Nick Casal’s Return Date Set: Feb. 27 in Niagara Falls
by David P. Greisman
It has been more than two years since Nick Casal last fought. It has been a long road back. After all, it has been more than a year and a half since Casal was attacked and then hiospitalized with hundreds of stitches and numerous staples.
Casal, 28, is scheduled to be back in the ring on Feb. 27 in Niagara Falls, N.Y., facing off against Shakha Moore, according to an email from the promoter, Mercedes Simmons of Pretty Girl Promotions.
The man who put Casal in the hospital, Michael P. Vicki, pleaded guilty in January 2013 to one count of attempted first-degree assault, according to The Tonawanda (N.Y.) News. Vicki was sentenced last April to five years in prison.
In written testimony provided to the court in 2012, Vicki “said the two men engaged in an altercation about 5:30 a.m. on May 12 after Casal paid a visit to his Portland Street home,” the Niagara Gazette reported at the time.
“Vicki contended that it was Casal who was the aggressor and he had no choice but to defend himself. According to his testimony, Vicki called the police following the incident and voluntarily sought medical treatment at a local hospital for his own injuries,” the Gazette article said.
Casal’s father said that his son was attacked after going to meet his ex-girlfriend at the home of the woman’s ex-boyfriend, according to the Associated Press. Casal’s father said his son was attacked while walking away with her, struck numerous times with what some reports have speculated was a golf club, others a crowbar.
Prior to the attack, Casal was to have fought Ruslan Provodnikov in June 2012.
Instead, his last appearance was in October 2011, a third-round technical knockout win on the non-televised undercard of the first fight between Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson. That victory brought his record to 22-4-1 with 17 knockouts and 1 no contest.
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