Portland Boxing Club News and Events

2023 News and events

All-Star Boxing at the Portland Expo – ProAm Results

Portland, ME - November 11, 2023

For the 10th consecutive year, Bob Russo of Portland Boxing Club returned to the Portland Expo in Portland, Maine, for another successful, sold out event. Raising money for the Portland Boxing Club, a 501c(3) non-profit youth organization in its 31 st year, sponsors and fans crowded into Portland’s top sports arena for an exciting night of pro and amateur boxing.

Quirk wins New England Middleweight Title in Portland

In the 8 round main event for the vacant New England Middleweight title, Portland Firefighter Jason Quirk, 11-0, 6 KOs got off to an early lead, outworking the determined and wild-swinging Rodrigo Lopes-Rodrigues, 8-7, 7 KOs, of Sao Paulo, Brazil via Boston. With seconds to go in the 6th round, Lopes landed a crashing overhand right, staggering Quirk in his corner. Attacking at the bell for the 7th, Lopes continued to chase Quirk around the ring, rocking him repeatedly. Quirk maintained his composure, tying Lopes up anytime he landed clean, resulting in them both falling to the canvas. Quirk seemed to regain his legs in the final round, maintaining his distance and avoiding the looping shots of Lopes. Judge Glen Feldman saw the bout 77-75 for Lopes while Martha Tremblay and Steve Weisfeld leaned 77-75 and 77-76 respectively for Quirk for the split decision win.

In an exciting co-feature, local favorite Casey Streeter, 11-2-1, 4 KOs, outworked South Boston’s Joe Farina, 11-2, 6 KOs in a competitive super-welterweight bout over 8 rounds. Farina started strong, mounting a viscous body attack against the much taller Streeter, but seemed to slow down by the fourth as Streeter got the attention of the crowd and judges with quick combinations, remaining busier and flashier than the steady body shots from Farina. Glen Feldman saw the bout 76-76 while both Martha Tremblay and Steve Weisfeld agreed at 77-75 for Streeter.

West Forks, Maine’s favorite fighter, Brandon Berry, had more than he bargained for with Argentina’s Andres Viera, 11-7, 8 KOs. The tall, lanky Viera kept Berry at bay with a steady stream of punches, many of which strayed low. Referee Tom Clark took points from Viera in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rounds finally disqualifying him in the 5th. Many of the blows appeared to be on the beltline, but from Berry’s reaction, were certainly painful. Berry improves to 26-7-2, 18KOs. One of the nicest guys in boxing, Berry was gracious in the outcome.

Michael Alvarez of Bath, Maine retained his clean record with a second round knockout over Brockton, Ma’s Lionel Young. Mixing up his punches nicely, Alvarez put Young on his knee twice in the first round, repeating the performance in the second, prompting referee Melissa Kelly to count young out at the 2:36 mark. Alvarez improves to 4-0, 3 KOs while Young slips to 1-7.

In an entertaining opening bout, Demitre Schooler, originally from Jamaica now living and fighting out of Albany, NY, got his second victory in as many outings against the slick boxing Babatunde Odomuso over 4 rounds in the super middleweight division. Pressing the action and looking for power shots, Schooler was able to land the more telling blows, although Odomuso had enough success to earn a draw on one score card, to be overruled on the other two raising his record to 2-0, 1 KO while Odomuso slips to 0-2-1. Training by the well respected Sam Bunch, Schooler looks to be a good prospect in the future.

Exciting amateur card

PBC’s Zordan Holman of Westbrook, the reigning All-New England Golden Gloves Novice Superheavyweight champion, fought through a stomach virus scored a standing 8-count before pulling off a unanimous decision over Tom Curtis of Gardner.

PBC’s Ilyas Bashir of Auburn, the reigning All-New England Golden Gloves Lightweight champion faced Michael Gaudreau of Fall River, MA, the reigning All-New England Golden Gloves Featherweight champion. This was the third fight between these two, both winning close decisions in their prior matches. This one was different with a dominating performance by Bashir, scoring three knock downs then finally stopping Goodreau at 1:39 in the third round.

PBC’s Wade Faria of Gorham, the reigning All-New England Golden Gloves Middleweight champion, scored a unanimous decision dominating a game Gabriel Mercedes of Lynn, MA. Faria scored two standing 8-counts on his way to a clear-cut win.

USA Boxing New England Championships
October 2023 - Portland, ME

Portland Boxing Club had three boxers participating in the 136^th annual USA Boxing New England Championships during September and October.

