2019 News and events
Fight Results from Portland Expo
Portland, Maine - November 9, 2019
Local favorite Russell Lamour, Jr, 17-3, 9 KOs, thrilled the packed Portland Expo November 9th with an exciting 3rd round stoppage over Buenos Aires’ Diego Marocchi, 18-5-1, 14 KOs in the scheduled 8 round middleweight main-event. The Argentinian started fast, moving just outside the much taller Lamour’s range, looking for counters, but showed early on that he did not have the power to keep Lamour off. Settling in for the second round, Lamour began to take advantage of his superior size and skills, with accurate jabs and body shots. By the third, a clearly out-gunned Marocchi went down twice and although he beat the count, he was clearly ready to be stopped when his cornerman threw in the towel at 1:40.
In the scheduled 8 round co-feature, talented Jr Lightweight prospect William Foster III picked up his 11th win over Baltimore’s Jahmal Dyer, 9-3, 5 KOs. The New Haven, CT native showed incredible poise and accuracy dismantling his determined opponent. Seconds into the first round, Dyer landed a clean left hook to the temple that briefly rocked Foster, who looked clearly hurt. It did not take long for him to regroup, however, as he soon found his range, picking his spots and winning the round. Taking over in the second, Foster used hand speed and combination punching, punctuated by a fast, clean left hook he was able to land at will throughout. After a warning for a few low blows, referee Mike Ryan deducted a point from Foster, evening the round on the score cards. In the third round, however, Foster came out with a vengeance, picking Dyer apart, landing to the head and body, eventually finding his way through the defense and hurting Dyer, eventually sending him to the canvas with a barrage of clean punches. Referee Ryan called a halt to the bout at 2:54. Foster is anxious to continue to step up his competition, and feels he’s ready for the next level of opposition.
Returning to the ring after a horrendous work accident in which his leg was badly mangled by heavy equipment, Super Welterweight Casey Streeter, 10-1-1, 4 KOs, looked impressive clearly outworking 15-5 Miguel Angel Suarez over 6 rounds. Suarez started aggressively, loading up with looping right hands and counter hooks, but it was the cool, straight forward boxing and tight defense of Streeter that dictated the flow of the bout. Referee Melissa Kelly deducted a point for excessive holding. Suarez visited the canvas a total of 3 times in the bout, somehow surviving the many body punches that wore him down. He was determined to finish, but lost a lopsided unanimous decision, no surprise at 59-52 twice and 60-50 once.
West Forks, Maine’s Brandon Berry, 142 lbs, won a wild brawl with Grove, Oklahoma’s Jimmy Roach, 139 lbs with an impressive 2nd round TKO. Roach, 5-3, 5 KOs came out smoking, throwing bombs from the bell, trying to end the fight early, but the pace proved to be too much for him, as he tired by the last minute of the round, giving Berry, who clearly possessed the better skills, a chance to even things up. In the second, Roach looked clearly spent, barely able to avoid anything fired at him from Berry who sensed that he could end things when he chose, which he did, landing 11 unanswered, clean punches, prompting referee Mike Ryan to call an end to the evening for Roach at 1:40. Berry improved his record to 16-5-2, 11 KOs
Highly regarded as an amateur, Josniel Castro, 152 lbs, looked impressive in his pro debut stopping the ordinarily durable Leonardo Ladiera, 155 lbs, in the second round with a perfectly placed left hook to the chin. Ladeira fought gamely in the first round, losing but competitively, showing tight defense and the ability to snap off clean shots when the openings presented themselves, but a wide left hook, thrown at the same time as a tight left hook from Castro, corkscrewed him to the canvas in the best knockout of the night at 2:45 in the second round. Fortunately, he was up and congratulating his young opponent within moments.
In his pro debut, Uzbakestanian Zukhriddin Makhkamov, now fighting out of New York, easily handled late substitute Darren Gibbs, 1-7, outclassing the game Gibbs for a round before closing the show at 2:45 in the second round with sharp combinations after backing Gibbs to the ropes. With an outstanding amateur background, superb conditioning, savvy management with veteran Jack Stanton, and standing 6’2” at light heavyweight, Makhkamov looks even at this early stage to be the real deal.
