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Photo courtesy of Will Paul
MASSACHUSETTS HEAVYWEIGHT TYLER King is stepping on two week's notice to face Virginia's Keith Bell on the main card of "CES MMA 41" at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I., on Friday, Jan. 27th, 2017. The fight will air live as part of AXS TV's telecast beginning at 9 p.m. ET. King replaces Juliano Coutinho, who suffered an injury and was forced to withdraw from the card. King has won his last three fights and is predicting a fourth consecutive win next Friday following a heated exchange with Bell on social media nearly four months ago.
-- Some fighters get unnerved when they find out their opponent is injured within two weeks of fight night. Not Keith Bell.
"I was relieved," Bell said. "I went from fighting a stud to a bum."
Originally scheduled to face Juliano Coutinho on the televised main card of "CES MMA 41" next Friday at Twin River Casino, the Newport News, Va., native will now fight Massachusetts vet Tyler King in hopes of squashing a beef that began four months ago on -- where else? -- social media with a heated keyboard exchange between the two heavyweights.
The King-Bell bout is one of seven on the AXS TV portion of "CES MMA 41." Showtime is 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 27th, 2017 with the main card scheduled for 9.
Tickets for "CES MMA 41" are priced at $40.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesboxing.com, www.twinriver.com, www.ticketmaster.com or www.cagetix.com/ces by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.
The war of words between King and Bell (6-8, 4 KOs) began innocently enough on a congratulatory Instagram post by CES MMA in honor of heavyweight Pat Walsh, who had just scored a big win at "CES MMA 38." Bell inquired about fighting Walsh on the next card, but King intervened, claiming he'd take down Walsh and several other noteworthy heavyweights before adding Bell "isn't invited" because "I don't beat up fighters with under .500 records," a knock on Bell's 6-8 mark.
The grenade launched by King set off a day's worth of digs from both sides, but next Friday's fight truly didn't materialize until Coutinho was forced to withdraw from the card due to injury. When presented with the opportunity to settle the argument in the cage instead of online, both sides happily obliged.
"I don't even care about the opponent, but he opened his mouth, so he can get hurt," said King, who has won three in a row and last fought at Bellator 163 in November in a rematch against regional rival Josh Diekmann.
"I wanted to get another fight in. CES was in a rough spot with [Coutinho] falling out and they've been good to me, so I figured I'd return the favor. I don't stop training. I'm constantly just working on everything to get better. I went from a relaxed state of mind to, 'OK, we're going to war in 18 days. Let's do it.'"
Aside from their mutual disdain for one another, the only thing Bell and King have in common is they both fought Providence heavyweight Greg Rebello, who is also featured on the "CES MMA 41" main card. Nine months before he fought Rebello himself, Bell made the trip up north to help Rebello prepare for his fight against King in June of 2015.
"They told me to just put pressure on Greg and not really do anything else or have any skill," Bell quipped. "That's what I did to prepare Rebello for Tyler."
Rebello won the fight by third-round knockout and also stopped Bell in the opening round of their scheduled three-round bout last March. Since then, King has won his last three by submission, including the win over Diekmann -- his second win over the Connecticut native -- a victory against Eric Bedard in the rubber match of their epic trilogy and a win over Lorenzo Hood, whom Bell called "the biggest bust in MMA history."
"For him to say I fight bums, on January 27th, he's going to be woken up and not understand why he lost to a 'bum,'" Bell said. "I never talk like this, but he just brings it out of me. That's not going to change how the fight will go. His talking does nothing. At the end of the day, they will lock the cage door behind both of us. After all of that talking, then what?
"I've always been respectful. I've never been 'that guy.' I just don't think Tyler has any respect or he's just that punch-drunk and doesn't know any better, but he will know in [nine] days."
"I don't take easy fights," King countered. "If anything, this is a gift for CES. 'You want me to put this bum out of his misery? Sure, I'll do you a favor.'
"I do all my due diligence. I watch my film," King continued. "I saw the fight between him and Greg. He is not tough. He tapped to strikes. If you tap to strike, you are a bitch. There's no two ways about it. He can crack, I'll give him that, but he has nothing else. I have so many more tools in my toolbox. If he messes up once, he's in for a rude awakening."