PBC’s Abbas Ngoboka, a novice 147-lb male from Portland, won a unanimous decision earning the 2023 USA Boxing New England Novice Welterweight Championship. PBC’s Jordan Lindsay, a novice 203+ male from Gorham, lost to the reigning New England champion. PBC’s Ilyas Bashir, a 132-pound elite light welterweight male from Auburn, won by walk-over earning the 2023 USA Boxing New England Lightweight Championship.

Tailgate for Causes

Thank you to Gary Prolman of GMP Charities, Inc. for hosting the 3^rd annual Tailgate for Causes at the Brunswick in Old Orchard Beach in September. Over 400 guests enjoyed a tailgate menu of BBQ and Italian foods. A portion of the proceeds were donated to the Portland Boxing Club.

Charity Fight Night

June 17, 2023 - Newton, MA

Portland Boxing Club’s Ilyas Bashir and Jordan Lindsay both competed at Joe DeNucci Fight Night, a charity event held at the Boys and Girls Club in Newton, MA on June 17, 2023.

Bashir, a 132-pound elite light welterweight male from Auburn, won a unanimous decision over a tough Michael Gaudreau of Fall River, MA. This back-and-forth battle was named the Fight of the Night and Bashir was named the Outstanding Boxer of the show.

Lindsay, a 203+ pound novice super heavyweight male from Westbrook, lost a 4-1 majority decision to Rob Perez of Worcester, MA. Lindsay started out dominating in the first round but came up short in a close fight.

National Golden Gloves

May 13, 2023 - Chester, PA

Portland Boxing Club had four boxers representing New England at the Golden Gloves of America’s National Tournament of Champions in at Harrah’s Casino in Chester, PA May 8 through 13, 2023.

In his first bout, PBC’s Ilyas Bshir, a 132-pound elite light welterweight male from Auburn, won a unanimous decision over Jose Chavez who was representing Rocky Mountain Golden Gloves. In his second bout, Bashir won a 3-2 split decision over Johnathan Cruz who was representing Chicago Golden Gloves. In the quarterfinal bout, Bashir lost a 3-2 hard fought split decision to Eric Emery-Freeman who was representing Iowa Golden Gloves.

In a quarterfinal bout, PBC’s Lindsay Kyahohnian-Francois, a 132-pound elite light welterweight female from Gorham, won a 3-2 spilt decision over Karma El Chanti who was representing Detroit Golden Gloves. In the semifinal bout, Francois lost a close decision to Jessica Capurso who was representing New York Metro Gloves.

In his opening bout, PBC’s Wade Faria, a 165-pound elite middleweight male from Portland, lost a close 3-2 split decision to Jauan Bacon who was representing Indiana.

In her opening bout, PBC’s Kate Zehr, a 125-pound elite featherweight female from South Portland, lost hard-fought, very controversial 3-2 split decision to Summer Griffiths who was representing Southeast Region.

Portland Boxing Club Sweep at the All-New England Golden Gloves Championships

Lowell, MA – March 11, 2023

Portland Boxing Club athletes, who were representing Northern New England, won seven championships at the All-Northern New England at the New England Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Lowell, Massachusetts.

PBC’s Xavier Tiger Diaz, a 125-pound novice featherweight from Brunswick, Maine, won unanimous decision over Shyne Fernandez Conce of Lawrence, Massachusetts who was representing Central New England.

PBC’s Ilyas Bashir, a 132-pound elite division light welterweight and Bates College student from Auburn, Maine, won a unanimous decision over Anderson Blanco of Lynn, Massachusetts who was representing Central New England.

PBC’s Lindsay Kyajohnian Francois, a 132-pound elite light welterweight from Gorham, Maine won a 4-1 split decision over Jessica Lampron of Boston, Massachusetts who was representing Central New England.

PBC’s Wade Faria, a 165-pound elite middleweight from Portland, Maine, won a unanimous decision over Anthony Rodriguez of Woonsocket, Rhode Island who was representing Southern New England.

PBC’s Zordan Holman, a 203+ pound novice super heavyweight from Westbrook, Maine, won a unanimous decision over Jareed Gaines of Framingham, Massachusetts who was representing Central New England in an exciting main event bout.

PBC’s Kate Zehr, a 125-pound elite featherweight from South Portland, Maine won by walk-over winning the New England Championship title by virtue of her win the semi-finals over Brandy Young of Boston, Massachusetts who was representing Central New England.

