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The state’s minimal square mileage aside, if neither Rhode Island nor Providence were large enough for Peter Manfredo Jr. and Joey Spina to share, then confining the duo inside the squared circle at the Dunkin Donuts Center provided the only two ingredients needed in the recipe for combustion.
With each man calling Providence his home base, ring announcer Jeff Connor was forced to distinguish the pugilists by neighborhood, although the choice of whom the audience cheered for came down not to locale, but to loyalty and celebrity.
Manfredo, after all, represented the Ocean State on the first season of The Contender, his second-place finish and subsequent fame earning him large paydays and fans so faithful they braved a blizzard’s aftermath in order to see him knock out Scott Pemberton.
Joey Spina wanted the same for himself.
In what he later termed “a business decision,” Spina called out Manfredo in an interview prior to the former’s fight with Contender contestant Jesse Brinkley.
“Give me [Manfredo] after I beat Brinkley, we can sell out the [Dunkin Donuts] Civic Center,” Spina told an interviewer in April. “I want to go through all the contenders. They got a great shot because they were on TV and they received great contracts. I will fight all of them.”
It was about respect. Manfredo reportedly was offended by Spina’s ring introductions prior to his Nov. 2005 fight with Jose Spearman. As Spina walked to the ring, he was accompanied by a rap song with lines insulting “The Pride of Providence,” according to an article by scribe Michael Woods. [details]
With each man calling Providence his home base, ring announcer Jeff Connor was forced to distinguish the pugilists by neighborhood, although the choice of whom the audience cheered for came down not to locale, but to loyalty and celebrity.
Manfredo, after all, represented the Ocean State on the first season of The Contender, his second-place finish and subsequent fame earning him large paydays and fans so faithful they braved a blizzard’s aftermath in order to see him knock out Scott Pemberton.
Joey Spina wanted the same for himself.
In what he later termed “a business decision,” Spina called out Manfredo in an interview prior to the former’s fight with Contender contestant Jesse Brinkley.
“Give me [Manfredo] after I beat Brinkley, we can sell out the [Dunkin Donuts] Civic Center,” Spina told an interviewer in April. “I want to go through all the contenders. They got a great shot because they were on TV and they received great contracts. I will fight all of them.”
It was about respect. Manfredo reportedly was offended by Spina’s ring introductions prior to his Nov. 2005 fight with Jose Spearman. As Spina walked to the ring, he was accompanied by a rap song with lines insulting “The Pride of Providence,” according to an article by scribe Michael Woods. [details]