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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.

– CES –

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. (Aug. 26^th, 2017) – Reigning World Boxing Council U.S. National Boxing Council (WBC USNBC) welterweight champion Jimmy Williams retained his title Saturday in a wild finish over Issouf Kinda of the Bronx at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Williams (14-0-1, 6 KOs) scored the knockout at the 1-minute, 26-second mark of the fourth round in peculiar finish, cracking Kinda (18-5) with a right cross on the break as veteran referee Steve Smoger separated two following a brief clinch.

As Smoger yelled, “Break!” Kinda threw a quick right that momentarily clipped Smoger instead of Williams. The reigning champ landed with his right hand, sending Kinda crashing to the canvas. Smoger counted him out and Williams retained the title despite trailing on two of the three scorecards entering the fourth round.

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The event, promoted by CES Boxing, aired live on Facebook via FIGHTNIGHT LIVE as a precursor to Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor megabout in Nevada.

The controversial finish set off a brief melee in the ring, but cooler heads prevailed as Williams celebrated his first title defense and 10^th consecutive win since fighting to a draw with Greg Jackson in 2013. Kinda has now lost two in a row since his win over Zach Ramsey in May of 2016.

Up until the knockout, Kinda led by three rounds on one of the scorecards and one round on another card while Williams led by three rounds on the third scorecard.

In a fight that turned out to be as exciting as advertised, junior welterweight Cristobal Marrero (5-0) of New London, Conn., edged Springfield, Mass., vet Miguel Ortiz(2-1) by split decision, 57-56, 56-57, 57-56.

Marrero fought thrown a swollen eye and dropped Ortiz in the fifth round to seal his fifth win in as many fights, but Ortiz, as always, came to brawl and brought the fight to Marrero in the early rounds, using his come-forward style to bully Ortiz and press him into the ropes while landing short, clean punches on the inside.

Marrero found his difference down the stretch with the knockdown sealing Ortiz’s fate, even with one judge scoring the bout in favor of Ortiz. The bout was supposed to take place in June, but Ortiz was forced to withdraw due to a shoulder injury. The bout was rescheduled for Saturday and changed from four to six rounds, which ultimately worked in Marrero’s favor.

With boxing and mixed martial arts colliding in Nevada in the Mayweather-McGregor bout, CES got in on the action at Foxwoods with eight-time Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) vet Leandro Silva (0-1) of Sao Paolo, Brazil, making his professional boxing debut against unbeaten cruiserweightRichard Rivera (3-0) of Hartford, Conn.

Silva, who is 20-6 in MMA, came out with his hands held high, more reminiscent of his style inside the cage, which flustered Rivera at first. The hard-hitting cruiserweight had a hard time landing anything clean until he caught Silva flush with a right hook on the inside that sent him to the canvas for a split second.

Silva popped up quickly, unharmed by the flash knockdown, and continued to trade fearlessly with the heavily-decorated Rivera, at one point dancing along the ropes and taunting his opponent. Rivera won the fight, 40-35 on all three scorecards due to the knockdown.  

Worcester, Mass., lightweight Jamaine Ortiz (5-0) kept his perfect record intact, earning a 40-36 verdict on all three scorecards against Loraine, Ohio, vet Angel Figueroa (4-5-1). Fighting for the first time since April, Ortiz’s endurance and output was too much for Figueroa, who hung tough early, but ran out of gas in the closing rounds. Ortiz returns to the ring Sept. 16^th in Rhode Island, looking to improve to 6-0.

Sicilian heavyweight Juiseppe Cusumano (12-1, 10 KOs) continued to impress on his regional tour, making his Foxwoods debut in grand fashion with a first-round knockout win over Wilmington, Del., vet Robert Dunton (11-17-1) at the 2-minute mark. Dunton tried to work the body against the taller Cusumano, but Cusumano’s superior size and strength was too much to handle; Cusumano caught Dunton along the ropes with a left and followed by cracking him with three consecutive overhand rights, sending Dunton into the ropes and forcing the referee to step in and stop the bout.

Cusumano also returns Sept. 16^th in Rhode Island in a six-round bout against Californian Matt McKinney.

Boston, Mass., native and former U.S. Marine Jarel Pemberton (1-0), the son of New England icon and former world-title challenger “Sandman” Scott Pemberton, impressed in his professional debut, defeating game challenger Nate Schulte (0-3) of Woburn, Mass., by unanimous decision, 39-37 on all three scorecards.

Pemberton was the aggressor from the opening bell, but Schulte hung in for four hard rounds, unafraid to fight on the inside, and even landed a clean left hand in the third round that momentarily stunned his opponent. Pemberton ultimately regained his composure and finished strong to seal the victory, his first win as a pro.

Also on the undercard, Hartford junior middleweight Jose Rivera (4-1) won his second consecutive fight, outworking the hard-charging Corwin Farmer (1-2) of Tarboro, N.C., to earn a 39-37, 39-37, 40-36 unanimous decision victory. Farmer, entered fresh off his first professional win in January, actually did his best work on the inside, but Rivera controlled the pace by utilizing his jab to keep Farmer from gaining any momentum.

– CES –