MATT “Too Smooth” GODFREY
Age: 27
Born: January 16, 1981 in Providence, RI
Hometown: Providence, RI
Pro Record: 16-0 (9 KOs)
Current NABF Cruiserweight Champion
Former NABA, WBC Continental Americas & USNBC Cruiserweight Champion
Rated WBC No. 1, WBA No. 6, IBF No. 4, NABF No. 1, NABO No.1, IBA No.4,
NBA No.1, IBO No.18
NABF champion Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey has dramatically shot up from promising prospect to major threat in the cruiserweight division after only 16 pro fights,. The 26-year-old throwback fighter is closing in on a major world title fight in 2008, already ranked in the top six among three boxing organizations, as high as No. 1 by the World Boxing Council.
“I’m undefeated and don’t know how to lose,” Godfrey said. “I want to fight the best fighters in the world.”
Matt has displayed poise and ring generalship far beyond his age, never more evident than in two early career matches against proven veterans Willie Herring and Jermall “The Truth” Barnes.
His stunning first-round TKO of previously unbeaten NABA title-holder Shaun George (11-0-2) on ESPN2 (May 10, 2006) really put Godfrey on the boxing scene. He followed that with a convincing 12-round unanimous decision (116-112, 116-113, 118-111) against Danny Batchelder (24-2-1) on September 23 Hartford (CT).
Godfrey’s most notable and career-defining fight at this early stage was a shocking second-round knockout of highly-touted Felix Cora, Jr. (18-1-2), in which Matt completely overwhelmed his talented opponent, before an ESPN2 audience (April 6, 2007) at Foxwoods.
In his last action (August 10), Godfrey defeated Derrick Brown (13-2-3) by unanimous 10-round decision at Twin River in Rhode Island. Following the fight, Matt relinquished his NABA, WBC Continental Americas & USNBC title belts to give others and opportunity as he concentrates on a major world title fight.
Godfrey possesses incredibly quick hands and feet, especially for a 200-pounder, in addition to a complete set of sound boxing skills developed during his outstanding amateur career.Matt had a 194-23 amateur record, capturing six national championships, four open tournaments including the 2004 Everlast U.S. Championships, plus two in the Junior Olympics.He was a Bronze medal winner at the 2001 Pan-American Games, Silver Medalist in all four of that year’s national major tournaments – National Golden Gloves, PAL (Police Athletic League), U.S. Championships and U.S. Challenge -- and six-time New England Golden Gloves champion.
Godfrey was the second heavyweight alternate on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team but he decided to turn pro May 14 (2004), winning a unanimous four-round decision against 1-1 Glen Morgan.
Years ago, Matt started boxing at in Pawtucket (RI) with Peter Manfredo, Jr., former world title challenger and finalist in the original reality television series, The Contender, as well as his current CES stablemate, 2004 U.S. Olympian Jason Estrada.
Over the years as an amateur, Godfrey defeated many boxers who today are outstanding professional fighters such as WBA middleweight title challenger Randy “The Gentleman” Griffin (24-1-3, 12 KOs), unbeaten heavyweight prospect Chazz “Mensa With Muscles” Witherspoon (20-0, 14 KOs), Devin Vargas (13-0, 6 KOs), Corey “Black Ice” Cummings (15-2, 12 KOs), Lenord “Haitian Sensation” Pierre (18-3, 13 KOs), and John Johnson (12-1, 10 KOs).
Godfrey, who was recently named Captain of Team CES, is promoted by Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc., managed by Bret Hallenbeck and trained by “Iceman” John Scully.
“Iceman” Scully & Ross Training in Godfrey’s Corner
PROVIDENCE (September 8, 2007) – Unbeaten NABF cruiserweight champion Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey, rated No. 2 by the World Boxing Council, has been joined in his corner by new head trainer “Iceman” John Scully and strength-and-conditioning coach Ross Enamait, Godfrey’s manager Bret Hallenbeck announced today.
