KO Digest: 2012 Lowell Golden Gloves Roll Call of Champions

February 8, 2012

2012 Lowell Golden Gloves Roll Call of Champions

Novice Class Heavyweight Champion Brandon Montella

The preliminary, quarterfinal, and semifinal rounds are over at the 66th Annual 2012 Lowell Golden Gloves and there are new Lowell Champions to be named as the tournament now heads into the New England Novice Championships and the much anticipated New England Open Class Tournament of Champions. What follows is a list of all the newly crowned Lowell Champions broken down by weight class into male, female, open, and novice class divisions. Novice Class Champions advance to the New England Novice Class Championships and will face off against the other Novice Class Champions from around the region and likewise the Open Class Champions advance to the New England Open Class Tournament of Champions where they will face off against other Open Class Champions from the New England area.

The New England Novice Championships are scheduled for Friday February 10th and Thursday February 16th. The New England Open Class Tournament of Champions will take place on Tuesday February 21st and Wednesday February 22nd. For tickets contact the Lowell Memorial Auditorium Box Office at 978-454-2299.

Male Novice Class Lowell Champions:

123 lbs: Dominic Lessieur from Lowell, MA representing Ramalho's West End Gym
132 lbs: Ranse Andino from Worcester, MA representing Camp Get Right
141 lbs: Matt Doherty from Beverly, MA representing Ramalho's West End Gym
152 lbs: Angel Ortiz Santos Worcester, MA representing the Worcester Boys & Girls Club
165 lbs: Miguel Figueroa from Boston, MA representing the S. Boston Boxing Club
178 lbs: Ed Worley from Lowell, MA representing Ramalho's West End Gym
201 lbs: Brandon Montella from Malden, MA representing the Cyr Farrell Boxing Club
201+ lbs: Dylan Mess from Cambridge, MA representing the Cambridge Y Boxing Club

Male Open Class Lowell Champions:

114 lbs: Nathaniel Bettencourt from Worcester, MA representing the Worcester Boys & Girls Club
123 lbs: Jonathan Perez from Lowell, MA representing Ramalho's West End Gym
132 lbs: Tim Ramos from Framingham, MA representing Bancroft Boxing
141 lbs: Rashidi Ellis from Lynn, MA representing Somerville Boxing Club & trained by Rivera Bros
152 lbs: Greg Vendetti from Stoneham, MA representing Tomesello's Boxing
165 lbs: Khiary Gray Pitts from Worcester, MA representing Camp Get Right
201 lbs: Brian Daniels from Worcester, MA representing the Worcester Boys & Girls Club

Female Novice Class Lowell Champions:

119 lbs: Elizabeth Erna from South Boston, MA representing the Peter Welch Boxing Club
132 lbs: Misty Gray from Amesbury, MA representing the Sweatbox Gym
152 lbs: Maureen O'Brien from Hull, MA representing the Cyr Farrell Boxing Club
165 lbs: Alina Nalbandian from Belmont, MA representing the Sweatbox Gym

Female Open Class Lowell Champion:

119 lbs: Amanda Pavone from Burlington, MA representing the Peter Welch Boxing Club

Congratulations to all the new Lowell Champions and good luck moving forward into the New England Championships!

Images & Words by Jeffrey Freeman

Lee Groves reads KO Digest at the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Cantastota.

The Ring Magazine's Travelin' Man Lee Groves also writes: "Along the way, we ran into the unmistakable 6-foot-9 frame of Jeffrey Freeman, also known as “KO Digest”. He and I always good-naturedly tease one another about our differences regarding Arturo Gatti’s Hall of Fame enshrinement – his advocacy of Gatti mirrors Paul Heyman’s of Brock Lesnar, while I believed he fell far short of the mark – but there always is a deep respect for the other’s acumen. That’s the way it should be; disagree if you must but don’t do so in a disagreeable manner."

KO Digest Testimonials:

"Jeff, I read the article, was very happy the way it came out. Please tell Joel that I think he did a wonderful job. Only one mistake, he said that the only Hall of Famer I beat was Bobby Chacon. Not true, I also defeated Jose Luis Ramirez in a North American Title defense, the fight before I fought Arguello. In fact, Ramirez was such a big favorite, they wouldn't even put a bet on the board in Vegas. Other than that, it was a terrific article. Thank you to Joel and yourself for thinking of me for an article."

~ Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini

Editor's Note: Ray is in fact, correct. Though not a member of the more prestigious International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), Ramirez is a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame as well as one of the best fighters that Mancini ever beat. Thanks for the feedback Champ!

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KO's #TrumpClinton Pick

KO's #TrumpClinton Prediction — When George Foreman announced his comeback in 1987, they (we) laughed at him and said it was impossible what he claimed he'd do: regain the world heavyweight championship as a fat old man. As the wins mounted and the pounds melted, the media told you not to believe your lying eyes, that Foreman could NEVER beat Mike Tyson and that his comeback was all a big fat joke. Well, the joke was on us then and it's still on some of us today. Just as Foreman needed the perfect foil (Michael Moorer) to achieve his "impossible" dream, so too does boxing's own Donald Trump need Hillary Clinton for his. He was born to beat her like Big George was born to beat Moorer. On November 8, Donald Trump will prove all his naysayers wrong (again) when he wins the popular vote, receives 270+ electoral college votes, and KO's Clinton to become POTUS.

It Happened (As Predicted)

The Donald Trumps Clinton & Big George — As predicted, Donald J. Trump was elected 45th President of these United States last night. It was the greatest upset in American Presidential politics and a stunning repudiation of the rogue Obama-Clinton regime that had run roughshod over the world for the past 8 years creating terror and chaos in their wake. With 270+ Electoral Votes and many more popular votes, Trump is (and the new) President-Elect. We The People's President. Help is on the way in the dawn of a new day. As a near landslide, it was the greatest comeback since George Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer 22 years ago last week in 1994 to regain the World Heavyweight Championship in a shocking reversal of fortune. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Foreman, like Trump, was laughed at, ridiculed, and his supporters turned into the butt of jokes. The best part about boxing and politics is that both give ample opportunity to get the last laugh. Congratulations America. You have saved our Nation and again shown why we are still the land of the FREE and the home of the BRAVE. Congratulations President Trump.

~Today in Boxing History~

JUNE 10, 2016: Exactly 70 years ago today in 1946, Jack Johnson (who some call the original Muhammad Ali) dies in a car accident in North Carolina. America's first black heavyweight champion of the boxing world, Johnson faced overt racism and daily discrimination throughout his troubled life and times, ultimately resulting in exile from his own country. You see, unlike Ali, Johnson went with white women and this infuriated white men. An international boxing hall of famer and an American original, Johnson still stands convicted of race crimes. His family still awaits a Presidential pardon. President Barack Obama gave an excellent speech commemorating the life of Muhammad Ali this week. Pardoning Jack Johnson would be an ideal way to honor both revolutionary black lives before leaving the White House. Rest in Peace great champions. Ali is being buried today in Louisville, Kentucky on the 70th annversary of Johnson's death, a heavyweight championship coincidence.