Chatman-Brewer from Lincoln, Rhode Island

Chris Chatman defeats Grady Brewer by Unanimous Decision in Lincoln, RI

words & pictures by Alex Pierpaoli

Chris Chatman of Jersey City, NJ, defeated Grady Brewer of Lawton, OK, by unanimous decision in the main event of a six bout card at Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, RI on Friday night. The 8 round Chatman-Brewer bout was the most exciting of the night although this observer felt it was a lot closer than scored by the ringside officials.

Starting fast, Grady Brewer, 159.5lbs, did well in the early going versus his younger southpaw opponent but Chris Chatman, also 159.5lbs, wore Brewer down with thumping punches and a high work rate. In the seventh Chatman got angry at Brewer for some of the clutching and grabbing the veteran was using to stymie Chatman's offense. But Ref. Steve Smoger kept things under control and Chatman continued dominating right through to the final bell.

At the end of eight the officials saw the fight 80-72 and 79-73 x 2 while KOFantasyBoxing saw it five rounds to three for Chris Chatman.

In victory Chris Chatman improved to 12-3-1 (5) while Grady Brewer fell to 30-19 (16). Afterwards a choked-up Chatman dedicated the fight to his grandmother who passed away on Wednesday.

Rapper turned boxing promoter, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson was ringside at Twin River, supporting his fighter Ryan Martin of Chattanooga, TN in a four round lightweight bout. Martin,
138lbs, battered Justin Robbins, 137lbs, of Springfield, IL, from the opening bell, scoring with a blasting overhand right and bloodying the nose of Robbins.

In the second "Blue Chip" Martin continued landing with power punches and with less than a minute to go another thumping overhand right put Robbins on the deck over his own corner. Rising slowly, Robbins beat the count but Ref. Joey Lupino had seen enough and halted the action at 2:42 of the second.

Ryan Martin improved to 4-0 (3) while Justin Robbins fell to 2-6 (1).

In the first bout of the evening, heavyweight Jesse Barboza, of Hyannis, MA, defeated Glenn Thomas of East Stroudsburg, PA, by four round unanimous decision. Barboza, 244lbs, used his 16 pound advantage in bulk to wear down the slightly more mobile Thomas, 228lbs. Thomas had his best moments in the first half of round two but Barboza blunted any hopes Thomas had in starting a rally with a left hook and a solid jab.  

At the end of four the scores are all 40-36 in Barboza's favor. Glenn Thomas falls to 1-2 while Barbazoa improves to 8-1-1 (5).

Middleweights, KJ Harrison-Lombardi, of Providence, RI, and Jason Bakanowski, of Worcester, MA, fought a close, entertaining four rounder. Harrison-Lombardi, 162.5lbs, out-fought the game but crude, wide-swinging southpaw, Jason Bakanowski, 162lbs.

After four, one judge saw the bout even at 38-38 but was overruled by two scores of 39-37 in favor of KJ Harrison-Lombardi. With the majority decision win, Harrison-Lombardi improves to 5-0-1 while Jason Bakanowski falls to 0-2.

Nick Delomba, 144lbs, put in a solid four round punching drill versus Josh Beeman, 142lbs, in an all-Providence bout. Delomba punished the body of Beeman throughout the fight and it looked as if he might score a TKO at the end of the third if not for the bell. Delomba seemed to relent a bit in the final round but cruised to a Unanimous Decision victory by three scores of 40-36. Nick Delomba improved to 3-0 while Josh Beeman fell to 5-15-3 (2).

Talented welterweight Zack Ramsey, of Springfield, MA, scored a six round decision victory over Shakha Moore, of Norwalk CT, in an absolutely dreadful bout. Ramsey is a speedy counterpuncher who too often chooses to feint rather than fire, much to the chagrin of the assembled. Ramsey's speedy right hand need only land once or twice before he gets his opponent to hesitate and fall for feints on the outside, and the rounds tick by in that manner, with few punches thrown by either fighter.

After six rounds the judges saw the bout 58-56, and 59-55 x 2, all in favor of Zack Ramsey who improves to 7-0 (3) while Shakha Moore falls to 11-20-3 (2).


Also, The Pride of Providence, Peter Manfredo officially retired from the sport in an in-ring ceremony just before the Main Event. Promoter Jimmy Burchfield brought Manfredo and his family into the ring along with Providence's other favorite-son, Vinny Paz to honor Manfredo, acknowledge his world class career and wish him the best in future endeavors.


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