Godfrey (16-0, 9 KOs) recently relinquished his NABA, WBC Continental Americas and USNBC titles to concentrate on a major world title shot. He also is rated No. 4 by the International Boxing Federation and No. 6 by the World Boxing Association.
Scully is a former world title challenger who trains former 2-time world champion Jose Antonio Rivera, bantamweight title contender Mike Oliver and former world lightweight title challenger Israel “Pito” Cardona, who also is managed by Hallenbeck.
Ross Training (www.rosstraining.com) is owned and operated by Enamait, an innovative athlete and trainer who has designed programs specifically for boxers.
“Scully is one of the hottest young trainers in boxing,” Hallenbeck said. “Not only was he a fighter, he fought for the world title, and has trained a world champion (Rivera). He’s known Matt for years. To become a world champion, Matt needs any edge he can get and there’s no replacement for being in the best physical condition as possible. We believe Ross can get Matt into great shape and together with John, Matt can reach ta the next level, which is a world championship. We’re delighted that they’re on Team Godfrey.”
Godfrey is promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc.
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Godfrey relinquishes 3 title belts
PROVIDENCE (August 15, 2007) – Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc. (CES) president Jimmy Burchfield announced today that Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey and his manager, Brett Hallenbeck, have agreed to relinquish his NABA, USNBC and WBC Continental Americas cruiserweight title belts.
Godfrey (16-0, 9 KOs) will retain his NABF cruiserweight championship. He is rated No. 2 by the WBC, as well as No. 4 and No. 6, respectively, by the IBF and WBA.
“Matt has his sights set on a world title,” Burchfield explained. “He wants to give young fighters an opportunity to fight for these three title belts he’s been so proud to wear.”
Godfrey moves up again
Unbeaten crusierweight contender Matt "Too Smooth" Godfrey (15-0, 9 KOs) moved up three spots in the International Boxing Federations' latest rankings to No. 7 from No. 10. The top two spots in the IBF rankings are unrated.
Godfrey also is rated No. 4 by the World Boxing Council and No. 7 by the World Boxing Association. he is the reigning NABF, NABA, USNBC and WBC Continental Americas cruiserweight champion.
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Godfrey ready for world title shot
PROVIDENCE (April 18, 2007) - World cruiserweight contender Matt "Too Smooth" Godfrey made a major statement on April 6, loud and clear to be precise, when he stopped Felix Cora, Jr. in the second round of their ESPN2 Friday Night Fights main event fight at Mohegan Sun Arena.
"I am the best cruiserweight in the world," Godfrey looked back at his scintillating performance to describe the statement he made. "I'm ready to take on anybody in the world who's ranked ahead of me. An opportunity to fight (Jean Marc) Mormeck for his titles would be a gift from heaven for me."
Godfrey (15-0, 9 KOs), 26, recently moved up to No. 3 in the World Boxing Council ratings. He's also ranked No. 7 in the World Boxing Association and No. 9 in the International Boxing Federation.
"There's nobody out there who is as talented as Matt," Godfrey's manager Bret Hallenbeck added. "We believed Cora was a top 5 talent. We're coming after all of the top cruiserweights."
Godfrey broke down some of the top cruiserweights in the world although he passed commenting on WBO champion Enzo Maccarinello, IBF title-holder Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, Marco Huck and Pietro Aurino because he hasn't seen them fight.
Jean Marc Mormeck (WBC/WBA champion): "Very limited. He dies-out in fights after really coming out and pressing the action early. He's a power fighter who's in trouble when he has to box like in the last four rounds against (O'Neil) Bell. When his opponent comes right back at him, he doesn't know what to do."
Steve Cunningham: "He gets better each fight. He's a prototypical cruiserweight - 6-3, 190 pounds. A very good boxer."
David Haye: "I think he's the best one out there. A hard power puncher who is wild at times. He's really gotten better since his only loss to (Carl) Thompson."
