Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports hosted “A Night to Remember” at Memorial Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts on September 11th. The main event featured an eight round junior featherweight contest between Hartford, Connecticut’s Mike Oliver (22-2, 7 KO) and Lynn, Massachusetts’ Castulo Gonzalez (9-9, 3 KO). It marked the third meeting of the two fighters; the first fight ended in a technical knockout victory for Oliver, and the second was ruled a no contest due to a cut Gonzalez incurred from an accidental clash of heads in the second round.
Their third fight began with Oliver getting off to a rapid start, outboxing Gonzalez who seemed more focused on blocking. By the second round, Gonzalez was becoming more aggressive. The two engaged in extended clinches that invoked the danger of the clash that had prematurely ended their second bout. Gonzalez found his greatest effectiveness in the middle rounds, when he was able to somewhat break through Oliver’s flurries. Oliver was the flashier puncher, but he also seemed to be connecting with more accuracy than Gonzalez. In round 6, referee Ed Claudio tired with policing the threat of their constant closeness, and he deducted points from both of them. In the later rounds, Oliver gained the edge, maintaining his energy and connecting with his punches. Gonzalez seemed to fade toward the end of the bout. Oliver won a unanimous decision with two scores of 77-73 and one of 77-74, gaining Oliver the New England and EBA belts.
A heavyweight bout between Barnstable, Massachusetts’ Jesse Barboza (2-0, 2 KO) and Hickory, North Carolina’s Lewis Cotuna (0-2) lasted only long enough for Barboza to showcase the slightest glimmer of promise. Within the first round, Barboza proved himself to be the more coordinated of the two, disabling Cotuna from landing virtually any of his punches. Cotuna went down from a right to the body, but survived into round 2. At fifty-two seconds into the second round, Cotuna was knocked out by a vicious left hook.
Quincy, Massachusetts’ Ryan Kielczewski (5-0, 2 KO) took on Toledo, Ohio’s Norman Allen (0-4-1) in a four round lightweight match. From the opening bell, Kielczewski landed his shots more soundly, though the two appeared more evenly matched than their records would suggest entering the fight. In the first and second rounds, Kielczewski was the aggressor, connecting with his rights and forcing Allen into a clinch. The right landed relatively easily for Kielczewski, but it would be a left that would send Allen to the canvas in the third round. Kielczewski scored a knockout victory when Allen didn’t respond to the count.
Best fight of the evening honors were well deserved by Isander “Peachy” Beauchamp (6-0-1, 2 KO) of Lynn, Massachusetts and Elton Dharry (2-5-1) of Brooklyn, New York. Their bantamweight contest was a four rounder packed with entertainment value. In the first round, both fighters were evenly exchanging blows. Dharry favored his jab and used it well to set up his right in the first round. He demonstrated some impressive body work. In the second round, Beauchamp answered with his own body attack, forcing Dharry into a few clinches. When Beauchamp needed a moment to reinvigorate, he would drop his hands and roll. Dharry was able to regain his rhythm and respond. Round 3 was an interesting show, with Beauchamp backing up and feigning bizarrely, having been drained of some energy from his earlier round exertions. Through the last two rounds, Beauchamp was shooting on the fly, but his punches did seem to land with more accuracy than Dharry’s, who found Beauchamp a hard target to pursue. A unanimous decision was awarded to Beauchamp, with two scores of 39-37 and one of 40-36.
In his professional debut, Arturo Lopes (1-0, 1 KO) of Marshfield, Massachusetts took on Chris “The Killer” Cook (3-18-2, 1 KO) of York, South Carolina. Cook charged to the center of the ring looking thin and rangy, with a style that was wild and erratic. He was a handful for Lopes entirely due to his awkwardness. Lopes was able to put Cook down in the first round. In the second, Lopes continued to test his skill set on Cook. Lopes landed a good left and a good right. In round 3, Lopes doubled up his left to put Cook down. Cook got up, but was quickly returned to familiar territory after being caught with another vicious left by Lopes. The fight ended in a technical knockout victory for Lopes at 2:45 into the third round.
A four round super middleweight contest between Stoughton, Massachusetts’ Mical Weisberg (3-0, 2 KO) and Williston, South Carolina’s Frankie Reed (0-3) became the saga of the constantly ejecting mouthpiece. In the first round, Reed was able to tag Weisberg with a few rights while he was backed into the corner. Weisberg was stunned by the punches, but was able to make it out of the first round. Fortunes changed quickly after that. By round 2, Weisberg had collected himself to initiate an attack that resulted in Reed twice expelling his mouthpiece. Weisberg was continuing to throw combinations that landed to Reed’s head. Reed went down at 1:41 of the third round handing a TKO victory to Weisberg (incidentally, his mouthpiece made its way out again at the end).
In a four round light heavyweight battle between Harwich, Massachusetts’ Paul Gonsalves (2-0, 2 KO) and Eden, North Carolina’s Robert Graves (0-2), Gonsalves was able to demonstrate his superior skills over his opponent, who seemed reticent to engage in the fight whole heartedly. Graves went down twice in the first round. The first he recovered from; the second he didn’t seem to want to recover from. Gonsalves was effective at landing his right, but he displayed some defensive shortcomings. He would hold his left hand low, lifting it only to throw a jab to set his right. A more experienced opponent would exploit that flaw.
Heavyweights Alexis Santos (2-0, 2 KO) of Lawrence, Massachusetts and Dino Weingarten (2-5) of Memphis, Tennessee gave a performance that was short and not so sweet. Weingarten entered the bout overweight and uncoordinated. Santos took him down a total of a total of three times in the first round en route to a mercy calling at the 1:19 mark. Santos was able to connect at will throughout the round, landing right, left, up, down, and sideways. Santos was able to preserve his modest unbeaten record with minimal exertion.
