PROVIDENCE – There’s a touch of red, white and blue this holiday season in Rhode Island as the state’s only U.S. Olympic Boxing Team members, Jason “Big Six” Estrada (2004) and Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade (2008), as well as 1996 Olympic alternate Jason Pires, are all scheduled to be in action Saturday night (November 29) on “Holiday Havoc” at Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island.
“Holiday Havoc” is promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc. (CES), in association with Twin River and CN8, The Comcast Network as well as (for Andrade’s fight) Banner Promotions and Star Boxing.
The show will be taped live and air Saturday, December 13 at 7:00 PM/ET on CN8, The Comcast Network in New England and the Baltimore/Washington D.C. market, as well as Friday, Nov. 12 at 7 PM/ET on Cox Sports Television.
“We’re excited to have two Olympian, Jason and Demetrius, and an Olympic alternate, Jason Pires, all fighting Saturday night on the same card in one of the most beautiful venues for boxing, Twin River,” CES president Jimmy Burchfield said. “We also have some of New England’s most talented and entertaining prospects on the undercard. We’re honored to have teamed with the U.S. Marines ‘Toys For Tots’ program and everyone attending is encouraged to bring a toy to the show for less fortunate children.”
Estrada and Andrade are two of the most decorated U.S. amateur boxers of all-time. Estrada was 261-14 in U.S. competition and the first boxer to win both the U.S. Nationals and U.S. Challenge three years (2001-2003) in a row, in addition to a gold medal in the 2003 Pan-Am Games. Andrade, who was a 2-time U.S. Nationals and National Golden Gloves champion, captured a gold medal in the 2008 AIBA World Championships.
Estrada (14-1, 3 KOs), now rated No. 7 in the NABF, fights Philadelphia southpaw Derek “The One Man Riot” Bryant (20-4-1, 17 KOs) the 8-round main event. Bryant has beaten 2-time world title challenger Frankie Swindell and Jorge Luis Gonzalez, split with Providence’s Robert Wiggins, and fought a draw with 1996 U.S. Olympic Team captain Lawrence Clay-Bey.
Andrade (1-0, 1 KO) made his pro debut this past October, stopping Patrick Cape (4-2) in the second round of their fight in the state of Washington. “Boo Boo” is making his hometown pro in a Special Super Welterweight Attraction versus Eric Marriot (0-1).
Pires, a former USBA champion, has been inactive the past 5 ½ years to concentrate on becoming a police officer in his hometown of New Bedford (MA), as well as complete his education at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. Pires, who is matched against former IBC Continental champion Frank Houghtaling (19-14-5, 3 KOs) in a 6-rounder, has only lost as a pro to Rocky Juarez, Oscar Leon and Arthur Johnson.
Lowell (MA) super middleweight “Irish” Joey McCreedy (8-2-1, 5 KOs), of Lowell (MA), square-off in a 6-round rematch against NABC champion James Johnson (23-29-3, 13 KOs).
Also on the undercard in 4-round bouts is unbeaten Pawtucket (RI) lightweight Eddie “The Puerto Rican Sensation” Soto (9-0, 4 KOs) against Blake Franklin (1-1, 0 KOs), Warwick (RI) super middleweight Keith Kozlin (1-0) faces Eric Clinton (0-4-1), Providence junior lightweight Omar Pena (0-0-1) takes on Lindberg Freeman (0-1); Worcester heavyweight Rashad Minor (1-0, 1 KO) makes his CES debut versus Ryan Shay (3-7, 3 KOs).
Tickets for “Holiday Havoc” are priced at $19.00 (SOLD OUT), $limited $25.00 SRO, $40.00, $55.00 (Bronze), $75.00 (Silver), $100.00 (Gold) and limited $150.00 (Jimmy’s Platinum Club) and are available to purchase by calling CES (401.724.2253/2254), going on line at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com , at the Twin River Event Center (100 Twin River Road, Lincoln, RI), at the Players Club booth at Twin River, or any TicketMaster location.
Tickets are also on sale at Big Six Academy in Providence (401.241.3490), 401 Gym in Cranston, RI (401.261.9800), Ultimate Fitness in Bristol, RI (401.253.3539), Rivera Brother’s Gym in Lynn, MA (617.594.1166) and GQ Barbersalon in N. Providence (401.228.3380), Warwick, RI (401.823.0060) and Coventry, RI (401.615.5455).
Contact CES (401.724.2253/2254/www.cesboxing.com) or Twin River Events Center (877.82.RIVER/ www.twinriver.com ) for more information. Doors open at 6 PM/ET, first bout at 7 PM/ET.
(Twin River has waived its 18+ rule for “Holiday Havoc.” Anybody under the age of 18 must be accompanied at all times by an adult and they must enter through the West entrance.)
