“The Pride of Providence” PETER MANFREDO, JR.
Born: November 26, 1980 in Providence, RI
Hometown: Providence, RI
Pro Record: 30-5 (15 KOs)
Former WBO Super Middleweight Contender & NABO Junior Middleweight Champion
Finalist in The Contender, Season One
WBC Rated No. 18

Super middleweight contender “The Pride of Providence” Peter Manfredo, Jr. has already starred in a popular television reality show, challenged for a major world title, and fought in a pay-per-view co-feature under Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton.

Manfredo, still only 27, is a real throwback fighter, presently rated No. 18 by the WBC, who wants to prove once again that he’s still one of the leading super middleweights in the world. Peter was practically born in a gym (Manfredo’s Gym in Pawtucket, RI.), the son of a former world kickboxing champion, Peter Manfredo, Sr., who holds a third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. The elder Manfredo also was a professional boxer for three years, 1989-92, and he has trained fighters for more than 20 years.

Today, Manfredo is one of the most recognizable boxers in the world because of the exposure he received on The Contender. But he was a legitimate fighter long before the bright lights of The Contender first shone upon him.

“Junior” first started boxing at the tender age of seven, competing in his first match as a nine year old. He had 165 amateur matches, highlighted by his Bronze medal winning performance at the 2000 Eastern Olympic Trials. He is the only boxer in New England history to receive the Outstanding Boxer Award at the Junior Olympics, Silver Mittens, N.E. Golden Gloves and N.E. Tournament of Championships.

Manfredo turned pro September 22, 2000, at the age of 19, and won a four-round decision against Steve Garrett (1-0) in his debut. Less than two years later, Peter captured the EBA light middleweight championship with an eighth-round TKO of Mike McFail (11-9-1), and he successfully defended his EBA title two months later, winning a unanimous 10-round decision against Charles Clark (14-11-1).

On October 4, 2002, in front of his passionate hometown fans at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Manfredo stepped up in class and registered a seventh-round TKO of former WBC & WBA light welterweight champ Frankie “The Surgeon” Randall (58-12-1), to capture the vacant IBU light middleweight crown. Randall was the first opponent to floor and defeat future Hall of Famer Julio Cesar Chavez.

Manfredo’s 19th consecutive victory came at the historic Blue Horizon in Philadelphia, by way of a sixth-round TKO of Leonard Townsend (37-15-1). Peter captured the NABO junior middleweight crown January 23 2004 via a sixth-round TKO of previously unbeaten Sherwin Davis (17-0, 11 KOs) in an ESPN2 co-feature at Foxwoods.

Later that year, Manfredo captured the NABO light middleweight title with a sixth-round knockout of previously unbeaten Sherwin Davis (17-0). He successfully defended his belt with a 12-round unanimous decision against future fellow Contender Anthony Bonsante (25-3-3) in Providence.

Manfredo was selected as a member of The Contender during the show’s first season. He had to relinquish his NABO title to be in The Contender and then suffered his first loss as a pro in his 22nd pro fight to, at that time, relatively unknown Alfonso Gomez (10-2-1) in the show’s first bout. When fellow New Englander, Jeff Fraza, was medically disqualified from fighting, Manfredo was voted back on The Contender and he made the most of his second chance, defeating Miguel Angel Espino (DEC5), Joey Gilbert (9-0) and Gomez (12-2-1) in a rematch to qualify for the championship final worth $1-million to the winner.

Manfredo lost an eight-round unanimous decision (69-64, 68-65, 70-73) to unbeaten Sergio “The Snake” Mora (15-0) at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Five months later, Manfredo was back in the ring against Mora in The Contender Special in front of 11,000 fans at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Mora (16-0) won a controversial eight-round split decision (77-75, 77-75, 75-77) in their much-anticipated rematch.

The day after a blizzard in Providence, Manfredo packed nearly 10,000-hometown fans into the Dunkin’ Donuts Center for his main event match-up against his friend, former WBC No. 1 rated super middleweight Scott “The Sandman” Pemberton (29-4-1), in “The Contender Special – East Coast.” Manfredo had moved up two divisions from 154-pounds to his more natural fighting weight of 168 and he never looked sharper, flooring Pemberton three times en route to a third-round TKO.

Cross-town rival Joey “KO Kid” Spina (19-0-1) was next for Manfredo, who devastated his bitter enemy on October 14, 2006 at The Dunk in three rounds, setting the stage for a high-profile WBO title fight against 42-0 Joe “Pride of Wales” Calzaghe in his native Wales on April 7, 2007 before 35,000 rabid fans in attendance and millions more live on HBO.

Manfredo, however, never really got untracked as referee Terry O’Connor prematurely halted the action in the third round, as Peter laid on the ropes, slipping and feinting, attempting to wear down Calzaghe. Never in trouble or even slightly hurt, Manfredo was stunned by the referee’s controversial decision to stop the fight, never by his opponent’s wide-slapping punches.

Frustrated by the outcome of the Calzaghe fight, in addition to some unfair media criticism that followed, Manfredo was back in the ring a little more than a month later, stopping tough Ted Muller (19-10-2) in the ninth round of their May 11 fight at Twin River Event Center in Rhode Island. Peter followed that with a win by unanimous 10-round decision against David Banks (14-1-1), who starred in The Contender, Season 3, at Foxwoods.

In his last action, Manfredo lost a 10-round decision to former world champion Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy (22-1) in December on the Mayweather-Hatton PPV from Las Vegas.

Earlier in his pro career, Manfredo gained invaluable experience sparring with former world champions, including “Sugar” Shane Mosely, “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas and “Irish” Micky Ward.

Peter married his high school sweetheart, Yamika, with whom he has three children. Manfredo, promoted by Tournament of Contenders, is advised and trained by his father, Peter Manfredo, Sr.