Vadim Tokarev: "I'm surprised he's won as many fights as he has because he had no amateur background. He was a kick-boxer and now he has 23 wins as a professional fighter. He's won some good fights, but he doesn't have enough boxing experience, at least not for me."
Valery Brudov (WBA Interim champion): "Not impressed at all. He got his ears boxed off against an old Virgil Hill."
Virgil Hill (WBA regular champion): "Over the hill, he's all done. At 43, he's still better than 75-to-80 percent of the cruiserweights in the world, but his time has gone."
O'Neal Bell: A very hard puncher who relies too much on his power. He's a real good fighter. He goes too much for the knockout, which is what happened in his last fight against Mormeck. The same thing against (Dale) Brown and (Sebastian) Rothman, who he(Bell) finally got in the 11th round."
Guillermo Jones: "He should go back to the middleweight division where he belongs. His last fight was as a heavyweight."
Wayne Braithwaite: "He's been exposed. His time has come and gone."
Jonathon Banks: "A very hard puncher who is 99-percent offense like all of Emanuel Steward's guys. He was down twice in the first round against Eliseo Castillo (Banks won via a 4th round knockout), who's about the only one with a pulse who Banks has fought."
Matt Godfrey: "A fighter a lot of guys want to stay away from because you don't know if he's coming out left or right-handed, boxing or coming right at you. He's a wild card; a very dangerous fighter."
Godfrey & Cora on "Collision Course"
April 6 at Mohegan Sun, on ESPN2 FNF
PROVIDENCE (March 6, 2007) - Young cruiserweight contenders Matt "Too Smooth" Godfrey and Felix "Bad News" Cora, Jr. are on a "Collision Course" to position the winner for a possible major world title fight later this year, headlining the ESPN2 Friday Night Fights show April 6 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Godfrey and Cora, roommates at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials, will fight in the 12-round main event for Godfrey's NABA title and the vacant NABF cruiserweight belt.
Former world lightweight title challenger Israel "Pito" Cardona takes on light welterweight Juan Maniel Buendia in an intriguing 8-round co-feature.
Jimmy Burchfield's Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc. is promoting "Collision Course" in association with Mohegan Sun and ESPN2.
"This is like having two main events," promoter Jimmy Burchfield said. "Godfrey and Cora are two of the top young cruiserweight contenders in the world. They are not only fighting for the NABF and WBC Continental Americas titles, but the No. 2 rating in the World Boxing Council. This is what boxing fans want - two young contenders fighting now instead of taking easier fights to improve their records. Matt's No. 6 in the world but he's stepping up to the plate to fight Cora, who's rated No. 12. Cora's a tough fighter who is a lefthander with power and is slick. They both wanted this fight.
"We had everything done for 'Pito' to fight Zab Judah (April 27). 'Pito' was training hard and confident he'd beat Judah (who pulled out to fight Miquel Cotto for the WBO title in June). That's a fight we'd like to do down the road. 'Pito's' training with John Scully and he wants to put on a great show April 6 on ESPN2 so he can headline an ESPN2 show later this year. Fighters on our undercard represent the future of CES boxing. This is a major league show that deserves to be at a beautiful venue like Mohegan Sun and on boxing's most popular boxing network, ESPN2."
Providence-native Godfrey (14-0, 8 KOs), being trained for this fight by Naazim Richardson, is rated No. 6 by the WBC, as well as No. 9 by the IBF and No. 10 by the WBA. Godfrey, also the reigning WBC Continental Americas and USNBC cruiserweight champion, is coming off of four impressive wins in 2006 against Lloyd Bryan (TKO4), Danny Batchelder (WDEC12), Shaun George (TKO1) and Ernest Mateen (TKO2). Matt is the reigning.
