The 2012 Lowell Golden Gloves

The Historic Lowell Memorial Auditorium

Lowell, MA -  Images & Words by Jeffrey Freeman

Rejoice fight fans, the 66th annual Lowell Golden Gloves amateur boxing tournament kicks off tonight at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, the very same building in Lowell, MA where boxing greats like Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, and Mike Tyson all fought as young amateurs.

Micky Ward, Dickie Eklund, and the rest of Lowell's Finest all fought there. It's where Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach fought his last professional fight in 1986, losing a ten round decision to David Rivello. The great tradition of boxing in the Mill City continues and KO Digest will be there to cover it.

New England Golden Gloves Director Bobby Russo told KO Digest that applications this year to fight in the Lowell Golden Gloves were numerous and that he hopes to offer at least ten preliminary bouts on the tournament's opening night. According to the website www.usaboxingnewengland.org, there are 19 opening round fights scheduled for opening night but Russo expressed concerns that weather and human variables could bring that number down considerably by the opening bell at 7:30pm.

No bad seat in the house at the Lowell Golden Gloves!

Sponsored by the Lowell Sun Charities, the Lowell Golden Gloves tournament runs through January and into February. After countless punches have been thrown in the name of sport and charity, the Lowell Golden Gloves concludes on February 22nd with the New England Open Class Tournament of Champions.

Preliminaries matches are January 13th, 17th, and 27th. Novice & Open Semi-Finals are January 31st. Novice & Open Finals are February 7th. The New England Novice Championships are February 10th and 16th. The New England Open Class Tournament of Champions is February 21st and 22nd.

Randy Frechette paints during Golden Gloves opening night

Lowell Golden Gloves RESULTS from January 13th (1/13/12) Preliminary round Novice class are as follows. 141 lbs: Evangel Maggiolo W3 Ryan Madden, Brian Allen W3 Fabio Dambrose, Matt Doherty W3 Durin Colucci, Mike Campanella W3 Ed Lee. 152 lbs: Vincent Dilorio W3 Paul Treano, Angel Ortiz Santos W3 Tyler Cochran, Chris Boyle TKO2 Javin Gore. 165 lbs: Brian Kennedy W3 James Johnson, Miguel Figuera W3 Robert Butler, Chris McCue W3 Carl Gustafson. 178 lbs: Raphael Rivera W3 Elizamanuel Urena, Andy Medina W3 Nick Provencher.

KO Digest Fight of the Night: Chris Boyle TKO2 Javin Gore
Click for fight PICTURES (1/13/12)

The finished artwork of Randy Frechette

Lowell Golden Gloves RESULTS from January 17th (1/17/12) Quarterfinals Novice class are as follows. 132 lbs: Oscar Vergara W3 Melvin Garcia, Range Andino W3 Chad Kelly. 141 lbs: Frank Maggiolo W3 David Bonefont, Mike Campanella W3 Patrick Murphy (Murphy penalized a point for losing his mouthpiece.) 152 lbs: Jeff Houne W3 Vincent Dilorio, Angel Santos Ortiz W3 Tony Salvador, Chris Boyle Technical W2 Miquel Chavez (fight stopped due to both fighters bleeding from the nose, fight went to scorecards after two rounds) 165 lbs: John Navien W3 Angel Vasquez, Brian Kennedy W3 Tves Thruenin, Miguel Figueroa W3 Keith Holmes. 178 lbs: Shawn Murray W3 Noel Medina, John Rosa W3 Raphael Rivera, Brian Shwartz W3 Andy Medina, and Ed Worley W3 Eziquer Zayas.


KO Digest Fight of the Night: Angel Ortiz Santos W3 Tony Salvador.
Lots of great toe-to-toe exchanges!
Click here for PICTURES (1/17/12) 

The legendary Tony DeMarco acknowledges Gloves fans!

