Providence, Rhode Island Super Middleweight, Joey ”The KO Kid” Spina, (20-1, 15 KO’s) punished the normally durable Shannon Miller, stopping Miller at 1:58 of round four to set-up a possible February rematch with Jesse Brinkley. Brinkley did his part by knocking-out Isaiah Hendersen in round one..
Both fighters came-out aggressively at the bell. A solid, Miller right hand found the mark and the fireworks began. Spina found his groove near the end of the first stanza as he began to land right hands and body punches with increased regularity.
In round two, a Spina right hand staggered Miller and sent him stumbling across the ring and into the ropes. Spina spent the rest of the round raking Miller’s body with brutal left hooks.
Spina had Miller in trouble again in round three, once again staggering him with a right hand. Miller weathered the storm, but endured tremendous punishment as Spina kept-up his two-fisted attack.
Round four saw Spina come out of his corner as if he were fired from a canon as he attacked Miller with reckless abandon. Midway through the round, a fatigued and weary Miller grimaced and took a knee. He was counted out at 1:58 of the round.
Miller came into the fight with a three fight win streak, including a knockout of Charles Cavallo (16-0). A veteran of 70 fights, Miller has gone the distance with light heavyweight champ, Chad Dawson, Curtis Stevens and title challenger, Richard Hall.
“It felt great to finally get back in the ring,” Spina said after the fight. “I know I was rusty, but I thought my defense showed improvement and I listened to my corner.”
“Collision Course” was promoted by Let’s Get It On Promotions and served as a primer for a Spina/Jesse Brinkley rematch in February. In their first meeting, Brinkley was on his way to a one-sided victory, until a Spina left hook to the body dropped Brinkley and eventually stopped him in the 11th round
“Their first fight was a runner-up on ESPN’s “Fight of the Year” honors,” said Spina’s co-manager, Patrick Doljanin. “A rematch will be just as exciting. Joey needs one more fight and then we’ll be ready for February.”
This was Spina’s first fight since his loss to Peter Manfredo, Jr. Manfredo was on-hand for Saturday’s card to support his CES stablemate, Spina, and Contender alumnus, Jesse Brinkley.
“We are very grateful to Terry Lane and “Let’s Get It On,” said Spina’s co-manager, Albert Falcon. “They treated us great and run a first class organization.”
Team Spina would once again like to extend their gratitude to Let’s Get It On Promotions. They would also like to thank Jose Santos, who did a nice job filling-in for Eddie Mustafa Muhammad; cutman Danny Milano and Peter Manfredo Sr., for wrapping Joey’s hands and his support.