By Jason Marchetti at ringside
Photos: Emily Harney

In the main event of the evening, Nick Delomba (14-2, 3 KO’s) outboxed Chris Singleton (18-6-2, 8 KO’s) over 8 rounds in a bout at super lightweight.

The event took place at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, RI and was promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports. Delomba retained the UBF All America lightweight title with his unanimous victory, 78-74, and 79-73 (twice).

Both fighters pressed the action throughout the fight, moving forward, and fighting in close quarters. Delomba had trouble setting up his jab, but quickly adjusted to fighting on the inside. Singleton proved he had an excellent chin and never stopped pressuring Delomba even though Delomba scored convincingly every round. His most impressive round was the 4th, when Delomba backed up Singleton with a power shot, then peppered him with his signature 5-6 punch combinations.

Delomba, best known for his slickness and elusiveness, proved again he is a formidable opponent to anyone in the division. He has re-signed with promoter Jimmy Burchfield, and despite his two losses, is very difficult to engage and hit consistently. Delomba’s footwork keeps his opponents on their toes and he can throw punches from every angle to which Singleton had no answer.

Delomba, 28, from Cranston, RI, has now earned his second local title and is in the prime of his career. Burchfield holds the cards on what is next in store for one of his most consistent stablemate over the years.

In another one-sided fight, Anthony Marsella, Jr. (10-0, 4 KO’s) kept his record undefeated against Maine’s Brandon Berry (13-4-2, 8 KO’s) in a 6 round bout at super lightweight. Berry was punished all night by Marsella’s left hook, his most dangerous weapon, and Berry hit the canvas in the 2nd round due to a powerful combination by the rising prospect. Berry’s face swelled immensely throughout the fight as Marsella easily landed at least 30 punches per round against his opponent from all angles and directions. At the end of the fight, promoter Jimmy Burchfield announced that Marsella will fight next for the WBC youth title in his next bout. Marsella continues to prove he is technically sound, and after 10 fights, is ready to move up in competition to compete at the next level.

Ricky DeLosSantos (6-0, 1 KO) overwhelmed Jose Ortiz (3-4-2, 1 KO) for the entire 6 rounds in their bout at featherweight. De Los Santos methodically stalked and broke down Ortiz and won by unanimous decision 60-54 on all three scorecards. Ortiz kept his distance as much as he could, but De Los Santos snapped Ortiz’ head back several times to which the crowd roared. However, Ortiz never hit the canvas and De Los Santos wasn’t able to get the knockout as he landed his short, quick combinations throughout the fight.

In a fight that saw very little action, lightweights Shayna Foppiano (1-0-1, 1 KO) and Sarah Click (0-1-1) fought to a draw. Both fighters kept their distance and threw very little until the closing moments of each round when each fighter had their moments. A solid combination landed here and there but it wasn’t enough to convince the judges to favor one fighter or the other. The final scores were 39-37 (Click), 39-37 (Foppiano) and 38-38.

Raphael Akpejiori TKO’d Omar Acosta in his first fight at heavyweight. Akpejiori, a former Miami Hurricanes basketball player, and trained by former world champion Glen Johnson, pummeled his underwhelming opponent in the 1st round with right and left hands to the head and body. Acosta is now 1-2 as a boxer and 2-4 as an MMA fighter.

Nicholas Briggs (1-0, 1 KO) TKO’d Jacob Wright (0-1) after landing just a few punches in a bout at jr. welterweight. Wright looked very scared from the opening bell and lasted only a minute in the ring before taking a right hand to the chin.

Victor Reynoso (1-0, 1 KO) TKO’d Maurilio Alava (0-1) in the 2nd round of their professional debuts at jr. middleweight. Reynoso connected with a left-right combination at the end of the 1st round as Alava danced around the ring for the entire round. In the 2nd, Reynoso timed his power punches on several occasions which made Alava spit out his mouthpiece twice. In the end, a devastating right hand pounded Alava to the canvas and ended the bout as the ref rightfully stopped the fight.

Kris Jacobs and Andy Aiello fought to an exciting majority draw in a 4 round bout at junior welterweight. The much smaller Aiello held his ground as Jacobs looked to land that big right throughout the rounds. Aiello took punishment from time to time, but his swelling face was no detraction from him being aggressive and earning a draw after seemingly losing the early rounds. Jacobs, a big jr. welterweight, had solid fundamentals in his professional debut, occasionally switching to southpaw making him difficult to hit. Aiello gambled and moved inside, occasionally scoring on quick combinations on the taller Jacobs. The final scores were 39-37, and 38-38 (twice).

In the opening bout of the night, Phil Dudley defeated Ranse Andino by unanimous decision at featherweight. The fight was a back and forth affair and action picked up in the 3rd and Dudley was able to take advantage and score. Dudley, from Warwick, RI improves his record to 2-1 and Andino, from Worcester, MA, falls to 1-1.