LINCOLN, Rhode Island (Mar. 19, 2010) – Unbeaten light welterweight prospect Danny O’Connor celebrated St, Patrick’s Day a few days late as he pitched a complete shutout against Franklin Gonzalez, headlining tonight’s (Friday) “ShamRock’d” card in front of a packed house at Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island.
O’Connor’s (11-0) steady body attack allowed the 2008 US Olympic Boxing alternate to dominate fellow southpaw Gonzalez (13-4) from start to finish. O’Connor won very round on all three judges’ scorecards in his first 8-round bout.
“It was a great night of boxing,” CES president Jimmy Burchfield said. “We had our second sell-out in a week. All of the boxers gave everything and the fans responded with tremendous support. Micky Ward is turning into as good a trainer as he was a fighter.”
In the co-feature, 4-time world champion Jaime “The Hurricane” Clampitt (21-4-1, 7 KOs) outworked junior welterweight Jill Emery (9-3), a former IFBA titlist, to take a 6-round decision.
“Irish” Joey McCreedy and super middleweight Dafir “No Far” Smith battled to a 6-round draw.
In the opening 3-minutes of what could easily be the Round of the Year, Jason “Schoolboy” Pires (22-3-1) got off the canvas to rock John “The Renegade” Revish (10-1-1), who on wobbly legs decked Pires again right before the bell sounded. The resilient Pires, former USBA title-holder and active New Bedford (MA) police officer, came right back to bust-up Revish in an all-out welterweight war. The non-stop action continued right to the final bell and the result was a 6-round majority draw.
Cape Cod heavyweight Jesse “Bad News” Barboza (3-0), 3-time New England Golden Gloves champion, kept his perfect record intact with his third straight win by knockout, starching pro-debuting Richard Mason with a vicious left hook in the second round.
Sean Eklund (7-4), trained by his uncle “Irish” Micky Ward, dealt Eddie Soto (12-1) his first loss. Eklund avenged his loss last year to Soto by outworking his opponent, who hit the deck in the fifth round, by a unanimous 6-round decision for the vacant EBA New England super lightweight title.
Unbeaten super middleweight Keith Kozlin (5-0) battered Roberto Burgess around the ring, flooring the Philadelphian twice, until referee Charlie Dwyer stopped the action at 1:59 of the opening round.
RESULTS FROM RHODE ISLAND
Lincoln, Rhode Island
Mar. 19, 2010 – “ShamRock’d”
HEAVYWEIGHTS
Jesse Barboza (3-0, 3 KOs), Barnstable, MA WKO2 (KO2 – 1:45) Richard Mason (0-1), Long Island, NY
SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Joey McCreedy (11-4-2, 6 KOs), Lowell, MA D6 (59-56, 55-59, 57-57) Dhafir Smith (22-19-7, 4 KOs), Upper Darby, PA
Keith Kozlin (5-0, 3 KOs) WTKO1 (1:59) Robert Burgess (4-3, 2 KOs), Philadelphia, PA
WELTERWEIGHTS
Jason Pires (22-3-1, 9 KOs), New Bedford, MA MD (56-56, 56-56, 55-56) John Revish (10-1-1, 8 KOs), Baton Rouge, LA
FEMALE WELTERWEIGHTS
Jaime Clampitt (20-5-1, 7 KOs), Warwick, RI WDEC6 (59-55, 59-55, 57-57) Jill Emery (9-3, 3 KOs), New York, NY
LIGHT WELTERWEIGHTS
Danny O’Connor (11-3, 3 KOs), Framingham, MA WDEC8 (80-72, 80-72, 80-72) Franklin Gonzalez (13-4, 9 KOs), Brooklyn, NY
Sean Eklund (7-4, 1 KO), Lowell, MA WDEC6 (59-55, 58-55, 58-55) Eddie Soto (12-1, 4 KOs), Pawtucket, RI
(Eklund wins vacant EBA super lightweight title)
Promoter: Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc.
Matchmaker: Ted Panagiotis
