September 13, 2014

CES Results -- Gingras beats McCreedy, new generation on display

Title For Title at Twin River Casino
By Jeffrey Freeman -- In the ring, win or lose, Lowell's "Irish" Joe McCreedy does not wear the look of a man who's having a good time in there. Last night at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island, McCreedy lost an eight-round unanimous decision to fitness freak Rich Gingras (15-4-1, 9 KO's) in the "Classic Entertainment & Sports" main event. Despite having some good moments in the fight, even landing some of his wild punches, McCreedy (15-8-2, 6 KO's) was hit with considerably more than he dished out, wearing an agonized expression whenever Gingras' punches landed, above or below the belt. As an insightful fan screamed, "Put him out of his misery!" to McCreedy from the beer section, I couldn't help but notice that boxing indeed resembles a sad form of misery that McCreedy would at this point be best put out of.

McCreedy in his misery 
Rich Gingras UD8 Joey McCreedy -- Strong start for McCreedy saw him landing his looping overhand rights in the first two rounds while Gingras struggled to find the range above the belt. McCreedy began to tire in the third, his mouthpiece poking out as Gingras started to connect upstairs. McCreedy never stopped lobbing bombs and some found the mark but he was dog-tired by the end of the round. A divided crowd got their money's worth in the fourth, enjoying grueling toe-to-toe action at the center of the ring. Joey's former trainer Dicky Eklund was seen wandering around ringside, shouting instructions to no avail. Last hurrah in the seventh for McCreedy falls short. Scores: 80-72, 79-73, 80-72.

KO Digest scored it 77-75 for Gingras who picks up a second regional title.

The light heavyweight winner immediately called out "Mr. Providence" Vladine Biosse for a rematch of their disputed 2013 draw.

In the "Classic Co-Main Event" featuring welterweights scheduled for six rounds, Christian Steele of Atlanta, GA squared off against local Providence prospect Nick DeLomba. After missing the first round to chat ringside with Lowell's tipsy Dicky Eklund (who incidentally had "no comment" about the current corner situation of his homeboy Irish Joey McCreedy when asked by ringside photographer Pattee Mak) my attention returned to the action in the ring which found DeLomba getting more early resistance than might have been expected from an "opponent" with several more losses than wins. In any case, DeLomba used his advantages in speed and in size (rangy height) to "control" what turned out to be a sloppy fight with Steele doing more holding than hitting in the last few rounds. Official Scores: 60-54 on all three cards. DeLomba is now 5-0 while Steele is 5-10-2.

The future is now at CES
In a cruiserweight bout billed by CES big boss Jimmy Burchfield as "Joe Frazier vs Rocky Marciano" -- Alvin Varmall of LaPlace, Louisiana played the role of Frazier, bobbing and weaving inside to do damage on the stocky Antonio Mignella of nearby Providence. Mignella was nothing if not sturdy and he leaned on Varmall on the inside whenever the pair weren't exchanging at close quarters. In the second round, Varmall unleashed a nasty right hand to the temple in close and Mignella hit the canvas face first. "Rocky" got up but wobbled badly into the ropes and Joey Lupino wisely called a halt. Varmall improves to 3-0 (he KO'd Andre "Not The Son of God" Ward in his second pro bout) with 3KO's while Mignella literally falls to 3-1. Somebody make Varmall vs Alexis Santos please. 

On The Undercard:

Super Welterweights -- Second professional fight for Worcester, MA's Khiary Gray-Pitts against Boston's Sergio Cabrera. Gray-Pitts is a young talented boxer (the "new generation" of CES as advertised) who I've seen perform in the Lowell Golden Gloves in recent years. As a pro, Gray-Pitts showed a tight defense and good combination punching whenever he stopped to plant his fleet feet. A Gray-Pitts left hook buzzed Cabrera in the first round and the effect of the fight was showing on the surface of his red-faced mug in the second. In the third, Cabrera actually started asking for a beating and Gray-Pitts issued him one, ripping shots to the head and body. In the fourth and final round, the pace slowed considerably and Gray-Pitts focused more on a nifty display of defense rather than fight-ending offense. Pitts goes to 2-0 while Cabrera falls to 0-3. Official Scores: 40-36, 40-36, and 40-36.

Sucra Junior looks sweet like his Dad
Super Welterweights -- In the evening opener, Ray Oliveira Jr (21 year old son of New Bedford, MA's favorite son Sucra Ray Oliveira) made his professional debut against Providence's Angel Valdez, also making a pro debut. Junior got off to a very fast start, rattling his game opponent with a right cross seconds into the four-rounder. Body shots from Oliveira brought down the guard of Valedez, and Ray Jr punished him with power shots high on the head. Valdez showed early fatigue but he stayed in the fight until an uncontested combination right hand to the body, right hand to the chin caused referee Joey Lupino to jump in and stop the fight in the third round to end a pretty good little scrap.

Lightweights -- Scott Sullivan from New Bedford, MA made his pro debut by beating the stuffing out of Boston's seriously overmatched and undertrained Moises Rivera. In the second round, Rivera suddenly turned his back in the corner from a volley of Sullivan's punches and referee Joey Lupino jumped in to stop the fight. Rivera goes to 0-4 while Sullivan goes into boxing a new pro with his first win. 

Photos by Pattee Mak
Super Middleweights - Free swinging (fan friendly) brawl between Zack Christy and Saul Almeida, Framingham, MA, results in a four-round decision win for Christy, 40-36 on all three cards. Christy, Warwick, R.I., makes a successful pro debut while the somewhat capable cage fighter Almeida goes to 0-6 in the boxing ring. 

KO Digest Credentialed Ringside Report by Jeffrey Freeman