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Williams earns decision over Halili; hard-charging Lenk outworks Soto in exciting co-feature

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. (Oct. 20th, 2018)– WelterweightJimmy Williamsof New Haven, Conn., started a new win streak Saturday with a controversial unanimous decision win at Foxwoods Resort Casino. 

Headlining in an exciting pro-am card promoted by CES Boxing at the Fox Theater, Williams (16-1-1) earned a 78-74 win on all three scorecards over Enver Halili(10-2) of the Bronx, much to the dismay of the sold-out crowd, which felt Halili had done enough to get the nod.

JudgesEddie Scuncio, Richard Flahertyand Peter Haryscored the fight, a back-and-forth battle between two regional veterans who continued to scrap until the final bell. Williams had the height advantage, but didn’t do enough to establish his jab, allowing Halili to cut off the ring brilliantly and work the body effectively in the middle rounds. 

Williams had a hard time using his distance to his advantage and Halili stayed aggressive throughout, fighting his way through glancing blows by Williams to land cleanly on the inside. The win was Williams’ second in a row since suffering his first career loss early in 2018, a setback that ended his previous 11-fight unbeaten streak. 

Anchored by a sturdy chin and a relentless, come-forward attack, junior middleweight Anthony Lenk(16-5) of Niagara Falls proved to be too much down the stretch for New Haven’s Edwin Soto(13-4-2), earning a unanimous decision win, 78-74 on all three scorecards.

Soto looked sharp in the opening round, landing short, but effective, hooks upstairs, but Lenk walked through everything, which became a reoccurring theme as the fight progressed. Lenk pressed the action from the opening bell, which left him open for some hard counterpunches by Soto, but Lenk never wavered, taking Soto’s best for eight rounds. Soto regained his composure momentarily in the sixth, but Lenk remained unharmed, having built up enough of a lead in the middle rounds to earn the win on the cards.

Soto lost for the first time since 2014, snapping a four-fight win streak, while Lenk won for the first time since last September. 

Stealing the show on the undercard, Springfield, Mass., welterweight Derrick Whitley(4-0-1) and Sharad Collier(1-0-1) of Hartford, Conn., fought to draw in a close-knit six-round war. Eddie Scunciohad it 59-55 in favor of Collier, Richard Flahertyscored it 58-56 in favor of Whitley and Peter Haryhad it even. 

In just his second pro fight, Collier stood toe-to-toe with the more experienced Whitley and began to find his groove after losing the opening round. Neither fighter tried to establish much distance, leading to an entertaining, back-and-forth battle featuring several high-powered exchanges in the center of the ring.

Whitley got head-butted accidentally in the third round, opening a cut over his right eye. The ringside physician examined it closely and allowed Whitley to continue. The last two rounds were so close that neither of the three judges had the same card. Scuncio gave the final two rounds to Collier, Flaherty gave the edge to Whitley and Hary had it split with Whitley winning the fifth and Collier earning the draw by squeezing out the final round.  

The knockout of the night belonged to New Haven super middleweight Elvis Figueroa(6-0, 3 KOs), who pieced together his most complete performance with a third-round stoppage against previously Leemont Johnson(6-1). Figueroa dominated from the opening bell, working the body and backing Johnson against the ropes with overhand rights. In the third, Figueroa came out firing again with a right hook to the ribs and more combinations upstairs. Johnson found himself on the ropes a second time, but had no answer for Figueroa’s flurries, prompting referee Al LoBiancoto stop the bout 49 seconds into the round. 

The female bantamweight showcase also did not disappoint as Ledyard, Conn., native Marcia Agripino(3-1-1) earned her second consecutive win, narrowly defeating Canada’s Stephanie Essensa(3-2-1) by majority decision, 60-54, 58-56, 57-57. As expected, the two exchanged haymakers for six hard rounds, with Agripino closing the fight with a spirited rally in the sixth. Hary had Agripino winning all six, while Scuncio and Lombardi agreed on Essensa taking rounds two and five. Agripino won for the second time since June while Essensa suffered only her second pro defeat and first since 2016. 

