Manfredo Jr Impressive in Win; Rodrigues’ Stunning Debut

By Ron DiMichele

29.06 - Peter Manfredo Jr, 156, of Providence, RI continued his winning ways Friday night with a solid 10-round decision over resilient Victor Rosado, 154, of the Bronx, NY. Another Rhode Island fighter, Reynaldo Rodrigues of Woonsocket by way of Puerto Rico, showed power and poise in his pro debut.

The undefeated 24-year old Manfredo Jr, strikingly garbed in a frilled wrap-around flag of Italy, came out of the blocks with a hard left hook to Rosado’s face, followed by stinging body shots and a right hand to the head. Manfredo Jr drove Rosado to the ropes and fired off several quick combinations. Rosado began to fall, but a glove lace entangled in the upper rope interrupted his trip to the canvas. Referee Charlie Dwyer untangled the knot and the fight continued. Rosado appeared woozy as he sauntered back to his corner at the end of the first.

Manfredo Jr flew out off his stool in the second and landed the first punch of the round - a hard right to Rosado’s jaw - and down went Rosado. The knockdown seemed to shake Rosado out of his doldrums, and he mounted a steady attack on Manfredo Jr’s ribcage for the remainder of the stanza. Rosado pushed the action in the third as well but caught mostly air against the deftly moving Manfredo Jr. The young combatants took to inside fighting before a Manfredo Jr right again wobbled Rosado at the bell.

Rosado continued to absorb stiff punishment through the middle rounds, including a standing eight-count in the sixth, but it was clear to all in attendance that this kid had no quit. With his Spanish-speaking corner loudly urging him on, Rosado again and again fought back when hurt, showing heart, will, and courage in the other guy’s backyard.

Manfredo Jr fought with speed, strength and panache in the closing rounds delivering blow after blow to Rosado’s head. But time and again just as it appeared the fight was about to be stopped, Rosado launched a never-say-die counterattack. In the end, Manfredo Jr gained a lopsided victory, and Victor Rosado, though second-best in the fight, won the respect of the crowd…and his opponent.

“He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever fought,” Manfredo Jr announced to the crowd at center ring.

Ringside judges scored the 10-round bout 100-88, 100-87, and 100-87 all in favor of Peter Manfredo Jr who sees his record rise to 18-0 with 8 kayos. Twenty-six year old Victor Rosado drops to 17-4-1 with 11 victories coming inside the distance.

In the evening’s co-feature, Aaron ‘Two-Guns’ Torres, 137, of Brockton, MA by way of Philadelphia, PA proved too strong for Jimmy Leblanc, 139, of South Boston. Torres (14-1, 3 KOs) wore down Leblanc (11-2, 3 KOs) with a pressing attack to the head and body throughout the 8-round fight. LeBlanc, wilting as the bout progressed, frequently clung to Torres as he bought time to recover from the punishment. Referee Steven Manfredo deducted a point from LeBlanc in the seventh round for holding. The scoring on the fight was 80-72, 80-73, and 80-73 all for the winner, Aaron Torres.

In six-round cruiserweight action, Arthur Saribekian, 197, survived the wrecking-ball head of Allan Smith, 200, and gained a fourth round TKO victory when Smith declined the invitation to continue the fight after the third round. “Southside” Smith entered almost every exchange in the bout with his shaven pate leading the way. A clash of heads in the first opened cuts above the left eye of both fighters. Saribekian spent much of the bout dodging the thunder dome of Smith, but he managed enough firepower to drop his opponent in both the second and third. Arthur ‘The Armenian Assassin’ Saribekian of Cranston, RI emerges from a two-year boxing hiatus to climb to 23-4-1 (18 KO). Creston, Iowa’s Allan Smith sees his record fall to 24-29-5 (14 KOs) before heading back to corn country.

In a 4 round middleweight clash of two fighters making pro debuts, Reynaldo Rodrigues, 162, of Woonsocket, RI raised some eyebrows with a 2nd round stoppage of Michael Gutrick, 163, of Baltimore, Maryland. The tall, hard-hitting Rodrigues buckled Gutrick’s knees with a right in the first and dropped him with a left hook in the second. Gutrick also received a standing eight count before referee Joe Lupino called a halt to the contest at the 1:02 mark of the second round. Michael Gutrick was no pushover. He was a well-conditioned, hard puncher who came out throwing bombs, but simply couldn’t stand up to Rodrigues’ hard shots. New England boxing fans will be keeping a close eye on the future ring exploits of middleweight Reynaldo Rodrigues.

In the evening’s opening bout, hard-nosed Adam ‘Bomb’ Moses, 175,(2-0)of South Boston dropped former kick boxer Tony Ventura, 178, (3-1-1) of New Bedford, MA inthe second and third rounds en route to a unanimous 4-round decision victory.

After his impressive win, many are asking where does Peter Manfredo Jr go from here? Well, up in weight, for one.

“I was very tired making the weight (154 contract for this bout), running stairs I would be out of breath. I wasn’t eating much and barely drinking. But I kept my strength. It was weird, I felt strong all through training camp.”

But after the bout, strong or not, Manfredo Jr made it clear this would be his last as a junior middleweight. “I’m gonna fight at 160 for now on.”

Some say the time is ripe for Peter Manfredo Jr to make a bold move, and for the most part, Manfredo Jr agrees:

“I wanna fight the best,” said Manfredo Jr after the bout. “I know I can handle the best. I fought most of them in the amateurs.”

But with just eighteen bouts under his professional belt, it is perhaps prudent for Manfredo Jr to patiently hone his steadily improving skills while the bright spotlight is cast on others for now:

“It’s just going to keep showing as the fights keep going on,” explained Manfredo Jr following his victory. “ As the fights get harder my skills are going to keep getting better. I got the heart and the determination. I can stick in there with the best.”

Peter Manfredo Jr’s rapidly expanding fan base will continue to enjoy his rise towards the top, even if it isn’t always as fast-moving as he would like.

“Hopefully I can be a role model for all the young kids out there. If they believe in themselves they can accomplish anything. “

Ron DiMichele's email is: rondimi@yahoo.com