King presents a much different challenge for Bell than Coutinho, whom Bell says is an all-around better fighter than King because of his expertise in the ground game. Next Friday's fight will be Bell's third with CES MMA. Each of his last 10 fights, win or lose, have ended in the first round.
"I'm at the point in my career where I'm only going to fight the toughest guys around," Bell said. "CES has given me a lot of opportunities where they normally wouldn't have to. I'm not a ticket-seller. I'm not from there. The only thing I offer them is they know I come to fight and they know I'll fight my ass off. It would mean a lot to me to win one for those guys for giving me the opportunities they've given me."
Bell has spent more time in recent months improving his cardio and his boxing. King remains unimpressed. The North Attleboro native and former NFL offensive lineman is in the midst of his longest win streak since 2013 and is confident he'll make it four in a row next Friday despite stepping to the plate on just two week's notice.
"In my last three fights, I've showed off some dynamic skills," King said. "It shows that any holes in my game have been filled in adequately. We just keep adding new wrinkles, new cracks, new holds, new submissions. With that being said, we're going to put on a display.
"I like to fight guys in the cage for money. This is my passion. I was up at 6 a.m. [yesterday] teaching Jiu-Jitsu, then strength and conditioning. Then I did some film work, took a nap, took on some more clients, taught some more classes. You know where I am right now? I'm driving down 93 South going to Connors MMA to do some sparring, then some more strength and conditioning, then I'm going home to sleep my life away and then tomorrow morning I'll do it over again. You know why? Because I'm ready for this."
The main event of "CES MMA 41" features reigning CES MMA Featherweight World Champion Matt Bessette (20-7, 5 KOs) of Stafford, Conn., defending his title against Missouri native Kevin Croom in a five-round. Rebello (20-7, 12 KOs) returns to face Minnesota's Danyelle Williams (8-4-1, 5 KOs) in a three-round bout. Also in the heavyweight division, Walsh (8-2, 3 KOs), a Stoughton, Mass., native, battles New Hampshire's Kevin Haley (6-3, 2 KOs) in an intriguing regional showdown.
The main card also features a flyweight bout between undefeated New Britain, Conn., vet Carlos Candelario (4-0, 1 KO) and fellow unbeaten Miguel Restrepo (4-0, 2 KOs) of Queens, N.Y., plus a bantamweight battle between Kody Nordby (7-4) of Woonsocket, R.I., and Illinois vet David Garcia (4-1, 2 KOs).
Nordby looks to continue his climb back to the top of the division following his loss to Andre Soukhamthath against the dangerous Garcia, who recently handed Rico DiSciullo his first career loss in September via submission at "CES MMA 38." Candelario makes his fourth appearance with CES MMA and first since "CES MMA 36" in June when submitted Roosevelt Archie via guillotine in the opening round of a scheduled three-round bout.
Fresh off his comeback win at "CES MMA 40" in November, East Providence, R.I., bantamweight Dinis Paiva (8-6, 5 KOs) faces Findlay, Ohio, vet Jordan Espinosa (8-4, 1 KO). Paiva ended a 13-month layoff in his last bout with a first-round knockout win over Zane Behrend and returns to the network television stage for the first time since his loss to Nordby in October of 2015.
Espinosa last appeared with CES MMA in 2014, but has since won five of his last six, including a victory over Rafael de Freitas at Legacy Fighting Championships 36.
The six-fight preliminary card includes a female flyweight bout between Bourne, Mass., native Sarah Click (1-1) and newcomer Maria Rivera of Framingham, Mass., plus a bantamweight bout between unbeaten Kris Moutinho (2-0) of Milford, Mass., and Fredericktown, Ohio, native Jason Rine (0-1). Fellow Ohio native Raymond Yanez (4-8, 1 KO) of Columbus battles Milford's Richie Santiago (2-0) and lightweight Connor Barry (2-0) of Stoughton faces New Jersey's Travis Foster (0-2).
In the flyweight division, David Baxter (3-1, 1 KO) of Bellingham, Mass., battles Pawtucket, R.I., vet Dan Cormier (4-6, 1 KO) and Quincy, Mass., light heavyweight Mike Rodriguez returns in a separate three-round bout.
Visit www.cesmma.com, www.twitter.com/cesmma or www.facebook.com/cesmma for more information, or follow CES MMA on Instagram at @CESMMA.