Making his Foxwoods debut, Taunton, Mass., welterweight Marqus Bates(5-2) won his third consecutive bout in a wildly-entertaining slugfest with Bridgeport, Conn., vet Carlos Hernandez(3-3-1), earning a 59-55, 58-56, 57-57 majority decision win. 

Bates landed cleaner, more effective blows in spurts, but Hernandez continued to press forward, landing occasional counter shots to keep himself within striking distance. Bates was at his best in the first three rounds and Hernandez found his second wind in the fourth before Bates regained control in the fifth and final round. Flaherty and Frank Lombardiscored it in favor of Bates while Hary again had it even, giving Hernandez two of the final three rounds, including the sixth. 

Fighting for the first time professional, Danbury, Conn., native Geoffrey Then(1-0, 1 KO) scored the upset of Providence’s Nicky DeQuattro(3-2), stopping DeQuattro 41 seconds in the second round. A professional Muay Thai and mixed martial arts fighter, Then looked comfortable in the ring, landing at will in the opening round as DeQuattro failed to establish his defense. Then opened the second equally as aggressive and eventually backed DeQuattro into a corner, unloading with combinations before LoBianco stopped the bout. 

DebutsCalixto Cruz(1-0) of Springfield, Mass., and Joseph Santana(0-1) of Providence opened the nine-bout card with a thrilling, back-and-forth lightweight bout with Cruz winning by unanimous decision, 39-37, 40-36, 39-37. 

Cruz, the more accomplished amateur, got off to a fast start, stalking down Santana as he tried to circle the ring and box from a distance, but Cruz remained persistent and eventually worked with his way to the inside, where he landed effective body shots to soften Santana’s defense. Santana had his best round in the third, but Cruz closed the show with a strong final three minutes to earn his first career win.

Also making his professional debut, Bridgeport’s Jacob Marrero(1-0, 1 KO) dominated California’s Fierce Taylor(0-3), scoring the win by knockout at the 2:30 mark of the second round. Marrero outworked his opponent in the opening round and then closed with a flurry along the ropes, the last series of shots sending Taylor crashing to the canvas just as referee Benjy Esteveswaved it off. 

-- CES --

Williams remains unbeaten, retains WBC crowd with methodical unanimous decision win over Rodriguez

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Sept. 16^th, 2017) – Jimmy Williams celebrated two major milestones in style Saturday, retaining his World Boxing Council U.S. Boxing Council (WBC USNBC) welterweight title for the second time in less than three weeks at Twin River Casino.

Stepping up for one more title defense after knocking outIssouf Kinda in August, Williams (15-0-1) returned Saturday on his birthday in the headliner of CES Boxing’s 12-fight card at Twin River and remained unbeaten, defeating game challenger Juan Rodriguez Jr. (13-5) of New Jersey by unanimous decision, 98-91, 97-92, 96-93.

A second-round knockdown established the pace for Williams, whose wife gave birth to twin boys less than two weeks before fight night. Rodriguez enjoyed a brief surge in the third and fourth rounds, apparently getting his second wind after the knockdown, but Williams dominated the latter half of the fight, taking rounds five through nine on two of three scorecards to build a comfortable lead.

Fighting for the third time since, Sicilian heavyweightJuiseppe Cusumano (13-1, 11 KOs) continued his east-coast reign of terror in the co-feature, stopping game challenger Matt McKinney (5-3-2) of Oceanside, Calif., at the2:41 mark of the second round. Cusumano sent McKinney to the canvas four times, twice in each round, before refereeJohnny Callas stopped the bout.

Cusumano has won 11 in a row and each of his last three by knockout within the first two rounds, including another dominant performance less than three weeks ago on the last CES Boxing card in August.

Making his fifth Twin River appearance, Providence lightweight Anthony Marsella Jr. (6-0, 3 KOs) remained undefeated in his most impressive performance to date, stopping Mexican challenger Israel Rojas (12-19) at 1:47 of the fourth round. Marsella Jr. sent Rojas to the canvas in the closing seconds of the third and twice more in the fourth before referee Joey Lupino waved it off.

