Oliveira in crossroads fight at Melody Tent

Letterlough-Hall headlines July 18th ESPN2 show in Hyannis

24.06 - Press Release - World-class welterweight challenger "Sucra" Ray Oliveira, one of television's most popular boxers, will face Canadian middleweight champion Bryon Mackie in the July 18th 10-round co-feature on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights show, "Battle Zone at the Tent," at the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis (MA).

Hank Tuohy's Old Colony Sports is promoting "The Battle Zone at the Tent," in association with Mohegan Sun, Jimmy Burchfield's Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc., Duva Boxing and Gary Shaw Productions, LLC.

Light heavyweight contenders Julian "Mr. KO" Letterlough (19-3-2, 18 KOs) and Richard "The Destroyer" Hall (25-4, 24 KOs) will headline "Battle Zone in the Tent" in a 10-round light heavyweight match of popular knockout artists.

Oliveira (44-9-2, 21 KOs), of New Bedford (MA), is coming off a disappointing 12-round loss by decision to Elio Ortiz for the International Boxing Union world welterweight title. The loss of his IBU title left Ray considering retirement, but he decided against it, and agreed to fight Mackie (21-8, 5 KOs) in the July 18th co-feature.

Despite his loss to Ortiz, who is now rated No. 8 by The Ring, Oliveira holds victories against former world champions Charles Murray (twice) and Vince Phillips, as well as the only win against World Boxing Association junior welterweight champion Vivian Harris.

"This fight is as important as any of Ray's fights," Oliveira's manager/head trainer Jimbo Ispurdulli said. "This isn't a comeback situation for him; it's an absolute must win or it's all over. In his last fight he had a tough time making weight, even at 147, and this fight is at (a catch weight) 150, give or take a pound. I didn't train him in his last fight, but I've taken over his training again. At this level you can't go into a fight with only month of training like he did. Ray's already been training a month and sparring with Vinny Paz. That should tell you how serious he is about this fight.

"When Ray is on, he is one of the best in the world, but everybody's always seemed to have had too much to lose to fight him. We're not looking past Mackie; he's a good fighter, no doubt about it. But we're willing to fight any of the 147-pound champions. Hey, Ray's getting old and can't punch, right? If that's what they think, give him a break; use him as a tune-up opponent. First, though, we have to beat Mackie."

Mackie, of Ontario, has fought as a pro since 1993, mostly in Canada and Michigan. He lost back-to-back 12-4ound decisions to world ranked Fitz Vanderpool for the WBF light middleweight championship in 1999 and 2000. Bryon has won his last four matches, including a one-sided 12-roiund unanimous decision (117-112, 118-111, 119-11) against 37-7 Alex Hilton for the vacant Canadian middleweight title.

"After Ray's last fight (May 2, 2003) I went up to him and he said he was sorry that he disappointed me," Oliveira's promoter Jimmy Burchfield remarked. "He said, 'I guess maybe I should pack it in.' I told him to think about for a week or two and we'd talk. He had nothing to be sorry about. We don't throw away fighters after a discouraging loss; that's not what Team CES is all about. A couple of weeks later we talked and Ray asked me for one more opportunity. He still hasn't done what he wanted to do when he started his career. Ray still wants to win a major world championship. Here we go, the fight at The Melody Tent is the next step in that direction.

"I believe Ray Oliveira is one of the true warriors in boxing. Once he signed for a fight, I never worried about him not fighting and he had plenty of opportunities to pull out because of injuries. Ray never used an injury as an excuse and he's always given his best."

A special retirement ceremony also will be held for former IBO & NABF welterweight champion Kip "Top Kat" Diggs (30-5, 22 KOs), of nearby Marstons Mills in Barnstable.

Jaime "The Hurricane" Clampitt (10-2, 3 KOs), of Narragansett (RI), and Martin "The Irish Assassin" Thornton (4-0, 1 KO), of South Boston (MA), are scheduled to fight in separate bouts on the undercard. Clampitt is the reigning WEBA super lightweight champion. She is rated by the three major women's boxing organizations: No. 4 IWBF, No. 7 IFBA, No. 8 WIBA. Unbeaten super middleweight Thornton is the grandson of Martin "Connemara Crusher" Thornton, European heavyweight challenger in the forties. All bouts and fighters are subject to change.

Event sponsors include Outback Steakhouse, Davidoff Cigars, Hooters of Hyannis, Robertson's GMC Trucks, Dino's Sports Bar of Mashpee, Enterprise Car Rental, La-Z-Boy, Data Link/Nextal, Cigar Aficionado Magazine, Heritage Floor Coverings, Hyport Brewing Co., Puff The Magic, International Inn, Five Bays Bistro, New Balance, Amari's Restaurant of Sandwich, and Mari's Sennott Today's Real Estate.

A post-fight party will be open to the public at Hooters of Hyannis, as well as cigar smoking/wine tasting at Puff The Magic.

Ticket prices are $125.00 VIP (includes ringside seat and pre-fight cookout catered by Outback), $65.00 ringside and $35.00 reserved. Contact Ticketmaster (508.931.2787), the Cape Cod Melody Tent (508.775.9100) or Old Colony Sports (508.477.5355/www.oldcolonysports.com).

Doors open at 6 p.m. for the VIP party, 7 p.m. for the general public, with the first bout scheduled for 7:30 p.m. All bouts and fighters are subject to change.