Opening the evening in an amateur bout, Portland Boxing Club’s middleweight Wade Faria looked sharp, clearly out-pointing the more experienced Erik Fonge of Lynn, MA. Faria controlled each round with accurate counter-shots and won a unanimous decision.
The special guest for the evening was Hall of Famer trainer and ESPN color commentator Teddy Atlas who came to Portland and donated his time to support the non-profit Portland Boxing Club in its annual fundraiser.
Getaway Raffle
The Portland Boxing Club announces a Getaway Raffle. The winner will be awarded two roundtrip tickets on jetBlue to anywhere they fly! Tickets go on sale on November 9, 2019 at the All-Star Boxing event and the drawing will be held on St. Patrick’s Day - March 17, 2020 at 6:00 pm at the Portland Boxing Club. Visitors are welcome at the drawing which will also be shown live on Portland Boxing Club’s Facebook page.
Tickets are One for $10, Six for $50, or Thirteen for $100. Tickets will be available at the All-Star Boxing event, at the Portland Boxing Club, from the boxers and on-line at www.portlandboxingclub.org/raffle.
Thank you to jetBlue and Captain Phil Spiller for sponsoring this raffle.
Hall of Fame Trainer and ESPN Boxing Commentator to Appear at the Portland Expo
The Portland Boxing Club announces that Teddy Atlas will be the special guest at this year's All Star Boxing event at the Portland Expo on Saturday, November 9. Atlas, an ESPN boxing commentator and Hall of Fame trainer of six world champions, including heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, will appear at the Portland Expo to sign autographs and take photos with fans from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. He joins the ranks of other notable boxing legends and Hall of Famers who have appeared, including Evander Holyfield, Irish Micky Ward, Vinny Paz, Buster Douglas, Roberto Duran, Michael Spinks, Riddick Bowe, Larry Holmes, Boom Boom Mancini, and Ray Mercer.
The card will feature local pro boxers including former North American and New England Middleweight Champion, Russell "The Haitian Sensation" Lamour Jr., super welterweight Casey "Buzzsaw" Streeter who has staged an amazing comeback from a near life threatening accident just over a year ago, the pro debut of super welterweight Josniel "TG" Castro, a former New England Golden Gloves champion and rated as high as #2 in the country as an amateur, and welterweight Brandon "The Cannon" Berry from West Forks, ME. There will be three other pro bouts of other New England rising stars. Two amateur bouts will start the show, featuring Portland Boxing Club boxers.
Teddy Atlas, a well-known trainer and sometimes controversial commentator, is also well known for giving back to the sport of boxing and is here to help with our annual fundraiser. In 1996, Teddy Atlas established the Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation in honor of his father, a not-for-profit organization that, in large ways and small, comes to the assistance of people in need. The Foundation operates a food pantry, gives away turkeys on Thanksgiving and toys on Christmas, runs incentive programs in schools and sponsors a basketball league. It helps literally thousands of individuals and families in difficult times - paying for medical insurance, purchasing medical equipment, making a home handicapped-accessible, buying a headstone, helping in any way that is appropriate in a given situation. The Foundation has given away over three million dollars to help the less fortunate among us and has done so in such a way as to preserve the dignity of the people receiving help, without red tape and with a discrete check to validate a particular need.
In 2000, Teddy Atlas was awarded the NFL Helping Hands award for his charity work and was inducted in the Boxing Hall of Fame in May of this year.
Tickets to the event are on sale at Bruno's Restaurant, 33 Allen Ave Portland, or on line at www.portlandboxingclub.org/tickets.
All-Star Boxing Returns to the Expo
Portland, ME - September 24, 2019
All Star Pro Boxing returns to the Portland Expo on November 9, 2019. The Portland Boxing Club will be staging its 105th event in Portland since the club’s inception 27 years ago.
The event will once again feature local stars dominated by Portland Boxing Club boxers. Former New England and North American Middleweight Champion Russell “The Haitian Sensation” Lamour, Jr. will be back, along with teammate Casey “Buzzsaw” Streeter (formerly Kramlich) who is back after suffering a job related injury. Streeter’s injury was life threatening, almost losing a leg in a logging accident. His comeback is amazing. Josniel "TG" Castro, a nationally ranked amateur, will be making his professional debut. Other up and coming regional stars will also appear.
Tickets go on sale October 1 and will be available at www.portlandboxingclub.org/tickets and at Bruno's Restaurant.