Lowell Golden Gloves RESULTS from January 27th (1/27/12) Female Novice Semi-Finals are as follows. 112 lbs: Christina Carvilla W3 Sarah Walsh. 132 lbs: Misty Gray W3 Kimberly Wabik. 152 lbs: Liz Figueroa W3 Indya Sheehan. Male Novice Semi-Finals are as follows. 123 lbs: Domenic Lessieur W3 Jose Rivera. 141 lbs: Matt Doherty W3 Frank Maggiolo (Maggiolo knocked down in the 2nd), Kin Moy W3 Mike Campanella (Campanella hit low twice in the 3rd.) 152 lbs: Angel Santos Ortiz TKO3 Jeff Hong (1:49 of 3rd round, ref stops fight after two standing 8-counts.) 165 lbs: John Navien W3 Gerald Rhude, Brian Kennedy W3 Shawn Murray, Miguel Figueroa W3 Ruso Rhubeiashuiz. Heavyweights: Brandon Montella W3 Vlad Duda (Duda rocked by a strong left hook in 2nd round), Jose Cabrera W3 Jonathan Tannian. Open Class Quarter-Finals are as follows. 152 lbs: Greg Vendetti W3 James Murrin, Joe Farina TKO1 Dennis Leach (0:58 of the 1st round.) 165 lbs: Joe Spinelli W3 Mike Mitrowski (Mitrowski down in the 1st, took two standing 8-counts in the 3rd round.)

KO Digest Fight of the Night: Greg Vendetti W3 James Murrin
Very entertaining, back and forth fight!
Click here for PICTURES (1/27/11)

Three novice class fighters from the 2012 Lowell Golden Gloves who have so far distinguished themselves in the preliminary round are Angel Ortiz Santos, Miguel Figueroa, and Brian Kennedy. The trio are each 3-0 with each having won on all 3 nights of the tournament so far. Santos (152) fights out of the Worcester B&G Club, Figueroa (165) fights out of the S. Boston Boxing Club, and Kennedy (165) fights out of the In the Ring Fitness Gym. Looks like Figueroa and Kennedy might be on a collision course!

West End's Matt Doherty wins big in the fight of the night!

Lowell Golden Gloves RESULTS from January 31st (1/31/12) Male semi-final novice class are as follows. 114 lbs: Nathaniel Bettencourt W3 Omar Padilla. 165 lbs: Brian Kennedy W3 John Navien. 178 lbs: Ed Worley W3 Brian Swartz. Heavyweight: Brandon Montella W3 Jose Cabrera. Female semi-final novice class as follows. 152 lbs: Maureen O'Brien W3 Melissa Kelly. Female novice class FINALS results as follows. 119 lbs: Elizabeth Erna W3 Kate Durgin. 132 lbs: Misty Gray W3 Alycia Moulton. Male novice class FINALS results as follows. 132 lbs: Ranse Andino W3 Oscar Vergara. 141 lbs: Matt Doherty W3 Kin Moy. Open class semi-finals results as follows. 152 lbs: Greg Vendetti W3 Aaron Petrocelli, Joe Farina W3 Joe Meuse. 165 lbs: John Xifaris W3 Neal Sullivan, Khiary Gray Pitts W3 Joe Spinelli. Female Open class semi-final results as follows. 119 lbs: Roberta Pappas W4 Bunthy Chhiu-Lim  

KO Digest Fight of the Night: Matt Doherty W3 Kin Moy
Both of these fighters box and do Mixed Martial Arts. They fought an amateur MMA fight last year and Moy won that fight by decision. Doherty won the boxing match tonight on the strength of his persistent and effective aggression. Good, entertaining fight. Doherty wins the male Novice Class 141 lb Lowell title.
Click here for PICTURES (1/31/12)    

Alina Nalbandian rallies to win the Fight of the Night!

