Former boxer Freddie Cadena sentenced to 13 years in prison in death of NJ nightclub deejay

Ex-boxer sentenced in death of NJ nightclub DJ

PATERSON, N.J. — A former professional boxer who beat a disc jockey to death outside a northern New Jersey dance club has been sentenced to 13 years in state prison.

Thirty-two-year-old Freddie Cadena must serve at least 11 years under the sentence imposed Friday. He pleaded guilty in May to aggravated manslaughter in the death of 27-year-old Rafael Falcon outside Paterson’s Rio Grande nightclub in October 2005.

Prosecutors say the former junior welterweight fighter punched Falcon, knocking him to the ground.

Falcon was dating the mother of Cadena’s children. He died of head injuries nine days later.

Cadena won his first 15 professional fights. But his career was cut short when he suffered seizures after a nationally televised bout in 2003.

Information from: The Record of Bergen County, www.northjersey.com