Undefeated light heavyweight Richard “Popeye The Sailor Man” Rivera scored a second-round technical knockout victory at 1:48 over veteran Roberto “El Viejo” Valenzuela from a left hook which Valenzuela was unable to get up from. Rivera improved to 5-0, 4 KOs, with all his wins coming this year.
Valenzuela dropped to 69-76-2, 56 KOs. Rivera dominated the bout as he landed whatever he wanted, especially his jab and power shots while Valenzuela did not offer much of any kind of offense, instead he covered up along the ropes.
“I am really happy that I obtained the victory in front of all my fans that drove a couple of hours through the snow storm to be here,” said Rivera. “Next, I want to win the New England title. It is vacant and I want it.”
Granite Chin Promotions showcased their final fight of the year “Rumble at the RIM” at the RIM Sports Complex in Hampton, New Hampshire.
“This was our first show in New Hampshire and I consider it a success despite some things going against us like tonight’s weather,” said co-promoter Chuck Shearns. “We are grateful for the support we received from Hampton, New Hampshire, the commission, and local businesses. They worked with us and we cannot wait to return.”
Russell Kimber made a successful professional debut (1-0) as he defeated Nathan Schulte via a four-round majority decision (39-37, 38-37, and 38-38) in an action-packed, competitive cruiserweight bout. Both fighters landed powerful shots and combinations on each other as the momentum swung back and forth and did not slow down. Kimber would like to be back in the ring in January or February. Schulte dropped 0-4.
“I was a little nervous with this being my first time in a pro ring and there was a lot of ring rust,” said Kimber. “This was my first camp and I learned a lot and now I know what I need to do to get better for my next fight.”
Unbeaten welterweight Mike “Bad Man” Ohan, Jr. made quick work of Bardraiel Smith as he scored two knockdowns via powerful right hooks in the first thirty seconds of the first-round, which prompted referee Mike Ryan to quickly halt the bout. Ohan, Jr. upped his record to 4-0, 2 KOs, with all his victories coming this year. Smith fell to 0-3.
USA New England cruiserweight titleholder Chris Traietti, who also co-promoted this event, dominated Fabian Valdez en route to a second-technical knockout victory. He scored knockdowns in the first and second round, both from right hooks. This one-sided fight was stopped at 1:13 after Valdez could not beat the ten-count. Traietti improved to 25-4, 20 KOs. He has won four in a row, three by knockout since his ten-round unanimous decision loss to undefeated Mike Lee. Traetti’s belt was not on the line for this fight. Valdez dropped to 2-2, 1 KO.
Ricky Ford picked up his first professional victory (1-1-1) as he dominated Andy Aiello en route to a four-round unanimous decision, two scorecards (40-36) and one scorecard (39-37) in this junior middleweight bout. Aiello, a professional MMA fighter, lost in his pro debut. Ford connected on whatever he threw throughout this bout, however, Aiello showed heart and kept throwing punches.
Lightweight Ryan “The Polish Prince” Kielczweski crushed Francisco “El Mano” Medel with a first-round technical knockout at fifty-one seconds via a powerful left hook to the body, which Medel was unable to get up from. Kielczweski upped his record to 27-3, 9 KOs. He got back into the win column after a controversial eight-round unanimous decision loss to Frank De Alba. Medel dropped to 11-11, 7 KOs. This bout was a rematch, in which Kielczweski also won via a first-round knockout in December, 2016.
Middleweight Chris “Sandman” Thomas retained his undefeated record with a second-round technical knockout win over Demetrius Thomas. He dominated the first-round and then dropped him in the second from a combination of left and right hooks. Chris continued to unload on Demetrius, which prompted referee Ryan to stop this one-sided fight at 2:55. The Sandman improved to 7-0-1, 4 KOs. He will be back in the ring on January 27th against Jose Angel Ortiz. Demetrius dropped to 0-7.