Fewer knockouts,
more action!!!
Spina’s victory highlights evenly-matched card at Twin River
By Michael Parente
Photography By: Emily Harney

LINCOLN, R.I. – Joey Spina has become so entrenched in his “K.O. Kid” persona these days that anything less than a knockout victory is often viewed as letdown.
Consider it the only downside of being one of boxing’s most notorious closers.

While the “K.O. Kid” failed to deliver on his promise to knock out light heavyweight Tiwon Taylor in the main event of Friday’s “Rage At The River” card, his
unanimous decision victory was far from anticlimactic.

Matched up against a crafty veteran with a respectable combination of speed and power, Spina proved he’s more than just a slugger, earning a hard-fought 77-75, 78-74, 79-73 decision over Taylor at the Twin River Event Center.

“I had to box a boxer,” Spina said. “He had a big punch, but he was more of a boxer and I think I out-boxed a boxer. I had to learn to get in there with a veteran and out-box him – do everything I had to do to win the fight.”

The back-and-forth battle between Spina (25-1-1) and Taylor turned out to be a microcosm of Friday’s card at Twin River. All seven fights went the distance, including impressive victories by Diego Periera, Omar Pena and Jay Holland and a successful Classic Entertainment & Sports’ debut by James McGirt Jr., who outlasted Patrick Perez (25-6) in six rounds to win his first fight under promoter Jimmy Burchfield.

Coming off a thrilling, yet unsatisfying, first-round knockout victory over Matt Gockel in February that lasted all of 1 minute, 55 seconds, Spina sought a tougher challenge and got exactly what he needed Friday.

Taylor (26-15-1) never let Spina get close enough to deliver a knockout blow and the 35-year-old power puncher from Las Vegas landed a few clean shots of his own, most notably a hard uppercut in the second round that gave Spina a nosebleed.
“Basically, he hit me with a solid punch and I had to bite down and say, ‘Let’s go!’” Spina said.

“I’m an emotional fighter. I fight on emotions. You hit me with a good shot and it’s like, ‘Let’s fight.’ The boxing goes out the window most of the time.”

Entering Friday, Spina had only fought twice in 13 months for a grand total of three rounds, so the experience against Taylor should be beneficial as the “K.O. Kid” looks to take his career to the next level.

“Getting rounds is what you need to do to get better and build up,” Spina said. “If you don’t get rounds, you don’t get any better. By knocking everybody out in the first or second round, you don’t get any experience. I like to go rounds. I’d rather end the fight in five or six rounds than one or two. At least I get the work in.

“I didn’t really hit him flush.” he added. “He jerked a lot and he was a real herky-jerky fighter. I couldn’t really hit him solid to the head and I was loading up because I couldn’t hit him. I couldn’t land the straight punches. He was moving his head. I don’t think he had a great chin. I just couldn’t hit him. I know I hurt him every time I hit him. I just couldn’t follow up. He would grab me.”

At 31, Spina’s running out of time in his quest to win a world title, though there are rumors circulating about his where his next fight will take place. The popular theory is Spina will drop from 175 to 168 pounds to fight International Boxing Federation (IBF) super middleweight champion Lucian Bute, who is 24-0 with 19 knockouts.

“The money’s not right. If the money is right, it’ll happen,” confirmed Spina. “I’m not ready to fight too much longer. I want a couple good fights. I want to put my time in. I’ve been a fighter that’s been known to go on spurts. I want to fight for one more year and put everything I’ve got into it.

“I like Bute. I really don’t like him, but I’ll take it for a world title shot. It’s worth it. What am I going to do? I’m 25-1. If I lose a world title shot at least I fought for one. Not a lot of people can say they fought for a world title. I like (World Boxing Council super middleweight champion Carl) Froch instead of Bute, but I’ll take whoever they put in there.”