Cora (18-1-2, 9 KOs), rated No. 12 by the WBC, is the former USBA and NABF cruiserweight champion who has beaten likes of "King" Arthur Williams, Darnell Wilson and Chris Thomas. Cora is a native of Galveston, Texas, hometown of the late, great heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, lost his last fight to Vadim Tokarev for the NABF title this past May.
Although disappointed that he won't be fighting Judah, Cardona (26-6, 28 KOs) is continuing his comeback with his third fight, after being idle 3 1/2 years due to boxing "politics," coming off a third-round TKO of intra-state rival Shakha Moore last September.
Born and raised in Hartford (CT), "Pito" won his first 24 pro fights, 18 by knockout, including an IBO super featherweight winning performance against Jeff Mayweather. He later defeated Steve Larrimore for the IBO light welterweight crown. In 1997, Cardona stopped "Mighty" Ivan Robinson (23-1) in the third round for their USBA lightweight title and three fights later, Robinson beat Arturo Gatti for the first of two times in their 1998 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year. After his win against Robinson, Cardona extended his win streak to six, including four USBA title defenses against Sam Girard, Richard Kiley, Golden Johnson, which was also fought for the NABF belt, and Joel Perez. In his only major world title fight, Cardona lost a 12-round decision to undefeated Paul Spadafora (26-0) for the vacant IBF lightweight championship in 1999.
Cardona, a lieutenant for a security company in Hartford, as well as a boxing trainer at LA Boxing in Hartford, faces a true Mexican warrior in Buendia (13-1-1, 8 KOs), former Illinois State welterweight title-holder.
Providing chief support on the undercard is Providence heavyweight Jason "Big Six" Estrada (7-1, 1 KO), 2004 U.S. Olympian, in a six-round bout. Also scheduled to fight on the under in separate four-round matches against opponents to be determined are super middleweights Chris Traietti (5-0, 3 KOs), Iraqi War veteran and Westfield State College student, and Angel Camacho, Jr. (4-0, 3 KOs); light heavyweights Manuel Antonio Lopes (1-0, 1 KO) and Bridgewater State College student Mical Wesiberg (1-0, 1 KO); Connecticut prison guard Addy Irizarry making her pro debut as a light welterweight.
"Our show is like a United Nations card," Burchfield added. "We have all different ethnic groups fighting - African-American, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Jewish and Portuguese-American. We also have an Olympian, two colleges students, and Iraqi War veteran and female prison guard making her pro debut. Diversity, fierce competition and entertainment are what CES is all about."
Tickets, priced at $75.00, $40.00 and $25.00, are available through Mohegan Sun's box office. For more information contact Mohegan Sun (www.mohegansun.com/1.800.226.7711) or CES (www.cesboxing.com/1.401.724.2253/3354).
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Godfrey-Cora Fight April 6
Naazim Richardson working now in Godfrey's corner
PROVIDENCE (February 13, 2007) - World cruiserweight contender Matt "Too Smooth" Godfrey takes on his 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials teammate, Felix "Bad News" Cora, Jr., on April 6 in the main event at a site to be determined.
Team Godfrey also announced that Naazim Richardson, one of five candidates for Trainer of the Year (Boxing Writers Association of America, has been added to Matt's corner as chief second.
Providence-native Godfrey (14-0, 8 KOs) is rated No. 6 by the WBC, as well as No. 10 by the WBA and IBF, while the WBC ranks Cora (18-1-2, 9 KOs) at No. 13.
Godfrey is coming off of four impressive wins in 2006 against Lloyd Bryan (TKO4), Danny Batchelder (WDEC12), Shaun George (TKO1) and Ernest Mateen (TKO2). Matt is the reigning NABA, WBC Continental Americas and USNBC cruiserweight champion.
Cora, former USBA and NABF cruiserweight champion, has beaten the likes of "King" Arthur Williams, Darnell Wilson and Chris Thomas. The Galveston, Texas native lost his last fight to Vadim Tokarev for the NABF title this past May.
