Rumble in the North End: Flamos Captures Vacant EBA Title
Ron DiMichele @ Ringside
08.03 - There were two bells rung in the final second of Friday nights Eastern Boxing Association (EBA) cruiserweight title bout between Tim Flamos, 189 lbs of Brockton, MA and Roy Payne, 189 lbs of Worcester, MA, and only one belonged to the ringside timekeeper. With seconds left in the tenth and final round, Payne wobbled Flamos with a hard right hand, then pressing forward, dropped him with a left hook-right hand combination at the final bell which ended the fight. Flamos struggled to his feet, fell down, then finally rose and staggered back to his corner. It wasnt enough for Payne. Ringside judges awarded Flamos a unanimous decision by scores of 96-93, 96-93, and 98-92. ESB had the bout 96-93 for Tim Flamos.
Tim "The Hammer" Flamos and Roy "House of" Payne had battled back and forth for ten hard-fought rounds before the decision was rendered. Throughout the contest, Flamos unleashed a steady stream of hard right and left hooks to the body of his taller opponent, while Payne consistently met Flamos attack with a stiff jab to the face, bloodying Flamos mouth and nose in the early frames. Both men mixed in occasional hard right hands to their opponents head. The central pattern of the fight was Roy Payne attempting to derail Flamos attack by getting off first with the jab, and Flamos showing a willingness to eat the jab in order to get in close and land his body shots. At no point had either fighter appeared hurt until the very end of the fight.
The 10th had not gone well for Payne, who had a point deducted for holding early in the round, but his final surge in the closing moments almost turned the outcome in his favor. Without question, the final bell saved Flamos from defeat. The raucous crowd, which packed the Christopher Columbus Center in Bostons North End, met the decision for Flamos with a loud mixture of cheers and boos.
Tim Flamos saw his professional record rise to 17-2-1, 7 KOs, while Roy Paynes record dropped to 15-12-4, 6 KOs. The win was also a successful defense for Flamos of his Massachusetts cruiserweight title.
In the evenings co-feature, Jaime "The Hurricane" Clampitt, 138 lbs, of Narragansett, RI by way of Calgary, BC, captured the vacant EBA womens super lightweight title with a fourth round stoppage of Ragan Pudwill, 135 lbs, of Mandan, ND. Clampitt (10-2, 2 KOs) looked sharp from the get-go, tagging Pudwill (3-9, 0 KOs) with clean, hard shots and crisp combinations in the opening round and throughout the bout. It was Clampitts body attack though, that ultimately proved too much for Pudwill. In the fourth round, Clampitt connected with a hard counter left-hook to the ribcage and Pudwill crumpled to the canvas, where she was counted out by the referee. After the bout, Clampitt credited her hard work in the gym in preparation for the scheduled eight-rounder as being the groundwork of her stellar performance.
In the evenings other action:
Shaun "Big Trouble" Creegan, 166 lbs, of Plainville, MA pounded out a unanimous decision over Manny Teo, 162 1/2 lbs, of Hudson, MA in a six-round super middleweight match-up. Teo (4-12, 3 KOs) countered well at times, but could not stem the tide against the hard-charging Creegan (15-2-3, 2 KOs), who pressed the action throughout the fight.
In a four round battle of super welterweights, Bobo "The Bull" Starnino, 155 lbs, (3-0, 0 KOs) of Providence, RI earned a unanimous decision over Bobby McAndrews, 154 1/2 lbs, (1-2-1, 1 KO) of Worcester, MA. McAndrews started strong, connecting with his jab and several hard rights to bloody Starninos nose in the early going. But Starninos quick combinations and hard body shots wore down McAndrews as the bout progressed, leading Starnino to a well-deserved victory.
In the opening bout of the card, Joe Gardner, 164 lbs, (3-0, 1 KO) of Bellingham, MA won a unanimous decision over game Richard Zola, 164 lbs, (3-20, 1 KO) in a four-round super middleweight contest.
The Christopher Columbus Center, tucked away on a narrow street in Bostons North End, is an intimate venue for boxing. Every seat is basically a ringside seat with a balcony poised practically on top of the action. There is tremendous atmosphere both in the hall and in the surrounding neighborhood. A full house clearly enjoyed the evenings spirited boxing action.
Ron DiMicheles email address is: rondimi@yahoo.com