Other rumors include a possible rematch against Peter Manfredo Jr., who handed Spina his only loss in 2006, or a showdown against Sakio Bika, who pummeled Manfredo Jr. in November to win the vacant International Boxing Organization (IBO) super middleweight title. Spina bristled at both suggestions.

“I want Jaidon Codrington,” Spina said of “The Contender” Season 3 finalist, who lost to Bika in the championship match.
“That’s who I really want. I want to dispose of him. I just don’t like him. We don’t like each other. I met him a couple of times in Vegas and he’s just a real cocky … you know … just a cocky son of a bitch. I’m the type of dude where, you know what, I don’t care if you’re a boxer or a street guy, you better be tough if you talk [trash].”

Asked for a prediction against Codrington, Spina said, “I’d knock him dead. Three rounds, I’d put him out. He’s a tune-up.”

Pena and Periera also recorded impressive victories Friday and, like Spina, got some much-needed work as well. Pena dominated Rasool Shakoor to score a 40-36, 40-36, 40-36 win in a four-round super featherweight bout, avenging a draw to Shakoor (1-6-1) in Pena’s pro debut nine months ago.

“The first fight, I was coming in still from the amateurs with a little different style and a different setting,” said Pena, who improved to 2-0-1. “I kind of went in there rushing like I had to go out there to impress the judges, but in this fight I slowed it down a little more and let him do some of the work.

“I definitely felt less nervous. I’m more comfortable with the setting. This is my home crowd. You’ve got to come take it from me.”

Periera put on a spectacular display of pure punching power in his four-round light welterweight fight against Melchor Guillen Jr. (1-1), battering the Mexican challenger to earn a 40-36, 40-36, 39-37 victory. Periera (3-0) – a Pawtucket native – went the distance Friday for the first time in his young career.

“I had him hurt a couple of times, but he was a tough kid,” Periera said. “This was a good experience – whatever gets me better. I feel this will get me better. I feel more accustomed to it and this was exactly what I needed for the simple fact in my first fight I didn’t get hit and in my second fight it was even worse. In this fight, I got hit with a couple of shots and now I know what it’s like.”

Holland also got some-much needed experience, beating winless Chris Boykins (0-4) by unanimous decision, 40-35, 40-35, 40-35, to improve to 2-0 in the heavyweight division. Holland’s pro debut in February lasted just 51 seconds after he dropped veteran Kevin Varnadore twice in the opening round.

McGirt Jr. – the son of two-time world champion and renowned trainer Buddy McGirt – faced a much stiffer challenge in his CES debut, but came on strong at the end to outlast Perez 58-55, 59-55, 57-57 in a six-round middleweight showdown.

Since he’s more accustomed to fighting 10-round bouts, the 6-foot-1 southpaw had to adjust much quicker than normal.
McGirt Jr. (20-2-1) eventually loosened up toward the end and nearly finished off Perez in the closing seconds before the bell rang.

“I was hoping for more, but it was only six rounds,” McGirt Jr. said. “I usually start warming up in the third, fourth or fifth.”

CES’ popular Lowell, Mass., duo of Sean Eklund and Joey McCreedy wasn’t as fortunate Friday. Eklund (6-4) came out sluggish in a four-round unanimous decision loss to Jose Guzman (4-4-1), 39-37, 39-37, 40-36, while McCreedy (10-3-1) - the Eastern Boxing Association super middleweight champion – wasted an early opportunity to knock out Willis Lockett (12-7-5) and ultimately lost the final four rounds on all three scorecards in a 58-56. 58-56, 58-56 defeat.

McCreedy had Lockett against the ropes toward the end of the second round, but couldn’t finish him off in the final seconds (referee Ricky Gonzalez overturned McCreedy’s late knockdown since it occurred well after the bell). Lockett got his legs back and dominated the final four rounds against the sluggish McCreedy to pull off the upset.

Coming off a disputed loss to Eddie Soto in February, Eklund yearned to get back in the ring, but wound up looking flat against Guzman, who used his height and reach to his advantage to keep the shorter Eklund at bay. Much like McGirt Jr., Eklund had trouble adjusting to a shorter fight.