Portland Boxing Club's Wade Faria (right) and Aaron Waite (left) at Get Gritty in the City in Lewiston, ME on August 3, 2019. Photo courtesy Kineo Photography.
Get Gritty in the City
Lewiston, ME - August 3, 2019
Portland Boxing Club’s Wade Faria competed at Get Gritty in the City on Saturday, August 3, 2019 at the Lewiston Armory in Lewiston, Maine. Faria, a novice class middleweight (165 lbs) of Portland, lost a highly controversial split decision to hometown favorite, Aaron Waite, of Lewiston. Faria had Waite in trouble early in the first round with a straight right hand that staggered Waite. Faira continued the onslaught, causing the referee to jump in and give Waite a standing eight count. The tough Waite somehow survived the first round but was in trouble again in the second round with Faria sending him to the canvas for the second eight count. Again, Waite fought back gallantly and made it through another round. In the third round, a very determined Waite showed great heart by taking the fight to Faria. Faria had Waite in trouble again in the third round but Waite somehow fought back and survived the round. Waite got the decision, to the dismay of many in the crowd.
Portland Boxing Club's Kate Zehr (right) with husband Tyler Crowell after her win at Summer Slugfest in Hampton, NH on July 20, 2019.
Summer Slugfest
July 20, 2019 - Hampton, NH
Portland Boxing Club’s Katherine Zehr and Wade Faria competed at Summer Slugfest on Saturday July 20, 2019 at The Rim in Hampton, NH.
PBC’s Wade Faria, a novice class middleweight (165 lbs) of Portland, won a 4-1 decision over Travis Campbell, of Manchester, NH. Faria outscored the left-handed Campbell in a close fight. PBC’s novice featherweight (125 lbs) Kate Zehr, of South Portland, completely dominated Willow Crawford, of Manchester, NH, to win a unanimous decision. Zehr applied intense pressure to Crawford to win every round on every judge’s scorecard.
Portland Boxing Club's Alec Dacar (right) connects with Estevan Hincapie at Lewiston Fight Night on May 25, 2019.
Lewiston Fight Night
Lewiston, ME - May 25, 2019
Portland Boxing Club’s Alec Dacar and Mario Wilborn competed at Lewiston Fight Night on Saturday May 25, 2019 at the Longley School in Lewiston, ME.
PBC’s Alec Dacar, a novice middleweight (165 lbs) of Portland, won a 3-2 decision over Estevan Hincapie of Springfield, MA. In his second amateur bout, after two close rounds Dacar scored a knock down and a standing eight count in the third round to seal the victory.
PBC’s Mario Wilborn, a novice class heavyweight (201 lbs) of Portland, lost a 4-1 majority decision to Robert Hetherman of Harpswell, ME. Although Wilborn landed multiple strong body shots, it was not enough for the win over the faster, busier Hetherman.
Portland Boxing Club president and head coach Bob Russo (left) has been named as National President of the Golden Gloves of America.
Portland Boxing Coach Named as President of the Golden Gloves of America
Chattanooga, TN - May 12, 2019
Longtime Portland Boxing Club president and head coach Bob Russo has been named as National President of the Golden Gloves of America. This prestigious position oversees 30 Golden Gloves franchises covering all 50 states. In addition to actively coaching and operating the Portland Boxing Club for 27 years, Russo is also the Executive Director of the New England Golden Gloves, an elite coach qualified to coach at the Olympic level, has promoted over 100 boxing events, and is a member of the Maine Sports Hall of Fame.
The New England Team at the 2019 National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Chattanooga, TN.
National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions
Chattanooga, TN - May 11, 2019
PBC’s Liz Leddy was on the New England Team at the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions at the Chattanooga Convention Center in Chattanooga, TN on May 11, 2019. Leddy, an open class lightweight (132 lbs), of Portland, lost a close decision to Meri Stewart, of Minneapolis, representing the Upper Midwest Team. The New England Team finished in seventh place out of thirty teams.
Portland Boxing Club’s Josniel Castro, left, and West Point's Luca Botis, right, at the Lawrence Exchange Club Charity Fight Night on April 20, 2019. Castro won by a 4-1 majority decision and was also awarded the "Outstanding Boxer of the Night" award. Photo courtesy Kineo Photography.
