 |
| 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
