NEW YORK — For six rounds, it was clear that Curtis Stevens had very little left as a fighter. His legs, which had powered his explosive punches, appeared wobbly and unsteady, leading to a fourth round knockdown on a light right hand. He could still move his hands, but without the force he could generate in years past.

His face, bloodied from the opening round, betrayed the expression of a man who knew something was physically different about himself, and couldn’t do anything to change it.

The one thing that remained was a warrior’s heart, which kept him trying from bell to bell, even if he was a shadow of his previous self.

It was only courage that sustained Stevens through Thursday night’s middleweight bout with Joshua Conley at the Melrose Ballroom in Astoria, Queens, though it wasn’t enough to earn him the victory. Conley won the fight on all three cards, 58-55 on two cards and 59-54 on the third, to send the 37-year-old Stevens (30-8, 22 knockouts) to his third defeat in his last four bouts.

The bout was Stevens’ first in nearly three years. Following that bout, a third round technical knockout loss to Wale Omotoso, his uncle and trainer Andre Rozier, who had first put gloves on him at age 5, told a reporter that Stevens had boxed his last round in the ring. After this bout, Rozier told this reporter that he would make sure his nephew stayed away from the ring this time.

Stevens was trained by his cousin Anthony Irons and Gary Stark Sr. for this bout. Rozier was in attendance at the fights, but did not work his nephew’s corner.

The win was the third in a row for Conley (17-3-1, 11 KOs) of San Bernardino, Calif., who had previously been stopped in his two step-up bouts against Julian Williams and Carlos Adames. Conley had likewise been out of the ring since 2019.

“Boxing and listening to my corner,” said Conley, when asked about what the keys to victory were.

Stevens, a 2002 U.S. National Amateur champion, turned pro in 2004. He had boxed once for a world title, getting stopped in eight rounds by Gennadiy Golovkin for the unified middleweight title in 2013.

The card was promoted by Erez David’s One For All Promotions.

The undercard featured two of the country’s top amateur standouts making their professional debut.

John Vallejo, a junior welterweight from Paterson, N.J. didn’t disappoint his sizable following, brutalizing Jerryd Hernandez (0-2) to a second round technical knockout win.

Amateur standout John “The Machine” Vallejo had an explosive pro debut, brutalizing Jerryd Hernandez (0-2) to a second round TKO win. The Dominican southpaw Vallejo of Paterson, NJ burst on the national amateur scene after winning the 2018 USA Eastern Elite qualifiers pic.twitter.com/6hTx0279sK

— Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) March 25, 2022

Vallejo, who nows trains out NYC Cops & Kids under Aureliano Sosa, pounded Hernandez from every conceivable angle, bloodying his nose and forcing the referee to intervene. 

Vallejo is of Dominican descent, and reportedly had an amateur record of 74-6.

Orville Crooks also had a successful pro debut, outpointing Frankie Solomon (0-2) in a four-round light heavyweight bout between southpaws. Two judges scored the bout a 40-35 shutout, while the third found a round to give Solomon of Tampa, Fla., scoring it 39-36, all for Crooks.

Crooks, 26, of Brooklyn, N.Y. had won the 2019 National Golden Gloves and 2020 U.S. Nationals. Crooks scored the only knockdown of the bout, dropping Solomon on a right hook in the second round. He showed he still had some things to learn about the pro game, walking into straight lefts from the defensive-minded Solomon when he tried to finish his opponent.

Orville Crooks scores a second round knockdown against Frankie Solomon in what has been a learning experience for the 2-time national champion. Crooks won a unanimous decision in Queens, NY by scores of 40-35×2 and 39-36 pic.twitter.com/pORMtLCuti

— Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) March 25, 2022

The sharpest performance of the undercard belonged to Domnique Crowder (12-0, 8 KOs), the 28-year-old switch-hitter from Baltimore who used Wilner Soto for target practice. Crowder landed with laser sharp accuracy from round one, painting Soto (22-10, 12 KOs) with straight rights and lefts from both stances.

The ringside doctor stopped the fight shortly after the sixth round began, as Soto was deflated and bloodied from his nose and the corner of his eye.

In an entertaining heavyweight bout, Emilio Salas (7-3-1, 3 KOs) scored a minor upset over Nkosi Solomon (4-2, 3 KOs) of Brooklyn, N.Y., winning a wide unanimous decision. Two judges scored the bout 59-54, while the third had it 59-55, all for Salas, a Puerto Rican southpaw from Yonkers, N.Y.

Salas had superior conditioning, which helped him carry the pace over the last two rounds, outworking the exhausted Solomon, who trains out of Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn.

Salas, who turned pro in 2012, had been a cruiserweight for a brief period in 2015 and 2016 before suffering back to back losses to Demetrius Banks and Colby Madison.

Nadim Salloum (7-1, 3 KOs) brought a big cheering section to Queens, thrilling his supporters in a unanimous decision win over Roger Robidoux (4-1, 2 KOs). Two judges scored the bout 58-56, while the third had it 59-55.

Salloum, 28, of Jounieh, Lebanon was the more fluid of the two, landing combinations from distance on the more physically developed but tighter Canadian Robidoux.

Elijah Williams (2-0, 1 KO) defeated Ricardo Jimenez (0-1-1) by split decision in a four-round junior welterweight bout. The scores were 39-37 for each boxer, with a third scoring the bout 40-36 in favor of Williams, an 18-year-old from Newburgh, N.Y.

Williams clearly got the better of the action, landing hard right hands and body shots on the older southpaw, but showed some inexperience in struggling to break through the lefty’s defense.

Ryan Songalia has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, Vice and The Guardian, and holds a Master’s degree from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. He can be reached at [email protected].

READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE RING FOR FREE VIA THE NEW APP NOW. SUBSCRIBE NOW TO ACCESS MORE THAN 10 YEARS OF BACK ISSUES.