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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 –
Top Welterweights Collide - Pedro Campa vs. Aaron Herrera
and Sullivan Barrera to Face Karo Murat for IBF Mandatory
from the Glendale Civic Center on Saturday, December 12
Televised Live on HBO Latino Boxing
Glendale, CA: Top Mexican welterweights Pedro Campa and Aaron Herrera will collide on a Tripleheader of action on Saturday, December 12 at the Glendale Civic Auditorium and televised live on HBO Latino Boxing (10pm ET/PT). Top Rank, in association with Main Events and Zanfer Promotions made the announcement today.
"Anytime Mexican welterweights with these type of styles faceoff in the LA area, fireworks are bound to happen," said Carl Moretti, VP, Top Rank.
Campa (18-0, 14 KOs) of Hermosillo, Mexico will battle Hererra (21-3-1, 12 KOs) of Yucatan, Mexico in a 10 round bout. Campa has knockout wins in seven of his last eight bouts. Herrera has been unbeaten for two years.
With the injury to Artur Beterbiev, Sullivan Barrera (16-0, 11 KOs) has regained his shot to fight for the mandatory position in the IBF and now the 33-year old from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba will face Karo Murat (27-2-1, 17 KOs). The winner will earn the right to challenge WBO, WBA, and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs) for his world titles in 2016.
Barrera has quietly risen through the ranks of the light heavyweight division since his defection from Cuba and his professional debut in 2009. He has an impressive 68% (11 of 16) knockout-to-win ratio and has stopped his last five opponents in eight rounds or less.
"I'm looking forward towards December 12, another step in my career to show I have what it takes to compete with the elite in my division," said Barrera. He added, "I would like to thank the IBF for this opportunity and my whole team."
He will have no easy bout with Murat. The 32-year old has nearly twice as many professional fights as Barrera. In 2013, he challenged Bernard "The Alien" Hopkins for the IBF Light Heavyweight World Championship and lost via unanimous decision to the legendary Hopkins. Since challenging Hopkins, Murat has stopped his last two opponents including Benjamin Simon earlier this year to take the vacant IBF International Light Heavyweight Title.
"I haven't heard of Barrera before that he is such a world class fighter. I do have a Cuban friend who knows him from a time when Barrera was an amateur. I do have great respect that he wants to fight against me. I am hugely looking forward to fight in Glendale, California as there live 1.5 million Armenians, who of course will support me."
Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events added, "Barrera has slowly climbed his way through the light heavyweight division and we are pleased that he is finally able to fight for the mandatory position in the IBF. His stablemate, Arif Magomedov defeated Derrick Webster in his last televised bout and we are so excited that he will also make his HBO Latino debut on Dec. 12."
The opening bout of the HBO Latino telecast will feature southpaw Jonatan "Oso" Tavira (12-3, 9 KOs) of Distrito Federal, Mexico against undefeated phenom Arif "The Mayhem" Magomedov (16-0, 9 KOs) of Chekhov, Russia in an eight-round welterweight battle presented by Main Events in association with All Star Boxing.
Tavira suffered two straight losses so he looks to make a statement against the 23-year old Mayhem. According to Tavira, " I took some time off to rethink my career, have been training for four months and decided to come back as a middleweight where I'm more comfortable and feel stronger, I would like to thank All Star Boxing, Inc. and Main Events for giving the opportunity to make my US debut."
In his last fight, Magomedov handed veteran Derrick "Take it to the Bank" Webster his first career loss in a ten-round unanimous decision to secure the vacant WBO NABO Middleweight Title. Now in his HBO debut Magomedov looks to establish himself as a force to be reckoned with in the middleweight division. He said, "I am very excited and happy to be back in the ring. After my last fight I went back home to Russia and had a great little vacation. I returned to camp the beginning of September to start training, so I had a couple months of good preparation for this fight. I am looking forward to be back in the ring on December 12. This is also my first appearance on HBO network and it makes me more motivated."
Tickets are $60 reserved, $40 general admission are available at www.glendalefightnight.com . The ticket hotline is 626 388 8888.
FOLLOW US:
www.mainevents.com
Twitter: @main_events www.toprank.com |
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Isaac "Golden Boy" Chilemba
Photo Credits:
David Spagnolo/Main Events
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Quebec City, Quebec, Canada: This Saturday, Isaac "Golden Boy" Chilemba (24-2-2, 10 KOs) will take on Eleider "Storm" Alvarez (18-0, 10 KOs) for the mandatory position in the WBC at Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Quebec; the winner will challenge Adonis "Superman" Stevenson for the WBC Light Heavyweight World Title in 2016.
Chilemba, 28, was born in Blantyre, Malawi one of the poorest regions in the world. He moved to Johannesburg, South Africa in 2004 to pursue a professional boxing career. Over the last ten years since his professional debut, Isaac has very quietly climbed the ranks of the light heavyweight division. Earlier this year, he defeated fellow Main Events' stablemate Vasily "The Professor" Lepikhin in the opening bout of the Kovalev-Pascal telecast on HBO World Championship Boxing to become the WBC's #1 ranked light heavyweight.
