411Boxing Ringside: CES "Boston Pop"
Posted by Joe Roche on 01.23.2010
Our own Joe Roche reports live from The Roxy in Boston, MA as Hank Lundy improves to 17-0-1, 10KO's. Get all the details inside.
- "Hammerin'" Hank Lundy with Vinny Paz (left) and Pat Sullivan (right). This is from Lundy's last fight on Halloween, but it was a better picture then anything I had from last night. (Photo: Joe Roche/411mania.com)
It's been said a million times but the truth about boxing is that styles make fights and that maxim held true last night as Providence based Classic Entertainment & Sports rolled into The Roxy in Boston, MA for "Boston Pop." The event was a mixed bag of action packed slugfests, one sided showcases and a main event that never got off the ground due to conflicting styles.
The headliner of the first CES card of the year featured UBC Junior Welterweight champion and high profile lightweight prospect "Hammerin'" Hank Lundy (17-0-1, 10KO) score a somewhat controversial split decision over Cuban amateur Richard "El Tigre" Abril (12-1-1, 6KO) with judge's scorecards of 98-91 and 96-94 Lundy and 95-94 Abril. After the judge's scorecards were read many in the crowd, and especially Abril's team threw a fit claiming that Massachusetts had screwed their man who spent the majority of the fight on the outside, moving backwards and flicking the jab like an amateur. Lundy for his part didn't see the controversy telling me after the fight "He didn't wanna stand there and trade, he knew I'd catch him and get him out of there and that's why he was flicking the jab out there and getting out of there moving side to side but he wasn't hitting me with those shots…I won the fight clearly the guy was trying to move and he was holding a lot. I won the fight hands down, once he felt my power he was gone. He wanted to get out of there."
Lundy had some trouble in the fight with Abril who was much taller then "Hammerin'" Hank and used his long reach to keep the much smaller champion off balance. The problem with Abril was that he rarely let his hands go which allowed Lundy to win many close rounds by being the aggressor, keeping Abril backing up and connecting with few power shots but staying more active then the Cuban amateur. The fight had some fireworks as Abril blew a kiss to Lundy at the end of the fourth round that caused a bit of a dust up after the bell. The biggest moment of the fight though was likely in round 6 when Abril scored a knockdown – though from my vantage point it just happened to be a time where Abril landed a soft jab while Lundy was backing up, Lundy slipped and his glove touched the mat. It was a very weak knockdown and in some other fights may have been called a slip which would've made the fight much less interesting on the scorecards.
While some people were disappointed with Lundy's decision victory the official 411mania.com scorecard gave the fight to Lundy 96-94 and after the fight Hank was already looking forward to his next fight. "Look forward to "Hammerin'" Hank coming back - my next fight will be more excitement. I can't fight no more Abril guys who run around the ring. I want someone who is gonna bring the action…One thing about "Hammerin'" Hank I stay in the gym I'll be in the gym Monday."
The undercard of "Boston Pop" was a treat for the crowd at The Roxy. In the co-featured bout of the evening Eddie "Thunder" Caminero (6-3, 5KO) surprised Iraqi War veteran Chris Traietti (8-2, 5KO) by blitzing the Quincy, MA fighter knocking him down in the first round and ending the bout in the 2nd round with a TKO at 1:15. Traietti was supremely confident going into the fight – knowing that a win over Caminero would give him a shot to redeem his one loss to Joey McCreedy in March, however Caminero was far too strong, quick and talented for Traietti. Many at ringside thought the stoppage came a bit early but Traietti was on queer street when the ref called for a stoppage without even administering a standing eight count.
The fight of the night featured Ryan "The Polish Prince" Kielczewski (7-0, 2KO) making his first foray into six round bouts against Francisco Palacios (4-10-5, 1KO). Kielczewski is a young fighter who was the 2008 National Golden Gloves Tournament runner-up and he is a very fundamentally sound fighter who had a great test in Palacios. The fight was a back and forth slugfest was which really brought life to the crowd however at the end of the bout Ryan Kielczewski retained his undefeated record with scores of 58-52, 58-55, and 57-55. Kielczewski was also my vote for "Fighter of the Night" as he impressed me with his poise to come back from being knocked down in the third round, and his boxing acumen as he moved well, threw crisp, clean punches and had decent enough defense to keep Palacios honest. On a night of solid fights this was easily the highlight.
In other action Simeon "Dynamite" Dunwell (11-1, 3KO) became the EBA New England Junior Welterweight Champion with a six round unanimous decision victory over Josh "Bam Bam" Beeman (4-6-3, 2KO). The fight was a very close bout but didn't get interesting until the fifth and sixth rounds – before that time there was a lot of clutching, grabbing, low blows and punches behind the head. It was a clash of styles that resulted in an unwatchable mess of a fight until the two let their hands fly at the end and delighted the crowd with a flurry until the final bell. In the opening bout of the evening Maceo Crowder (2-0, 2KO) looked a lot like his half brother Demetrius Andrade in defeating the debuting Greg McCoy (0-1). Crowder was a hometown favorite, though there was no shortage of McCoy fans and this fight was actually very exciting and would be one that I wouldn't mind seeing again.
