By Matt Thompson at ringside
Photos: Emily Harney
In the 10 rounds main event, Stoneham, MA’s Greg “The Villain” Vendetti, 21-3-1, 12 KOs won a unanimous decision over late sub Alan Zavala, 15-4, 13 KOs in a jr middleweight bout in front of a packed house at one of New England’s best fight venues, Memorial Hall in Melrose, Massachusetts.
The short, stocky Vendetti started fast, stalking Zavala from the opening bell, landing crisp combinations to the delight of his legions of fans. His pressure continued through the first 4 stanzas, when Zavala finally found some range to fire back, landing hard, thumping shots, but too infrequent to steal a round, as Vendetti continued to outpunch him 4 to 1.
The 5th round showed Vendetti shifting direction and moving more defensively, giving some momentum to Zavala and possibly allowing him to steal the round by virtue of his aggressiveness. When Vendetti returned to his come-ahead style, he easily took the next few, but as the fast pace dictated a slight breather in the 8th, Zavala took the initiative to land some great body shots, his best round of the fight. Paying attention to his long-time trainer Joe Ricciardi, Vendetti again began to let his hands go in the final 2 frames, cementing the victory 98-92, 99-91 and 97-93.
The 8 round co-feature showcased Quincy, MA’s lightweight Ryan Kielczewski, 30-4, 11 KOs walk away with a near shutout over the determined Nicodemus Otieno, 31-16, 13 KOs originally from Kenya, now fighting out of Silver Springs, MD. The Polish Prince, a crowd favorite on the New England circuit, used his speed and boxing ability to handily outpoint Otieno, who pressed the action but was unable to land anything significant. Neither fighters was hurt at any time, although several late flurries from the quick handed Kielczewski did draw some cheers from the audience. Kielczewski 79-73 twice and 80-72.
22 year old prospect Mike “The Bad Man” Ohan, Jr improved to 9-0, 5 KOs with a hard fought 6 round majority decision over crafty journeyman Shakha Moore, 12-24-1, 3 KOs of Norwalk, CT. Hailing from nearby Holbrook, MA Ohan came out boxing well using his superior height and reach to get off to an early lead, but the veteran Moore was able to set traps in the middle rounds, luring Ohan in to exchanges that he sometime took as well as he gave, delighting the crowd but allowing Moore to steal a few rounds. Judge Ken Volovik saw the bout a draw at 57-57, to be overruled by Lucy Miller and Martha Tremblay who agreed at 59-55 for Ohan in a great learning fight for the up coming welterweight.
2-time Venezuelan Olympian Luis Arcon continued his unbeaten steak pummeling Zack Ramsey of Springfield, MA over 2 rounds, dropping Ramsey 2ce in the first round and again in the second before referee Paul Casey had seen enough, waving the fight off. The 5’11” Arcon, looking 2 full weight classes bigger than the 139 pounds he tipped the scales at, showed tremendous power in both hands, cornering Ramsey and pounding away to the body and head. Ramsey, now 8-7, was once considered a top prospect, but was unable to deal with the numbing power Arcon showed. Arcon now stands at 6-0, 6 KOs, and looks forward to stepping up in competition in his next fight. This was his first fight under promotional contract to Ken Casey’s Murphys Boxing and Casey is extremely excited about Arcon’s world-class potential.
4 time New England Golden Gloves champ James Perella, 145, made short work out of 0-6 Andre Belcarris of Bennington, Vermont in his second fight within 2 weeks. Perella turned pro on Murphys Boxing’s St Patrick’s Day event March 16, scoring a 2nd round KO, and continued the trend with a first round stoppage over the game but overmatched Belcarris. At 6’3”, Perella shows potential of becoming a true force in the welterweight division if he continues on the path presently laid out for him. He now stands at 2-0, 2 KOs.
Joining Jim Perella in a quick turnover in the ring, South Boston’s Joe Farina stopped tough journeyman Carlos Galindo, 1-9, at 1:05 of the second round with a determined body attack in their scheduled 4 round welterweight bout. Farina won a decision over Steve Moore on March 16 and jumped at the opportunity to return as soon as possible, and again looked impressive, placing smart body shots on the ordinarily durable Galindo, putting hi down 2ce before Galindo wisely decided to take the full count. Farina, at 146 pounds, now stands at 6-1, 4 KOs and perhaps is eyeing a showdown at some point with Perella or Ohan, all sharing the welterweight division in the Boston circuit.
Dublin, Ireland’s visiting Craig O’Brien, 10-1, 1 KO easily outpointed game journeyman Antonio Chavez Fernandez, 9-36-3, 3 KOs over 6 entertaining rounds. Showing that a record can be deceiving, the switch hitting Fernandez hung in despite the superior boxing skills of O’Brien, providing a highly entertaining fight for the audience.
In the opening bout, Medford heavyweight Joe Gagliardi, Jr fell short in his second pro bout against mma crossover Francisco Neto, 1-3 in a 4 round bout. Taking the fight on 2 weeks notice when the slot opened, Gagliardi started strong, dropping Neto twice with body shots and uppercuts as he covered on the ropes, but showed inexperience by expending too much energy trying to put Neto away, gassing himself to the point where a slapping combination by Neto in the third put him on the canvas as he was off balance. Although he beat the count, he was too exhausted to continue giving the jubilant Neto his first win at 47 seconds of round 3.
Ken Casey’s Murphys Boxing promotions, Mark Vaz matchmaker.
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