“I’m not making excuses, but we tried to get a six-rounder,” Eklund said. “It’s like, to be honest, not that he’s not a skilled fighter because he is, you can’t really show your skill in a four-round fight.”

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS

Joey Spina (25-1-1, 17 KOs), Providence, RI WDEC8 (79-73, 78-74, 77-75) Tiwon Taylor (26-15-1, 19 KOs), Las Vegas, NV

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS

Willis Lockett (12-7-5, 5 KOs), Takoma Park, MD WDEC6 (58-56, 58-56, 58-56) Joey McCreedy (10-3-1, 5 KOs),
Lowell, MA

James McGirt, Jr. (20-2-1, 9 KOs), Vero Beach, FL WDEC6 (59-55, 58-55, 57-57) Patrick Perez (25-6, 14 KOs), Atlantic City, NJ

CRUISERWEIGHTS

Jay Holland (2-0, 1 KO), Providence, RI WDEC4 (40-35, 40-35, 40-35) Chris Boykins (0-4), Orlando, FL

LIGHT WELTERWEIGHTS

Diego Periera (3-0, 2 KOs), Pawtucket, RI WDEC4 (40-36, 40-36, 39-37) Melchor Guillen, Jr. (1-1, 0 KOs), Irvington, NJ

LIGHTWEIGHTS

Jose Guzman (4-4-1, 1 KO), Bronx, NY WDEC4 (40-36, 39-37, 39-37) Sean Eklund (6-4, 1 KO), Lowell, MA

SUPER FEATHERWEIGHTS

Omar Pena (2-0-1, 0 KOs) WDEC4 (40-36, 40-36, 40-36) Rasool Shakoor (1-6-1, 1 KO)

Ring Extra's

“RAGE AT THE RIVER”
FACT SHEET & OFFICIAL WEIGHTS

Friday, May 22, 2009 at Twin River Event Center, Lincoln, RI

OFFICIAL WEIGHTS

Joey Spina 175 lbs.
Tiwon Taylor 173 ½ lbs.

Joe McCreedy 167 lbs.
Willis Locket 168 lbs.

James McGirt, Jr. 167 lbs.
Patrick Perez 164 ½ lbs.

Sean Eklund 137 lbs.
Jose Guzman 137 lbs.

Diego Periera 139 lbs.
Melchor Guillen, Jr. 141 lbs.

Omar Pena 129 lbs.
Rasool Shakoor 130 lbs.

Jay Holland 198 lbs.
Chris Boykins 199 lbs.

PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

Joey Spina: “Everybody says the same thing. They call me ‘KO Kid’ because I almost always knockout my opponent. Check my resume; I’ve fought a lot of good guys. I’m going to knock him (Taylor) out. I just bite down on my mouthpiece – bite and fight. Boxing’s boxing; I’m a fighter….bite down and swing!”

Tiwon Taylor: “It’s going to be a tremendous showdown. I don’t know about this KO ******. I did not come here to be knocked out, lay-down or even be delayed. They gave me two months notice – I thank them – it’s the most time I’ve ever had and I’m in great shape. I’m 6’ 1” but got a 7-foot punch.”

Joey McCreedy: “Lockett, you’re a great fighter and I’m looking forward to fighting you tomorrow night. It’s always exciting to see Joey Spina knockout people.”

Willis Lockett: “It’s my first time in this area. I’m looking forward to tomorrow night.”

James McGirt, Jr.: “This is my first time in Rhode Island, my first fight for Jimmy (Burchfield). I’m excited and can’t wait to get in there.”

Buddy McGirt (James’ father and head trainer): “I’d like to thank Mr. Perez for accepting the fight against my son. It’s going to be a great fight.”

Patrick Perez: “I haven’t fought in years but I’ve trained hard. I’m going to give him hell – be ready!”