Lowell Golden Gloves RESULTS from February 7th (2/7/12) Female novice class FINALS results as follows. 152 lbs: Maureen O'Brien W3 Liz Figueroa. 165 lbs: Alina Nalbandian W3 Rebecca Murray. Female open class FINALS result as follows. 119 lbs: Amanda Provone W4 Roberta Pappas. Male novice class FINALS result as follows. 123 lbs: Dominic Lessieur W3 Edwin Rivera. 152 lbs: Angel Ortiz Santos W3 Chris Boyle. 165 lbs: Miguel Figueroa W3 Brian Kennedy. 178 lbs: Ed Worley W3 John Rosa. 201 lbs: Brandon Montella W3 Chris Massero. 201+ lbs: Dylan Mess W3 Matt Moran. Male open class FINALS results as follows. 123 lbs: Jonathan Perez W3 Frederick Mercardo. 132 lbs: Tim Ramos W3 David Semprit. 141 lbs: Rashidi Ellis W3 Julio Perez. 152 lbs: Greg Vendetti W3 Joe Farina. 165 lbs: Khiary Gray Pitts TKO1 John Xifaris (1:51 of the 1st, RSC) ~ Also, Nathaniel Bettencourt wins the 114 lbs novice FINALS by default when his opponent Ben Au did not show up and Brian Daniels wins the 201 lbs open FINALS by default when his opponent John Roach did not show up.

KO Digest Fight of the Night: Alina Nalbandian W3 Rebecca Murray
Murray was having her way with Nalbandian for the first two rounds, landing solid rights to the head of her opponent with regularity. In the third round, Nalbandian pulled off a huge rally and hurt a tiring Murray with several head shots of her own forcing Murray to at one point turn her back before she was administered a standing eight count by the referee. Nalbandian wins the 165 lb female novice class Lowell title with a come from behind split decision win. 
Click here for PICTURES (2/7/12) 

Total Wins by GYM:

Ramalho’s West End Gym: (10), Peter Welch Boxing Club: (7), South Boston Boxing Club: (6), Cyr Farrell Boxing Club: (5), Ionic Worcester Boys & Girls Club: (5), Nonantum Boxing Club: (4), In the Ring Fitness: (4), Camp Get Right: (4), Total Performance Gym: (3), Sweatbox Gym: (3), Tomesello's Boxing: (3), Averill’s: (2), Intenze 978 Gym: (2), Rivera Brothers: (1), Sommerville Boxing Club: (2), Nashua PAL: (1), The Ring Boxing Club: (1), Lawrence Boxing Club: (1), Redline Sports (1), Hudson Boxing: (1), Bancroft Boxing: (1), Cambridge Y Boxing Club: (1), and Grealish Boxing: (1)

Jackie Morrell gives pre-fight instructions

Lowell Golden Gloves RESULTS from February 10th (2/10/12) In the opening round of the New England Novice Class Championships, results are as follows. Female 119 lbs: Elizabeth Erna W3 Rinisha Soto. The following matches were all male class. 123 lbs: Isaiah Peixoto W3 Richard Wetherell, Dominic Lessieur W3 Edgar Figueroa. 132 lbs: Francis Cotto W3 Nick Anderson, Ricardo Dellasantos W3 Ranse Andino. 141 lbs: Luis Mendiola W3 Matt Doherty (Doherty knocked down in 2nd), Roberto Colon W3 Alex Hight. 152 lbs: Jayson Richter W3 Jonathan Figueroa, Kevin Weeks W3 Angel Ortiz Santos. 165 lbs: Adam Paolino W3 Miguel Figueroa, Alexander Juarez W3 Jacob Sleeper. 178 lbs: Jay Lussier W3 Conrad Diaz, Cory Matthews W3 Ed Worley. 201: No fights. 201 plus: Donald Smith W3 Dylan Mess, Cassius Chaney W3 Ben Santos.

KO Digest Fight of the Night: Dominic Lessieur W3 Edgar Figueroa
West End Gym's Dominic Lessieur showed the fans tonight why trainer Joey Ramalho thinks he might be a future World Champion. The first round was close but the crowd favorite Lessieur made the right adjustments in the second and third putting on a boxing and punching clinic to convincingly defeat Figueroa with an impressive performance to advance to the final round of the New England Novice Class Championships.