Lawrence Exchange Club’s Charity Fight Night
Andover, MA – April 20, 2019
Portland Boxing Club’s Wade Faria and Josniel Castro competed at the Lawrence Exchange Club's Charity Fight Night on Saturday April 20, 2019 at the Double Tree Hotel in Andover, MA.
PBC’s Wade Faria, a novice class middleweight (165 lbs) of Portland, won by referee stopped competition (TKO) at 2:48 in the second round over William Maumann, of West Point, NY. Faria dominated Maumann, scoring knockdowns in the first and second round before the referee had seen enough and stopped the fight. In his three bouts as an amateur, Faria has scored nine standing eight counts/knockdowns.
PBC’s Josniel Castro, an open class elite middleweight (165 lbs) of Westbrook, won by a 4-1 majority decision over Luca Botis, of West Point, NY. Castro was clearly the better and faster boxer, controlling the action with sharp combinations and good lateral movements for the entire fight. Castro was also awarded the “Outstanding Boxer of the Night” award.
Portland Boxing Club was happy to participate in this annual event where proceeds benefited the Lawrence Exchange Club which focuses its programs of service on Americanism, Community Service, Youth Programs and the Prevention of Child Abuse.
Portland Boxing Club’s Alec Dacar, left, made his amateur debut at the Second Annual PAL St. Paddy's Day Rumble. Photo courtesy Shawn Pacheco shawnpacheco.com.
Second Annual PAL St. Paddy’s Day Rumble
Nashua, NH - March 14, 2019
Portland Boxing Club’s Wade Faria and Alec Dacar competed at the Second Annual Police Athletic League (PAL) St. Paddy’s Day Rumble on Thursday, March 14, 2019 in Nashua, NH.
PBC’s Wade Faria, a novice middleweight (165 lbs) of Portland, dominated Randy Jackson, of Nashua, NH, scoring three standing eight counts leading to a one-sided unanimous decision. Faria has scored six eight counts/knockdowns in his first two fights.
PBC’s Alec Dacar, a novice middleweight (165 lbs) of Portland, came up short in his amateur debut against Travis Campbell, of Manchester, NH. Dacar struggled to find a rhythm against a difficult left-handed Campbell and was outscored losing a unanimous decision.
Portland Boxing Club was happy to participate in this event where proceeds benefited PAL programming in southern New Hampshire. Manchester PAL and Nashua PAL serve more than 3,000 youth through sports, after-school programming and positive interaction with Manchester and Nashua Police Officers.
Portland Boxing Club’s Liz Leddy won her eighth New England Golden Gloves Championship Title at the New England Golden Gloves Championships in Lowell, MA on March 7, 2019. Photo courtesy Kineo Photography.
Leddy Wins Eighth New England Golden Gloves Championship Title
March 7, 2019 – Lowell, MA
Portland Boxing Club’s Liz Leddy, an open class lightweight (132 lbs) of Portland, won her eighth New England Golden Gloves Championship Title at the New England Golden Gloves Championships in front of a packed audience at the historical Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, MA on March 7, 2019.
Leddy, who was representing Northern New England, defeated Jacki Boyle, of Stamford, CT, who was representing Western New England. Her constant aggressiveness won Leddy all three rounds on all the judges’ score cards. Leddy advances to the National Golden Gloves Championships in Chattanooga, TN in May.
PBC’s Nathan Nappi and Wade Faria had special bouts at the New England Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions on February 28, 2019. Nappi, a novice class light welterweight (141 lbs) started fast dominating Richard Theodore, of Abington, MA, scoring a TKO at 1:30 into the first round. Faria, a novice class middleweight (165 lbs), making his amateur boxing debut defeated Seif Hamisi Dale, of Lynn, MA, by TKO at 1:40 into the third round. Dale received eight counts towards the end of the first and second round before the referee had seen enough stopping the bout in the third round.
Portland Boxing Club’s Mario Wilborn, right, connects with a jab to Andrew Perez, of Methuen, MA, at the New England Golden Gloves Novice Finals. Photo courtesy Kineo Photography.
Wilborn Continues Streak to Win New England Golden Gloves Novice Heavyweight Championships
Lowell, MA – February 21, 2019
Portland Boxing Club had three amateur boxers representing Northern New England in the New England Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, MA.
