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Manfredo's boxing travels take him to Idaho |
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Tuesday, 29 April 2008 |
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By ERIC BENEVIDES Sports writer
PAWTUCKET --- He's fought in front of sold-out crowds in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Wales and he's consistently packed Foxwoods Resort Casino's Fox Theatre and various venues in this state.
On Saturday night, Peter Manfredo Jr. will return to the ring for a 10-round super middleweight bout in front of another packed house -- in Worley, Idaho -- as the Providence native and Manfredo's Gym fighter will duel Luis Lopez of Othello, Wash. in the main event of the "Cinco De Mayo Brawl" show at the Coeur d’Alene Casino’s House of Fury.
Manfredo, who recorded a sixth-round TKO of Shane Benfield on March 14 at the Twin River Events Center, accepted the fight last week, and even though he's unfamiliar with Idaho and the rest of the Pacific Northwest, his father and trainer, Peter Manfredo Sr., is no stranger to the surroundings.
"My father trains Jesse Brinkley and Jesse's fought up there a couple of times," Manfredo added on Monday afternoon at the Conant Street gym. "My father got to know the promoter, Moe Smith, and (Smith) called and offered me this fight. It's on Cinco de Mayo weekend and it's a good payday. I've been in the gym, so I said, 'Why not?' I just want to stay busy, make that payday, come home, and maybe fight again at the end of the month."
Manfredo will carry a 29-5 (14 KOs) mark into his bout with Lopez, who is 14-12-1 (6 KOs), but has five losses and a draw in his last seven fights. Lopez is also coming off a second-round knockout of super middleweight prospect Lyle Johnson on Feb. 9, and a week before that, he was on the losing end of a six-round unanimous decision to Hector Camacho Jr. (43-3-1).
"I don't know much about him," said Manfredo. "He's a tough veteran who's fought a lot of very good fighters. But I'm happy to be fighting this weekend. I'm in great shape, I didn't take any time off after my fight with Benfield, and my conditioning is great."
Before his bout with Benfield, Manfredo planned to work his way back to the middleweight ranks -- the same weight class he fought as a fighter on "The Contender I" reality TV show in 2004 and '05.
But Manfredo, who weighed 169 3/4 pounds in his last fight, struggled in his attempt to drop to 160 pounds and decided to remain a super middleweight.
"I don't know if I could get down to 160," said Manfredo. "I've been in the gym before my last fight -- since January -- and I'm still lingering around the same weight, And I'm not fat, I'm pretty ripped up. It's just
tough when you get older. I'm 27, and I guess I'm just going to stick here at 168."
As a super middleweight, Manfredo owns a 5-2 mark, with the two blemishes coming at the hands of two of the top fighters in his class. Last spring in Wales, he suffered a controversial third-round TKO at the hands of WBO champion Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 34 KOs), and in December in Las Vegas, he endured a close 10-round unanimous-decision loss to Jeff Lacy (23-1, 17 KOs).
"I fought the best at 168 and I know I can beat guys like Jeff Lacy," said Manfredo. "I blew that fight myself and I beat myself that fight. (Lacy) was a world champion and he's got one loss and that's to (Calzaghe). If I can get a few more wins, I'll hopefully get one more shot at a title and the third time will be a charm."
If Manfredo wins on Saturday, he will reach a milestone with his 30th victory, a feat that wasn't lost upon his post-fight thoughts.
"Thirty's always better than 29," added Manfredo. "I've had 35 professional fights and it seems like they just flew by. I only have a couple more years of (boxing) left and I'm more focused now. I want to get another big shot because I know I can beat those guys."
Joining Manfredo and his father on Thursday's flight to Spokane, Wash. -- and 50-minute drive east to Idaho -- will be 22-year-old middleweight prospect Edwin Rodriguez. A Worcester, Mass. native and a member of the Manfredo Gym's stable, Rodriguez, who won the 2006 National Golden Gloves Championship and 2005 U.S. Championship, turned pro earlier this year and has won all four of his bouts.
Three of those victories came via TKOs -- a first-round stoppage of Samuel Ortiz Gomez in his Jan. 26 pro debut in Mansfield, Mass. and fourth-round TKOs (both in Boston) of Fitzgerald Johnson on Feb. 8 and Jeffrey Osborne Jr. on April 12 -- and his other win was a four-round unanimous decision over James North on March 28 in New York that he won by identical 40-35 scores.
Rodriguez will fight Michael Birthmark (1-2) of Billings, Mont. in a four-round test on the undercard, and on May 17, he will return to the ring for his first six-round test when Manfredo Sr., in assocation with "Let's Get It On" Promotions from Reno, Nev., promotes the "Diamonds in the Rough" show at Freeport Hall in Dorchester, Mass.
This event will feature several other prospects, such as another Manfredo's Gym fighter, Providence native and light welterweight Jesus Caro, a New England Golden Gloves champ last year who will make his pro debut, super middleweights Mark DeLuca (4-0, 3 KOs) of Whitman, Mass. and Derek Hinkey (4-1, 4 KOs) of Reno, and Hinkey's brother, heavyweight Tyler Hinkey (2-0-1) of Reno. Nev.
Tickets for this event are priced at $100, $75, $55, and $40 and are on sale at Manfredo’s Gym. For more information, call 401-723-1359. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 03 May 2008 )
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