could make my fights a lot easier if I would use my jab, but I freeze up. It's a plateau I've got to break through."

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Still, there was no denying how effective Brooks fought. "I hit him to the body and with combinations," Brooks said. "I almost had him out a couple times."

Notes and quotes:In the co-main event, NABF featherweight champion Mikey Garcia (27-0, 23 KOs) of California knocked down Mexican veteran Juan Carlos Martinez (18-13-1, 6 KOs) three times and had him reeling again when referee Harvey Dock halted the fight at 2:46 of the fourth round.

Three Long Islanders scored impressive wins on the undercard.

Coram welterweight Cletus Seldin (4-0, 2 KOs) stopped Jose Segura Torres (2-3-2, 1 KO) at 2:52 of the second round and Long Beach light-heavyweight Sean Monaghan (10-0, 7 KOs) battered Anthony Pietrantonio (7-8, 5 KOs) before scoring a TKO at 2:51 of the fifth round. Plainview welterweight Tommy Rainone (16-4, 4 KOs) scored a lopsided unanimous decision over Brad Jackson (13-7-1, 7 KOs).