-- CES --
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All Photos courtesy of Will Paul
RHODE ISLAND JUNIOR welterweight Anthony Marsella Jr., seen here with CES Boxing president Jimmy Burchfield Sr. prior to his October bout at Twin River Casino, returns to the Lincoln, R.I., venue on Saturday, Feb. 4th, 2017 to face 16-fight veteran Francisco Medel in just his fourth professional bout. Marsella Jr. is coming off back-to-back first-round knockouts while Medel boasts a 10-6 record with six knockouts. The Marsella-Medel bout is one of 10 on the card, which is CES Boxing's 2017 season opener at Twin River.
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photo credit will paul
Having already conquered personal demons, McCreedy begins comeback Friday night at Twin River
LOWELL, Mass. (Dec. 14th, 2015) – The blade was probably an inch from his throat, maybe closer. He was too drunk to remember all the details.
The only thing Joey McCreedy remembers is waking up strapped to a bed in a psychiatric ward the following morning, just a few hours after threatening to commit suicide in his mother’s bedroom while his 7-year-old brother looked on.
Once considered the pride of Lowell, Mass. – the young, handsome football star, the darling of the family, the next Micky Ward in and out of the boxing ring – McCreedy had finally hit rock bottom.
Years of masking his on-again, off-again depression with excessive partying and drinking drove him to the edge. The pressure of following in the footsteps of a regional icon, the feeling of failure after losing the biggest fight of his career in Vegas, an entire city turning its back on him, all of it left McCreedy searching for a way out.
The turmoil reached its boiling point one night when McCreedy, already intoxicated following an argument with his girlfriend, who had grown tired of his drinking, went back to the liquor store, bought more alcohol and began mixing it with prescription sleeping pills.
“For some reason, I went downstairs, grabbed a knife, walked into my mom’s room and said, ‘Mom, I love you. Goodbye. I can’t take this anymore.’ I was numb.
“I gave up on myself.”
THE 30-YEAR-OLD MCCREEDY (15-8-2, 6 KOs) begins his long-awaited comeback Friday, Dec. 18th, 2015 on the undercard of CES Boxing’s “Holiday Bash” at Twin River Casino in a six-round bout against Texas’ Emmanuel Sanchez (6-4, 1 KO), his first fight in more than a year.
He’s much leaner than the last time he fought, no longer tipping the scales at 175 pounds, instead fighting closer to the middleweight limit of 160. He was in such good shape throughout this recent training camp he actually had to put on a few pounds to meet Sanchez in the middle at 165.
This isn’t the same McCreedy who, while training for his September 2014 bout against Rich Gingras, used to come home every night from the gym and polish off a couple of bottles of alcohol in his room. McCreedy knows this is his last chance to not only get back to the top, back to where he was that night in Vegas when he fought for a title against Sean Monaghan at the MGM Grand – the pinnacle for most promising fighters – but also to silence those who doubt he has much left in the tank.
McCreedy has always cared what other people think, perhaps to a fault, so when he returned to Lowell following the knockout loss to Monaghan, it hurt him to see so many people turn away, people who had once extended a hand or lent their support. Such is the case in boxing. Life is great at the top when friends come out of the woodwork, but the fall from grace is painful and lonely.
“I lost friends. I lost best friends,” McCreedy said. “A lot of people just gave up on me, just like they did with Micky when he was young.”
That emptiness only drove McCreedy to drink more. His depression worsened following the loss to Gingras, a fight he only agreed to so he could cash his paycheck and buy more liquor.
“I was thinking about Vegas, I was thinking about Lowell, I was thinking about my girlfriend, I was thinking about how I had a chance at the biggest shot in the world and I fucked it up,” he said. “I kept drinking, drinking and drinking.”
McCreedy firmly believes hitting rock bottom, the night he held the knife to his throat, just seconds from taking his own life, was a necessary chapter in the story of his recovery.
“God knew I was stubborn,” he said. “God knew I wasn’t going to get help so he said, ‘OK, we’re going to do it the hard way.’”
Had his mother not intervened, knocking the knife from his hand and tackling her on to the ground – “I don’t know she did it. They say mothers have that super mom strength,” he said – McCreedy would still be on the same path toward self-destruction, perhaps with a much grizzlier ending.
Under heavy medication for the next two weeks, bound in a straight jacket and locked in a cramped, one-room cell with only a hint of sunlight peering in through a tiny window, McCreedy faced his worst fears.