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Lepikhin and Chilemba
Photo Credits: David Spagnolo/Main Events
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Now, after more than a decade as a professional, Isaac is one fight away from achieving his dream fighting for a world championship belt. The only thing standing in his way is undefeated contender Eleider "Storm" Alvarez. Alvarez, 31, is originally from Apartado, Colombia but now resides in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Chilemba knows he is marching into enemy territory, fighting in his opponent's hometown, but he remains unfazed. He said, "It really doesn't matter where I fight. I don't mind having no fans in the crowd but, hopefully by the end of the fight, there will be fans that cheer for me. I am just there to do my job. I hope everybody here in the US and Canada watching live and back at home in Malawi and South Africa will get to see a good fight."
Chilemba admittedly knows little about his opponent and his trainer, former welterweight world champion James "Buddy" McGirt, warns against focusing too hard on the other guy. He said, "I have watched him. I study guys but I try not to watch too much. Sometimes you have a tendency to study a guy too much and you realize he does something but then he doesn't do that one thing and you are thrown. So I watched him but we are going to be prepared for anything and everything."
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McGirt and Chilemba In the Corner
Photo Credits: David Spagnolo/Main Events
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Isaac and Buddy acknowledge that this fight is part of a much bigger picture, which is to challenge Stevenson for the WBC Light Heavyweight World Title. However, for now, their focus is on the task at hand - Alvarez. Chilemba explained, "As much as the goal is to get to Stevenson, right now the truth is my mind is on Alvarez. I have to get through this but after that we will be talking about Stevenson. I am just concentrating on one target for now but as soon as that is over then we are talking about the next target, Stevenson."
McGirt continued, "The way I see it, Alvarez is the only thing getting in our way of the championship. Our job is to do what we have to do to get him out of the way." Isaac's manager, Jodi Solomon, added, "Isaac has worked very hard to get this opportunity. He is in excellent hands with Buddy McGirt and I believe he will do what needs to be done and we can move on to the next step."
Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events, Chilemba's promoter, said, "Isaac has worked so hard for this opportunity. We know this fight will be a tough battle and it's no easy task to defeat your opponent in his backyard, but I believe in Isaac and his team. He's been a road warrior for most of his career and I think all of that hard won experience will pay off in Quebec City on November 28th."
FOR MORE INFO CLICK HERE DMX LIVE DEC 3RD ,2015
This Single Refreshes The Game
Austin, TX, November 12, 2015: Dino drops a sexy collaboration in the form of “11:59” featuring the daughter of MC Sha-Rock (the first female rapper/MC of the hip-hop culture) Princess Tia and Mysterious Entertainment R&B recording artist Marquee. The single alongside the music video, raises the bar for independent artists and labels while leveling the overall playing field between indies and majors. The soulful, sexy single by Dino is a modern refreshment in today’s hip hop genre and showcases the untapped talent of independent artists.
Winner of the MyMusicMylife.com Best Video and Song Contest is J Nic for "Come so Far" and Punchline Prince October 2015 music contest.
Check out J Nic's track about a young woman that's fighting a tough battle with cancer. The song is about how far she has come with battling this disease that takes 1,000's of lives every year.
Soundcloud link: https://soundcloud.com/jnic-1/punchline-princeprodby-shinebeat
Contact:
Site: http://Www.jnicaveragejoe.webs.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jn1c
Get your next project distributed at @Raphenom.
@DJEXQUIZIT229 @YRNMILLZ @HASH_BEATZ
Get your next project distributed at @Raphenom.
ATLANTA TURKEY CLASSIC & HOLIDAY DINNER DONATION
Several Atlanta area organizations including Street Watch Radio, Streetz94.5fm, Urban Edutainment, the Georgia Spartans, and Get WELL Soon (GWS), have come together to debut the first annual "Atlanta Turkey Classic & Holiday Dinner Donation" on Saturday November 21st from 12pm-5pm at the Andrew & Walter Young YMCA (2220 Campbellton Rd SW, Atlanta, GA 30311).
This event is a combination of service to our local communities, an investment in the healthy sustainable lifestyle of local Atlanta residents, and a showcase of talent from local celebrities and nationally ranked basketball players who are "Ballin' for a Cause." The Atlanta Turkey Classic & Holiday Dinner Donation event will consist of a distribution of canned goods, fresh turkeys, and additional food items to needy families as well as a celebrity basketball game. The giveaway will last from 12pm to 2pm and the basketball game will be held from 3pm-5pm at the Andrew & Walter Young Family YMCA on Campbellton Rd in SW Atlanta.
We plan to provide 100 families with turkeys or other goods this holiday season! Join us as we ignite change in the community! We invite you to participate in the wonderful event by becoming a sponsor and or by donating food or clothing items. If you are interested in performance slots, becoming a sponsor or donating please contact us @770-896-5685.