Trainer Tom Janc and his fighter Brandon Montella

Lowell Golden Gloves RESULTS from February 16th (2/16/12) In the FINAL round of the New England Novice Class Championships, results are as follows. Female 112 lbs: Kelsey Kaiser W3 Kristina Carvillo. Female 119 lbs: Elizabeth Erna W3 Marcia Agripino. Female 132 lbs: Misty Gray W3 Kathy Urenick. Female 165 lbs: Alana Royale W3 Maureen O'Brien. ~ Following results are all Male. 114 lbs: Nathaniel Bettencourt W3 Jonathan Carrasco. 123 lbs: Dominic Lessieur TKO2 Isaiah Peixoto (RSC 1:14 of 2nd round). 132 lbs: Ricardo Dellasantos W3 Francis Cotto. 141 lbs: Luis Mendiola W3 Roberto Colon. 152 lbs: Jayson Richter W3 Kevin Weeks (Richter knocked down in the 1st). 165 lbs: Adam Paolino W3 Alexander Juarez. 178 lbs: Cory Matthews W3 Jay Lussier (Lussier knocked down in the 1st). 201 lbs: Brandon Montella W3 Justin Kennie. 201 plus: Cassius Chaney W3 Donald Smith.

KO Digest Fight of the Night: Cory Matthews W3 Jay Lussier
In a fight for the novice class New England 178 lb title, Cory Matthews dropped Jay Lussier hard in the first round with a right cross to the chin. Lussier beat the count and for the next two rounds these two warriors went toe-to-toe in an all-out slugfest, much to the delight of the fans! Matthews wins a hard fought, well deserved split decision to take fight of the night honors.

Heavyweight Sean Bettencourt advances with a big KO!

Lowell Golden Gloves RESULTS from February 21st (2/21/12) In the opening round of the New England Open Class Tournament of Champions, results are as follows. Female 119 lbs: Melanie Costa W4 Amanda Pavone. The following results are all male. 123 lbs: Elijah Peixoto W3 John Lopez, Williams Foster W3 Jonathan Perez. 132 lbs: Tim Ramos W3 Josh Bickford, Anthony Marsella W3 Edwin Cotto. 141 lbs: James Perella W3 Casey Kramlich, Rashidi Ellis W3 Zack Ramsey. 152 lbs: Richard Ford W3 Alejandro Rendon, Jon Smith W3 Greg Vendetti. 165 lbs: Gerald Schifone W3 Emmanuel Figueroa, Khiary Gray Pitts TKO2 John Janiszyn (RSC at 1:21 of round 2). 178 lbs: Kevin Harrison-Lombardi W3 Moises Marrero, Jason Bakanowski TKO3 Dan Magistrali. 201: Sean Bettencourt TKO2 Jason Carrier (RSC at 1:14 of round 2)

KO Digest Fight of the Night: Gerald Schifone W3 Emmanuel Figueroa
The first two rounds were close and competitive but in the third round things really got cooking as Brockton native Gerald Schifone came on strong with several vicious uppercuts and a great body attack to secure a decision victory to advance to the final round of the Open Class England Tournament of Champions in the 165 lb division.  

Click HERE for Pictures (2/21/12) 

123 lb New England Open Class Champion William Foster

Lowell Golden Glove New England Open Class Tournament of Champions FINALS results from February 22nd (2/22/12) Female 119 lbs: Melanie Costa W4 Nephateria Miller. Female 125 lbs: Rashida Ellis W4 Liz Leddy. Male results as follows. 123 lbs: William Foster W3 Elijah Peixoto. 132 lbs: Tim Ramos W3 Anthony Marsella. 141 lbs: James Perella W3 Rashidi Ellis. 165 lbs: Gerald Schifone W3 Khiary Gray Pitts. 178 lbs: KJ Harrison Lombardi W3 Jason Bukanowski. 201: Sean Bettencourt W3 Bryan Daniels ~ Thomas F. Costello Trophy for outstanding boxer goes to James Perella. The Rocky Marciano Trophy for the New England Open Class Tournament Heavyweight Champion goes to Sean Bettencourt. The Williams "Bill" Hoar Memorial New England Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions Team Trophy is awarded to Southern New England.