PROVIDENCE – World cruiserweight contender Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey (18-1, 10 KOs), rated No. 3 by the WBC, became the first Sovereign Nations Boxing Council (SNBC) champion last Saturday night when he won a dominating 10-round decision against Eddie “The Iron Man” Gutierrez at 4 Bears Casino in New Town, North Dakota.
SNBC links federally recognized tribes throughout the United States and Canada. SNBC’s mission is to develop, promote and help regulate boxing in a fair and professional manner by federally recognized tribes that are sovereign nations.
Godfrey won every round on two judges’ scorecards and nine on the other (100-90, 100-90, 99-91) against Gutierrez (15-6-1, 6 KOs) in a near perfect performance.
“It was an honor for me to fight for the first Sovereign Nations Boxing Council title, let alone win the first SNBC belt because I’m Native American,” Godfrey said upon returning to his Providence home. “Finally, Native American boxers have a chance to be recognized and being the first SNBC champion is a huge honor for me.
“I threw a lot of punches, put them together, and worked on everything we had trained to do. Credit Gutierrez because he can really take a punch; I hit him with some great shots. It was a good fight for me because I got in some rounds.”
Next up for Godfrey is a recently ordered WBC title elimination bout next year against No. 2 rated Herbie Hide, former 2-time WBO heavyweight champion, with the victor facing the winner of the WBC championship bout between new defending champion Giacobbe Fragameni and the No. 1 mandatory challenger, Krzystof Wlodarczyk.
“It’s a huge opportunity for me and I’m glad to be getting another chance (Godfrey’s lone loss was earlier this year in a WBC title eliminator by 12-round decision to Rudy Kraj in Germany),” Godfrey noted. “I’m looking forward to it and can’t wait to start training again.”
Godfrey, reigning NABF champion, is also rated No. 11 by the WBA and IBF.
“Matt fought well in North Dakota,” Godfrey’s manager Bret Hallenbeck commented. “The other guy made it difficult to look good. He was in a defensive mode the entire fight, leaning back or covering up like a turtle. We’re waiting to learn more about the WBC eliminator against Hide. We have to see what the offers are and where the fight will be.”
Matt, second heavyweight alternate on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team, had a 194-23 amateur record, capturing six national championships -- four open tournaments including the 2004 Everlast U.S. Championships, plus two in the Junior Olympics – as well as a Bronze medal at the 2001 Pan-American Games, Silver in all four of that year’s national major tournaments (National Golden Gloves, PAL (Police Athletic League), U.S. Championships and U.S. Challenge) and six-time New England Golden Gloves champion.
BRONX, NY - In his hometown gym in the Bronx, NY, three times zones removed from Las Vegas, Jeffrey Resto has been training for the last seven weeks in anticipation of his junior welterweight showdown with Victor Ortiz on December 6th.
The Resto/Ortiz bout is the co-main event of THE DREAM MATCH, headlined by the twelve round welterweight collision between two of boxing’s biggest attractions, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao.
“Ortiz is all I think about, he’s the guy everyone is saying will be the next superstar in boxing, that’s why he’s in the co-main event. But I plan on using this opportunity to my advantage. A win on December 6th on a big stage in Vegas with everyone watching would be a tremendous boost for my career”, said the 31 year old Resto.
A former New York City Golden Gloves champion and highly decorated amateur, Resto was thought by many on the east coast to be a future world champion when he turned pro 11 years ago.
Said manager Ernie Pedroza, “It hasn’t been a smooth ride, there’s been a few bumps in the road for Jeffrey. But he’s persevered. When he lost to Michael Warrick, he got the rematch and won that fight. This fight against Ortiz, with all the buzz about the kid and the whole world watching, is truly Jeffrey’s chance to get back what was once promised.”
Resto, bringing a record of 22-2-0 (13KO’s), will battle for Ortiz’s WBO NABO junior welterweight title over twelve rounds. The 21 year old Ortiz also has 24 fights with an almost identical record of 22-1-1 (17KO’s).
Continued Resto, “Ironically he’s the first southpaw I’ve faced, but that’s all we’ve sparred with, fast, hard hitting southpaws. I know all about Victor, I’ve watched many of his fights and I was at the Garden when he knocked out Maussa in the first round.
I just feel like this is my time. I’ve had a great camp here in the Bronx. It seems like the whole borough is behind me. Every morning when I go run, people yell their good wishes to me, even people I don’t know. They want me to succeed because they know I’m one of them, I never left the Bronx, I was born here.”
Resto has won five in a row, most recently taking decisions over Hector Alatorre on May 2nd and Humberto Tapia on February 8th of this year, both of which were nationally televised.
Said Resto, “In both of those fights I had to grind it out over the distance. I think I’m well prepared to go to war with Ortiz."
