15.06.08 – By Trish Kilcullen, Photos by Peter Mark Heintzelman – Before a packed house in his back yard, Manchester, Connecticut’s Matt “Too Sharp” Remillard showed who was boss, defending his WBC Youth Featherweight Title Friday night against a game Jose Magallon.
By unanimous decision at the Connecticut Convention Center Ballroom, in Hartford, CT, Remillard remained undefeated, now 14-0, 7 KO’s, but not without breaking a good sweat, as Jose Magallon, 9-4, 3 KO’s, of Las Vegas, Nevada, took him the distance for ten rounds of crowd pleasing, power punching action.
Anxious to show well on his home turf, Remillard had clearly trained hard, and came into the ring, fit, ready, and anxious, to show his honed skills of excellent jab and body shots that convinced the judges to give him the unanimous nod, 96-93, and 97-92 twice..
Remillard, 22 years young, continues to show marked improvement in ring generalship with every fight.
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Jose Magallon was, however, far from a push over. He hung in there, competitive as hell, as he traded jabs and body shots through ten tough and grueling rounds. Despite being knocked down hard to the canvas in round five, Magallon sucked it up, and found his legs before referee, Dick Flaherty completed the ten count. Then Magallon accelerated the pace in the six round, likely grabbing the judge’s scores, and definitively, the crowd’s admiration, for his guts and grit.
Now, this is what boxing is all about. Two humble yet determined fighters. No Hollywood. No vanity. No “Look at me, I’m the best boxer in the world” persona, shown by a heavier weight later in the evening. Just down to earth, good honest fighting. Challenging pugilists of equal skill – not pushovers just to “improve the record.” Remillard showed just the kind of boxing skills you would expect from a fighter trained by the likes of Paul Chicon and John Scully. Just the kind of main event New Englanders are blessed with, by promoters the likes of Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, out of Providence, Rhode Island, willing to put his fighters to the test.
Welcome aboard, new manager, Brett Hallenbeck. Thank you, Jimmy. Thank you Paul and Scully. Thank you Jose. But most of all, thank you, Matt, for reminding us what this is all about. Remillard started in Chicon’s gym cleaning toilets. You’ve come a long way, baby.
Grano Stops Childs at 2:43
Tony Grano, of Hebron, Connecticut, extended his undefeated winning streak to 14-0-1, 12 KO’s, beating Jefferson, Montana’s Leroy Childs, whose record is now 13-2 12 KO’s.
Referee, Johnny Callas, got more exercise than the pugilists combined, when he waived and end to the fight, after Childs had seen enough after two minutes and forty-three seconds in the first round.
No wonder.
A view of Childs record on Boxrec.com, shows that of his 15 professional fights, eleven of his opponents had a combined win record of, count ‘em:
Four wins.
Macy Decisions Starnino!
Super middleweights, Brian Macy, of Ledyard, Connecticut, and Richard “Bobo” Starnino, of Providence, Rhode Island lasted their scheduled four rounds, resulting in a majority decision in favor Macy, 38-38, and 37-39 twice. The 25 year old Macy was taken the distance by late substitute, 36 year old Starnino, after Macy’s original opponent, Adrian Redmond, fell out of the card.
When the first bell rang, crowd favorite, Bobo, came out his usual self: on the attack, with body and head shots, pushing his opponent into the ropes; a technique he displayed for the entire distance. Starnino countered attacks with his strong southpaw hook to the body, repetitively and effectively. Macy, in response, did a fine job keeping both cool and a distance; and traded jabs and body shots, that racked up the score. “How old is he,” commented a ring side doctor of Starnino, “he even looks like Jake LaMotta!”
Kudos to Starnino, for showing guts, and had he sufficient time to train for his opponent, this match could well have gone the other way. Macy, although revealing some defensive weaknesses, continues to show good promise, and is worthy of the CES patch on his trunks.
With the win, Brian Macy remains undefeated at 4-0, 1 KO’s, while Starnino lands at
9-4-1, 2 KO’s.
Irizarry Overcomes Harris!
Not to be outdone by the men, female welterweights, Adelita Irizarry and Cim Harris, put on a boxing skills exhibition for their scheduled distance of four rounds, that won the crowd’s applause.
Adelita Irizarry, fighting in her hometown this evening, after suffering her first lost abroad, in Oberfrankenhalle, Bayreuth, Bayern, Germany, where she lost a unanimous decision to Cecilia Braekhus, of Norway, in May of this year, came back on the rebound, to win tonight, against a very competitive and aggressive Harris.
Even before the first bell chimed, the crowd was into it, with their collective chant of
“Addy, Addy, Addy!” Hartford loves their girl!
During the full four rounds, the women came at each other without hesitation and traded numerous jabs, often simultaneously. Addy showed remarkable athleticism, bouncing on her feet, keeping her distance, coming in to score the points when opportunity allowed, and backing away from harm, but without fear. Harris remained persistent during the full four rounds, and never hesitated to come inside and trade shots with her opponent.
While many scribes on scene, vocalized disagreement with the judges’ final scores, the judges, who gave a unanimous, albeit controversial, nod to the hometown girl, likeable Addy Irizarry, 39-37, and 40-36 twice.
This scribe would note that the press corp’s view of this fight was often blocked by the cameraman in the corner. A quick poll of the press corp resulted in a requested sequel: Rematch!
With the win, Addy Irizarry gets back on track, with her record elevated to 5-1, 2 KO’s, while Cim Harris, the newest fighter signed by CES, can return to Tampa, Florida with head held high at 5 wins and 10 losses.
Ikeke Wins Controversial Decision Over Smith!
Kingsley Ikeke, of Los Angeles, California, and former NABF, NABA and NABO Champion and former world title challenger, won a six round super middleweight split decision against Philadelphian, Dhafir “No Fear” Smith, 58-56 twice for Ikeke and 58-56 once for Smith. “Did I miss something,” said an anonymous yet regular official ringside, after the scores were read by announcer, JD Vena, another up-and-comer in the New England boxing scene. Maybe the judges missed the numerous southpaw counter punching haymakers Smith threw that were visibly evident from the press box.
And no fear did he show, as six foot tall Smith willingly mixed it up with the taller six foot four inch tall Californian. But the reach distance seemed tough to overcome, as Smith’s corner hollered, “stay close, stay close!” Yet he made his impact as evidence in the later rounds, during the minute breaks, when the doctor jumped in the blue corner, to take a closer look at Ikeke.
With the win, Nigerian, Kingsley Ikeke elevates his record to 24-3, 13 KO’s, while Dhafir Smith returns to the City of Brotherly Love at 20-17-6 4 KO’s.
This is another bout worthy of a rematch!