Orr Victorious at The Castle!
Donald "Donnie Boy" Orr earned his second consecutive victory while fighting under the Cappiello Promotions banner, with an eight-round unanimous decision over 14-year, 84-fight veteran Roberto Valenzuela (44-38-2, 37 KO's).
Orr controlled the action from bell to bell, to include a picture-perfect right uppercut / left hook combination that dropped Valenzuela to the canvas toward the end of the first round. Valenzuela manage to climb back to his feet at the count of eight, and then hung on to Orr to survive the final ten seconds of the round.
The win for Orr, a 2004 Canadian Olympian, upped the unbeaten middleweight prospects record to 13-0, 5 KO's. Orr's victory came in the co-feature bout of Saturday night's "Hassle at The Castle," in Boston, Massachusetts, where Orr's Irish heritage has quickly garnered him quite a fan base.
While Orr quite handily controlled the fight, he did incur a small amount of damage, as an accidental clash of heads in the second round left Orr bleeding profusely from just above his left eye. While Orr admits the cut did give him some temporary problems with his vision, it obviously did nothing to thwart Orr's success throughout the eight round affair. "This was the second fight in a row now, that this happened to me in the second round," Orr stated. "I couldn't see out of the eye in the second, as everything was just a white blotch in my vision, but it cleared after that, and didn't bother me anymore in the fight."
Orr doesn't believe the cut will put him on the shelf for any significant period of time, and wants to get back in the ring as quickly as possible. All three judges at ringside had Orr winning the fight decisively, with 80-71 verdicts on each of their respective cards, much to the liking of promoter Rich Cappiello. "Donnie really looked great out there tonight," Cappiello boasted. "He worked his jab very well, and followed it up with great combinations as well. He pitched a perfect shutout, plus a knockdown, against an incredibly well seasoned opponent. That was impressive!"
Results From Mohegan Sun
'Best Damn Fight Night Period'
Cappiello Promotions, in association with Hollybrook Regency Inc., held the first-ever all-female boxing event at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, much to the delight of the 1,550-plus in attendance, and the nation-wide viewing audience on Fox Sports Net's 'Best Damn Fight Night Period' telecast.
"This was an incredible night of boxing," stated Cappiello Promotions president Rich Cappiello. "I've always been a big fan of women's boxing, but to have actually been a part of this great event, I now have an even greater respect for the talent these women truly have! It was my tremendous pleasure to have been able to work with the likes of IFBA President, Judy Kulis, her husband Rick, son Corey, and all the wonderful people from Fox Sports Net! Anyone who had the great fortune of watching this event, either live or on Fox Sports Net's 'Best Damn Fight Night Period', had the opportunity to watch some of boxing's most action-packed fights, and it was an honor to be a part of this fight card!"
Brown Outpoints Ashley
Retains Junior Featherweight Crown!
In the main event of the evening, Ontario, Canada's Lisa "Bad News" Brown earned a ten-round, split-decision victory over Westbury, New Yorks's Alicia "Slick" Ashley, thus retaining her IFBA Junior Featherweight Title. Judges at ringside, at least two of the three, opted for Brown's straightforward, aggressive style, to that of Ashley's evasiveness. Scorecards were tallied as follows: Don Trella and Tom Kaczmarek had the bout 97-93 for Brown, while Clark Sammartino scored the bout 96-94 for Ashley.
With the win, Brown improves her professional record to 15-3-3, 4 KO's, while Ashley falls to 14-8-1, 1 KO.
Emery Decisions Martinez!
In the co-feature bout of the evening, Jill Emery (9-2, 3 KO's) earned a unanimous ten-round decision victory over Dallas, Texas' Angelica Martinez (6-5-1, 1 KO), in capturing the vacant IFBA Welterweight Championship. Emery, a 38-year-old New York City native, utilized her reach, and southpaw stance to control the action from the onset. While judges Glen Feldman (99-91) and Clark Sammartino (97-93) had Emery winning rather easily, judge Tom Kaczmarek had the bout somewhat closer, scoring the victory for Emery 96-94. Following the bout, Martinez was taken to a nearby hospital for precautionary observation.
Nunez Decisions Stizes!
In the most action packed fight of the night Ela Nunez was awarded a unanimous decision victory over Jerri "Fists of Fury" Stizes (14-8-1, 6 KO's). While Stizes, a native of Springfield, Missouri, managed to introduce Nunez to the canvas in the fourth stanza, via a thunderous straight-right hand, judges at ringside felt Nunez did more than enough, throughout the six-round affair, to earn the nod. The victory for "Bam Bam" Nunez (7-3, 2 KO's) was her second victory, in as many fights, at the Mohegan Sun Arena. In her first bout at the 10,000-seat venue, Nunez earned a unanimous decision over hometown favorite Addy Irizzary, back on April 6, 2007. All three judges (Kaczmarek, Feldman, and Trella) scored the bout 58-55.
Cooper Stops Biggers In Four!
In her much-anticipated return to the ring, Melinda Cooper (19-0, 11 KO's) showed little signs of ring rust, following her 16-month layoff, stopping South Carolina's Donna "Nature Girl" Biggers (19-8-1, 6 KO's) in the fourth round. While most at ringside felt this bout, between the two heavy-handed women, would not likely reach the final bell, the dramatic fashion in which Cooper dominated her more experienced foe was nonetheless impressive. Picture-perfect left hooks from Cooper landed almost from the onset, and the impact they had on Biggers' face was even quicker. With Biggers right eye almost immediately blackened and swollen, Cooper then utilized an onslaught of right hands to do similar damage to the left side of the face of her Sourth Carolinian opponent. As the bell tolled to end the third round, and with both of Biggers' eyes then grotesquely swollen, fight fans had to wonder whether referee Dick Flaherty would even allow the action to continue. He did, but not for long! After several more Cooper barrages landed to the already beaten face of Biggers, Flaherty, upon the advice of the ringside physician, called a halt to the bout, earning Cooper a fourth-round TKO victory.
Reid Escapes With A Draw!
IFBA Flyweight Champion, and fan-favorite, Elena "Baby Doll" Reid (19-4-6, 5 KO's) walked away with a hard-fought draw with 19-year-old upstart, Ava Knight (3-0-1, 1 KO), in a six-round, non-title bout. Reid was originally slated to defend her flyweight crown against Russian challenger Anastasia Toktaulova (who was forced off the card due to visa problems), and then against substitute opponent Crystal Hoy (who was unable to receive medical clearance), wound up in the fight of her life against Knight, a former San Fransisco Golden Gloves Champ. While Reid escaped with a tough six-round draw, she credited both the opponent change, and the fighting ability of Knight. "I prepare for ten rounds of boxing," Reid stated. "That makes it difficult to fight a six-rounder, as I'm usually just getting going around that point. I get stronger as the fight moves along, and that makes it more beneficial to me to fight a ten round fight. However, Ava took the fight, and came to fight. We knew, going in, she was the real deal."
Ringside judges scored the bout as follows; Don Trella 58-56 - Knight, Clark Sammartino - 58-56 Reid, and Glen Feldman tallied the bout 57-57.
