Castro Runner Up at Battle in Big D Tournament

Portland Boxing Club’s nationally ranked welterweight Josniel Castro, of Westbrook, lost a split decision to local favorite Quran Barton of Fort Worth, TX in the Elite Male 165-pound division in the final round of the 5th Annual Battle in Big D tournament in Dallas, TX in a hard-fought contest that could have gone either way. In the semifinal round, Castro won a split decision over Jeremiah Morris, of Grand Prairie, TX. Castro was the better and faster boxer, controlling the action for the entire fight.

PBC Boxers Split at Fight for Youth II

Portland, ME – June 25, 2018

Portland Boxing Club’s amateur boxers Liz Leddy and Tito Morales competed Saturday at Haverhill Downtown Boxing’s Fight for Youth II at Haverhill High School in Haverhill, MA.

Leddy, an open class lightweight (132 lbs), lost by 3-2 split decision to Kimberly Wabik of Medford, MA. Leddy won the first round, then Wabik came back in the second to make it a close round that could have gone either way. Wabik picked up the pace in the third to pull out a close decision.

Morales, an open class lightweight (132 lbs), won a close 3-2 split decision over Miles Bloodworth of Woonsooket, RI. Morales appeared to be the better boxer, but Bloodworth stayed busy and had a strong third round to make the fight close.

PBC Boxers Scored Six Wins out of Seven Bouts During a Busy Weekend

Portland, ME – April 23, 2018

Portland Boxing Club’s amateur boxers won seven bouts between two shows. Anthony Riga, of South Portland; Mario Wilborn, of Portland; and Chi Wong of Westbrook competed Friday at the Exchange Club of Lawrence’s 28th Annual Scholarship Fight Night at the Doubletree Hotel in Andover, MA.

Riga, a youth division light welterweight (141 lbs), won by 5-0 unanimous decision over Harrison McGrath, of Nashua, NH. Wilborn, a novice class heavyweight (201 lbs), won by 5-0 unanimous decision over Jordan Faulkner, of Haverhill, MA. Wong, an open class welterweight (152 lbs), lost by 3-2 split decision to Edwin Rozon, of Haverhill, MA. Wong started fast scoring multiple heavy blows prompting the referee to administer Rozon a standing eight count. The next two rounds were hard-fought, with Rozon making the fight close with his determined, aggressive style. Rozon pulled off a razor-close split decision win for Rozon. The bout between Wong and Rozon was awarded the bout of the night.

Portland Boxing Club’s Anthony Riga; Nathan Nappi, of Portland; Kate Zehr, of South Portland; and Josniel Castro, of Westbrook competed Saturday at Knock Out Cancer Boxing Night at the Windsor Recreation Center in Windsor, VT.

Riga won by 3-0 unanimous decision over Axel Cujantes, of Stamford, CT. Nappi, a novice class light welterweight (141 lbs), defeated Patrick McGonagle, of New Bedford, MA, by referee stopped contest (RSC) at 1:48 into the second round. Zehr, a novice class featherweight (123 lbs), won by 2-1 split decision over Alyssa Dias, of Randolph, MA. Zehr pressed the entire fight against the sharp, more experienced Dias. The bout between Zehr and Dias was awarded the bout of the night.

In the exciting main event of the evening, Castro, a USA Boxing nationally rated open class welterweight (152 lbs), won a 3-0 unanimous decision over Charlie Espinal of Lynn, MA in a hard-fought fight with tempers flaring. The fight really heated up in the second round with an exchange of standing eight counts in an all-out battle. Castro also won the third round, clearly winning the unanimous decision.

Also at this event, Portland Boxing Club’s head coach Bobby Russo was awarded the 2018 Knock Out Cancer Millie O’Brien Boxing Integrity Award. Portland Boxing Club’s amateur boxers along with professional super welterweight Casey Kramlich will be competing this Saturday at the Pro-Am “Boxing is Back” show at the Skowhegan Community Center in Skowhegan, ME.

Two Portland Boxing Club Boxers Win New England Golden Gloves Championships

Lowell, MA – February 22, 2018

PBC’s Kate Zehr, of South Portland, won a unanimous decision over Catie Ramsey, of Stamford, CT, who was representing Western New England, to win the New England Golden Gloves Novice Featherweight Championship title. Zehr’s aggressive style and effective body attack won all three rounds on all the judge’s score cards.

PBC’s Liz Leddy, of Portland, the reigning open class lightweight (132 lbs) National Golden Gloves Champion, faced Willow Crawford, of Manchester, NH, in the finals who was representing Central New England. Leddy dominated Crawford with non-stop pressure throughout the bout, winning a unanimous decision and her seventh New England Golden Gloves Championship title.

PBC’s Lindsay (Kyajohnian) Francois, of Gorham, of lost a hard-fought, unanimous decision to Ashleigh Moore, of Buzzards Bay, MA, who was representing Central New England the open class light welterweight (141 lbs) division.

PBC’s Josniel Castro, of Portland, who was the defending open class welterweight (152 lbs) New England Golden Gloves Champion and ranked fifth nationally by USA Boxing, won a unanimous decision in the semi-final round over Luca Botis, of West Point, NY, who was representing Western New England in a hotly contested bout. In the much-anticipated championship final, Castro faced off against James Perella, of Mansfield, MA, who was representing Southern New England. Castro pressed the fight all three rounds and seemed to have the edge, but the judges disagreed awarding Perella a controversial unanimous decision, much to the disappointment of the packed house who loudly voiced their disapproval.

PBC’s Danny Pang, of Portland, lost to reigning New England Champion, Felix Parilla, of North Haven, CT, who was representing Western New England in the open class (123 lbs) featherweight division. Parilla started fast, swarming Pang with a relentless attack putting Pang on defense denying Pang the opportunity to punch back. Pang seemed to be blocking most of the blows, but referee for the sake of safety stepped in and stopped the contest with 29 seconds remaining in the first round. 

The Portland Boxing Club athletes were representing the Northern New England region in the All-New England Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Lowell, MA. With four open-class boxers in the eleven final bouts, Portland Boxing Club had more boxers in the finals than any other team in New England and won the Bill Hoar Memorial Trophy for the best open-class team. With these wins, Portland Boxing Club athletes have now earned 206 championship wins in the organization’s 26 years. As an open-class boxer, Leddy will advance to the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Omaha, NE in May as a member of the New England Golden Gloves team.