Coming off his first career loss back in April, New Bedford, Mass., native Ray Oliveira Jr. (8-1) got back in the win column, narrowly defeating New Haven’s David Wilson (5-2-1) by split decision, 58-56, 55-59, 58-56.

Judges Eddie Scuncio and Robin Taylor scored the bout in favor of Oliveira while Ken Ezzo gave Wilson each of the first four rounds and the sixth and final round. Wilson started strong, also winning two of the first three rounds on Scuncio and Taylor’s scorecards, but Oliveira came on strong down the stretch to earn his first win since February.

Stealing the show on the preliminary card, female bantamweights Marcia Agripino (1-1-1) of Groton, Conn., and New Yorker Federica Bianco (3-1) fought four entertaining, back-and-forth rounds with Bianco earning the unanimous decision win, 39-37, 39-37, 40-36. The fight was much closer than the scores indicated, but Bianco was the aggressor, establishing a feverish pace from the opening bell and refusing to let up at any point. Agripino, fighting for the first time since 2013, brought the same energy, but Bianco was slightly more accurate with her exchanges, leading her to third win as a pro and first since May of 2016.

Making his 10^th appearance since turning pro last May, Worcester’s Kendrick Ball Jr. (8-0-2) remained unbeaten, trading blows for six rounds with the dangerous Pablo Velez(7-2-1) of Durham, N.C., en route to a 60-54 shutout on all three scorecards. The taller, leaner Ball Jr. used his reach to keep Velez at a distance, but also stayed busy on the inside, unafraid to exchange with his opponent while outworking him consistently within close range. The win highlighted Ball Jr.’s 25^th birthday celebration, which commences Sunday.

In another back-and-forth regional showdown, Stoughton, Mass., welterweight Travis Demko (5-1) narrowly defeatedMarqus Bates (2-2) of nearby Taunton by split decision, 39-37, 37-39, 39-37. Judges Wayne Lima and Taylor scored it in favor of Demko while Scuncio gave Bates the nod. Each fighter had his moments, but Demko hurt Bates in the second and had him on the ropes again in the third. Taylor and Lima each gave Demko the first three rounds while Scuncio scored rounds one, three and four in favor of Bates.

Fighting for the second time in three weeks, Worcester lightweight Jamaine Ortiz (6-0, 4 KOs) looked dominant as ever, stopping the game Darnell Pettis (1-6) of Cleveland, who failed to answer the bell for the fourth and final round. Pettis hung in for three rounds, taking Ortiz’s best, but after a brutal third round, Pettis was done for the night and Ortiz earned his fourth win of the year and second since August.

Living up to his nickname, “Bling Bling,” Providence super featherweight Michael Valentin (2-0) kept his unbeaten record intact with a hard-fought win over debut Henry Garcia (0-1) of New Bedford. Garcia never stopped coming forward, but Valentin’s quick hands set the tone early, and the 18-year-old Providence native scored a big knockdown in the second round to open up a comfortable lead on the scorecards en route to a 39-36, 40-35, 40-35 unanimous decision win.

In a battle of pro debut cruiserweights from Worcester, fighting out of rival gyms, Rafiel Nyakoko (1-0, 1 KO) earned the knockout win over Jake Paradise (0-1) at the2:36 mark of the second round. Nyakoko controlled the pace in the opening round and then staggered Paradise with a hard right midway through the second. Paradise tried to hold on to buy some time, but Nyakoko used his reach to establish his distance and finished Paradise for a good with a flurry of punches along the ropes, prompting Lupino to stop the bout.

Also in preliminary action, Worcester’s Philip Davis (1-1) earned his first career victory in the featherweight division over Providence’s Phil Dudley (1-1), 39-36 on all three scorecards, and featherweight Ricky Delossantos (3-0) of Providence remained unbeaten with his third win of 2017, beating Lowell’s Jonathan Perez (2-2-2), 40-36 on all three cards.

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