"Cora is one of the toughest cruiserweights to fight because of his style and experience," Godfrey said. "He's left-handed, extremely slick and very busy throwing 100 punches a round. Even though he only has nine knockouts, he has power in both hands and you don't seem 'em coming. Felix Cora is the best cruiserweight in the world that doesn't hold a title right now. He hasn't fought in almost a year because nobody wants to fight him. I want to fight everybody and so does he. He's a good kid, too"
With only 14 fights as a pro, despite already being rated as high as No. 6 in the world, Cora is a risky fight for Godfrey, one pitting two 26-year-old cruiserweight lions against each other now instead of waiting for sometime down road.
"Nobody really wants to fight either of these cruiserweights," Godfrey's manager Bret Hallenbeck added. "Matt's reputation and ability showed us that he needs to fight upper echelon people in the cruiserweight division to position him for a major world title fight. Same thing for Cora and that's why this fight is happening."
Richardson, who trained Bernard Hopkins for his sensational performance against Antonio Tarver, has been added to Godfrey's corner because Matt's trainer, Peter Manfredo, Sr., will be too busy working with his son, Peter Manfredo, Jr, for his April 7 title fight against world super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe in Wales. "Peter's not being replaced by Nazeem," Hallenbeck explained. "Peter's son is fighting for a world title and he'll be in Matt's corner as an assistant in future fights. We did our research and found that Naazim has the ability and knowledge that we were looking for. We (Bret and Matt) talked to Naazim and then went to Philadelphia for two days to meet and for Matt to workout for him. The chemistry was there right away; they just flowed. I interviewed him, met with some team members, and we selected Naazim. Matt is going to Philadelphia on February 18th to train there five weeks. He's going to have plenty of good sparring there."
Richardson and Godfrey have known each other for years, starting when Matt was a Junior Olympics boxer. "I've known him a long time and Brother Naazim is one of the best in the business," Godfrey noted. "Sometimes getting away and working with somebody else is good because he may see some mistakes that we didn't notice. It's a good opportunity for me because I'll be working with world championship fighters in Philly. Sparring simulates fights. I need regular sparring and you can't get any better than I'll have there."
Godfrey's 194-23 amateur record included six national championships, four open tournaments including the 2004 Everlast U.S. Championships, plus two in the Junior Olympics. He was a Bronze medal winner at the 2001 Pan-American Games, Silver medallist in all four of the 2004 national major tournaments - National Golden Gloves, PAL (Police Athletic League), U.S. Championships and U.S. Challenge -- and six-time New England Golden Gloves champion.
"At first, I wasn't sure if I could give Matt the attention he deserves," Richardson remarked. "I saw Matt's situation, him in a big fight and Manfredo busy with his son. Matt was going to need one-on-one attention, so I made time to work with him. I've known him for a long time, since he was a puppy - he's a great kid!
"Matt's a complete kid, not a finished fighter, but he does a little of everything. His only flaw is that he's young. Matt being able to do so many things well means we can work on what's needed to be emphasized on for different opponents. That's what is so great about Matt. He's a solid kid who has such a diverse game. At his age, in the cruiserweight division, he can make a lot of noise and position himself quickly for a big fight. There's a lot of talent in Philadelphia and the sparring here will keep Matt sharp. He will get consistently good sparring on a daily basis and that's going to be good for him."
Godfrey was the second heavyweight alternate on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team and as an amateur, Matt defeated many boxers who are contemporary professionals, including Randy "The Gentleman" Griffin (24-1-2, 12 KOs), Chazz "Mensa With Muscles" Witherspoon (16-0, 10 KOs), Devin Vargas (11-0, 5 KOs), Corey "Black Ice" Cummings (15-2, 12 KOs), Lenord "Haitian Sensation" Pierre (18-3, 13 KOs), and John Johnson (12-1, 10 KOs).
For more information about Matt Godfrey visit his web site at www.mattgodfreyboxing.com or his promoter's at www.cesboxing.com.
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