“I was literally on the same floor with people screaming and yelling,” he said. “It was like some shit you see in a movie.”
IT TOOK TIME, but McCreedy eventually opened up. With the help of a psychiatrist, he dug deep to the root of his depression, the burden of trying to emerge from Ward’s shadow, the pressure of losing on boxing’s biggest stage, dealing with bipolar disorder and mood swings. He understood what he had put his family through. He recalled his high school years as a star football player, never having to worry about grades, and the inevitable realization that the sport was merely a pastime, not a career.
McCreedy left the hospital with a second chance at life. He blocked out the negative influences, left behind his connection to Ward and Dicky Eklund, both of whom were larger-than-life figures in Lowell, and began training at the nearby West End Gym.
When he says this is the new Joey McCreedy, he’s sincere. No more drinking, no more partying. He’s got a new job, a new car and an incredible story to share with others in hopes that it’ll one day steer someone in danger toward the right path.
“Everyone deals with depression in a whole different way,” he said. “I figured, let me get me story out there. Maybe I can save a life.
“I’m a different person. I think different. I can’t explain it. It’s something you have to go through yourself, but if I can do this, anybody else can.”
The result in the ring Friday is almost inconsequential at this point. McCreedy has already won the most important battle.
Tickets for the “Holiday Bash” are priced at $40.00, $75.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and available for purchase online at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 401-724-2253/2254, or at the Twin River Casino Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.
The Dec. 18th event will be held in conjunction with the Toys For Tots Foundation. All fans in attendance are encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy, which can be left in the collection boxes conveniently located in Twin River’s Interactive Fan Zone.
As an added bonus, the Dec. 18th “Holiday Bash” also features a live performance by Grammy nominated recording artist Karina Pasian of New York City, plus the induction of former CES ring announcer and current Brockton, Mass., Mayor Bill Carpenter into the CES Ring of Honor.
In addition to the McCreedy-Sanchez bout, unbeaten Worcester, Mass., junior middleweight Khiary Gray (10-0, 8 KOs) faces Mexico’s Roberto Valenzuela (69-70-2, 56 KOs) in a six-round bout and fellow junior middleweight Jimmy Williams (9-0-1, 5 KOs) of New Haven, Conn., makes his Twin River debut in a six-round bout against Chris Gray (13-21-1, 1 KO) of Vero Beach, Fla.
The undercard of the “Holiday Bash” features more of New England’s rising stars, including undefeated Worcester super lightweight Freddy Sanchez (6-0, 5 KOs), who puts his record on the line against dangerous New York vet Sidney Maccow (4-3, 3 KOs) in a six-round bout.
Providence, R.I., natives Phil Dudley and Cido Hoff, fighting out of Rhode Island’s 401 Boxing, make their professional debuts in separate four-round bouts; Dudley faces Lawrence, Mass., lightweight Jacob Solis (1-1) and Hoff battles unbeaten super featherweight Timmy Ramos (2-0, 2 KOs) of Framingham, Mass., whom Hoff faced twice as an amateur.
Marlboro, Mass., super featherweight Julio Perez (2-0) aims for his third win of the year against former Greater Lowell Golden Gloves standout Josh Bourque of Salem, N.H., in Bourque’s professional debut and New Bedford, Mass., junior welterweight Ray Oliveira Jr. (3-0, 1 KO) battles 34-fight Brockton vet Antonio Fernandes. Both are four-round bouts.
Also making his Twin River debut in Friday’s special attraction, Albanian middleweight Fatlum Zhuta (1-0-1, 1 KO) of Anchorage, Ala., faces Boston’s Deivison Ribeiro (0-2) in a four-round bout.
For more information the Dec. 18th “Holiday Bash” visit www.cesboxing.com, follow @CESBOXING on Twitter and Instagram and “like” the official CES Boxing Facebook fan page.
– CES –
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Hand Picks To Fight 'Canelo' Alvarez
Boxing fans asked for it and now they have it!
Floyd Mayweather Jr. will fight young Mexican star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
"I chose my opponent for September 14th and it's Canelo Alvarez," Mayweather said Wednesday night on Twitter. "I'm giving the fans what they want. It will be at the MGM Grand."
Are you excited about this upcoming bout?
Read more: http://bit.ly/14bmcWS