PBC’s novice light welterweight (141 lbs) Nathan Nappi, of Portland, lost a close but unanimous decision to Cesar Collado, of Danbury, CT, who was representing Western New England, in the semi-final round of the tournament. A style clash with the left-handed Collado caused the boxers to be entangled throughout the awkward match that could have gone either way.
PBC’s novice heavyweight (201 lbs) Mario Wilborn, of Portland, scored a devastating knock-out at 1:50 into the first round over Dante Rivera, of East Hartford, CT, who was representing Western New England in the semi-final round of the tournament. This was Wilborn’s third consecutive win by knock out in the tournament. In the final bout of the tournament, Wilborn won by a hard fought 4-1 majority decision over Andrew Perez, of Methuen, MA, who was representing Central New England. Both boxers exchanged many heavy blows throughout the sea-saw battle coming away with the razor-thin win. Wilborn was voted by judges Outstanding Boxer of the All-New England Novice Tournament of Champions.
PBC’s novice featherweight (125 lbs) Kate Zehr, of South Portland, received a bye in the semi-final round of the tournament. In the final, Zehr lost a 4-1 majority decision to Victoria Davilla, of Stamford, CT, who was representing Western New England. After a slow start in the first round of the bout, chasing the ever-moving Davilla, Zehr made the second round close and clearly won the third round. The crowd expressed their disagreement with the judges’ decision.
With Wilborn’s win, Portland Boxing Club athletes have now earned 211 championship wins in the organization’s 27 years. Open class boxers will compete in the New England open class Tournament of Champions semi-finals on Thursday, February 28 with the winners advancing to the finals on Thursday March 7. The open class New England champions will advance to the National Golden Gloves Championships in Chattanooga, TN in May.
Portland Boxing Club's light welterweight (141 lbs) Nate Nappi (right) lands a jab to Derek Carlbers at the Northern New England Golden Gloves Finals on January 26, 2019. Photo courtesy Kineo Photography.
Portland Boxing Club Sweeps Northern New England Golden Gloves
Somersworth, NH - January 26, 2019
Three Portland Boxing Club athletes competed in the Northern New England Golden Gloves Championships finals in Somersworth, NH.
In the semi-final round on Saturday, January 19, Portland Boxing Club’s Nathan Nappi, a novice class light welterweight (141 lbs) of Portland, won by RSC (technical knock-out) over Michael Navarro, of Kittery at 1:44 into the second round. Nappi advanced to the final round of the tournament, held on Saturday, January 26, to win a unanimous decision over Derek Carlberg, of Nottingham, NH.
Portland Boxing Club’s Mario Wilborn, a novice class heavyweight (201 lbs) of Portland, won his semi-final bout by RSC over Richard Covino, of Portsmouth, NH at 1:11 into the first round. In the final bout, Wilborn won by RSC over Tyler Tobin, of Deerfield, NH at 0:15 into the third round.
Portland Boxing Club's Chi Wong, an open class light welterweight (141 lbs) of Portland, advanced to the final round of the tournament by walk-over. In the finals, Wong won by decision over Mehmet Akif Gediksiz of Kittery, ME.
Also at this event, Portland Boxing Club head coach Bobby Russo was awarded the Open Class Coach of the Tournament, which was voted on by the tournament officials. With these Northern New England Golden Gloves Championships wins, Portland Boxing Club athletes have now earned 210 championship wins in the organization’s 27 years.
The winners of the Northern New England championships advance to the All-New England Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, MA. Portland Boxing Club athletes advancing by walk over are defending New England Golden Gloves novice class featherweight (125 lbs) champion Kate Zehr, of South Portland, defending New England Golden Gloves open class lightweight (132 lbs) New England champion Liz Leddy of Portland, open class featherweight (123 lbs) Danny Pang of Portland, and open class middleweight (165 lbs) Josniel Castro of Westbrook.
Novice class champions compete in the New England novice class Tournament of Champions semi-finals on Thursday, February 14 with the winners advancing to the finals on Thursday, February 21. Open class champions will compete in the New England open class Tournament of Champions semi-finals on Thursday, February 28 with the winners advancing to the finals on Thursday March 7. The open class New England champions will advance to the National Golden Gloves Championships in Chattanooga, TN in May.