PBC’s Max Kennedy, a 139-pound light welterweight novice youth division from South Portland, Maine won a split decision over James Harvey of Chelmsford, Massachusetts who was representing Central New England.

Wade Faria also won the Outstanding Boxer of the Tournament in the Open Class and Tiger Diaz won the Outstanding Boxer in the Novice Class. The Portland Boxing Club won the Outstanding Team of the Tournament.

PBC’s wins helped Northern New England win the Regional Team Trophy for the first time in the 76-year history of the New England Golden Gloves.

Elite open class boxers Zehr, Francois, Bashir and Faria advance to the 100th Annual National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions on May 8 through May 13 in Chester, Pennsylvania. The national tournament can be watched live at www.goldenglovesofamerica.org.

Portland Boxing Club fighters have won 238 championships in the organization’s 31-year history.

Russo Awarded Key to the City of Lowell

Lowell, MA - March 3, 2023

Congratulations to Portland Boxing Club’s president and head coach Bob Russo. He was awarded the key to the City of Lowell for his role as Executive Director of the New England Golden Gloves and his contributions to the sport of boxing.

New England Golden Gloves Action

Lowell, MA – March 3, 2023

Portland Boxing Club athletes are off to a great start representing All-Northern New England at the New England Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Lowell, Massachusetts.

In a semi-final bout, PBC’s Xavier Tiger Diaz, a 125-pound novice featherweight from Brunswick, Maine, won a clearcut unanimous decision over Pedro Luna Sanchez of New Haven, Connecticut who was representing Western New England.

In a semi-final bout, PBC’s Kate Zehr, a 125-pound elite featherweight from South Portland, Maine, dominated Brandy Young of Boston, Massachusetts who was representing Central New England with a relentless attack winning a unanimous decision.

In a semi-final bout, PBC’s Wade Faria, a 165-pound elite middleweight from Portland, Maine, won a 4-1 split decision over Douglas Marroquin of Stamford, Connecticut who was representing Western New England in a bout fought in close quarters.

Also in a semi-final bout, PBC’s Zordan Holman, a 203+ pound novice super heavyweight from Westbrook, Maine, out boxed Robinson Perez of Southbridge, Massachusetts who was representing Western New England winning a clearcut unanimous decision.

In a final bout in the 139-pound novice youth division, PBC’s Max Kennedy from South Portland, Maine, won a hard-fought split decision over James Harvey of Chelmsford, Massachusetts who was representing Central New England to win the championship title.

Diaz, Zehr, Faria and Holman advance to the finals at the All-New England Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Lowell, Massachusetts starting on March 9, 2023. In addition, Ilyas Bashir, a 139-pound elite division light welterweight from Auburn, Maine, and Lindsay Kyajohnian Francois, a 139-pound elite light welterweight from Gorham, Maine, advance to the finals by walkover.

With Kennedy’s championship title, Portland Boxing Club fighters have won 232 championships in the organization’s 30-year history.

PBC Wins Three Northern New England Golden Gloves Championships

January 23, 2023 - SOMERSWORTH, NH

Portland Boxing Club athletes win three championships at the Northern New England Golden Gloves in Somersworth, New Hampshire on January 21, 2023.

PBC’s Xavier Tiger Diaz, a 125-pound novice featherweight from Brunswick, Maine, completely dominated Zachary Zombeck of Somersworth, New Hampshire winning all three rounds and a unanimous decision.

PBC’s Lindsay Kyajohnian Francois, a 139-pound elite light welterweight from Gorham, Maine, outboxed Stevie Theoharidis of Bangor, Maine to win the unanimous decision.

PBC’s Abbas Ngoboka, a 156-pound novice welterweight from Portland, Maine, lost a split decision to Ryan Antonivich of Perkinsville, Vermont in a back-and-forth battle that was the best bout of the night.

PBC’s Wade Faria, a 165-pound elite middleweight from Portland, Maine, won by first round knockout over Cody Zombeck of Somersworth, New Hampshire.

Diaz, Francois and Faria advance to the New England Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Lowell, Massachusetts starting on February 16, 2023. In addition, PBC’s Kate Zehr, a 125-pound elite featherweight from South Portland, Maine; Max Kennedy, a 139-pound novice youth division from South Portland, Maine; Ilyas Bashir, a 139-pound elite division light welterweight from Auburn, Maine; and, Zordan Holman, a 203+ pound novice super heavyweight from Westbrook, Maine advance to this tournament by walkover.

Portland Boxing Club fighters have won 231 championships in the organization’s 30-year history.

2023 News and events

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