McBride headlines St. Patrick's Day Fight Card at the Roxy

03.03 - BOSTON - There will be an Irish flavor to the first Fight Night New England fight card of the 2003 season. Cappiello Productions will turn the Roxy into an Irish party on March 17 as IBC American Heavyweight champion Kevin McBride (28-4-1) will defend his title for the first time since winning the title last October win a knockout of Craig Tomlinson.

McBride, under the tutelage of boxing Hall of Famer Goody Petronelli will be defending his title against Brockton-based heavyweight Najee Shaheed in a 12-round headline battle. The Brockton native has been away from scene for the past year but was considered one of the top New England heavyweights in the late 1990's. He has an 18-4-1 career mark and went nine rounds with Henry Akinwande a top-ranked heavyweight on a Showtime boxing card in 1999.

There will also be a neighborhood brawl at the Roxy on St. Patrick's Day as two South Boston tough guys will battle for the pride of Southie. Jimmy "The Dream" LeBlanc (9-2-3) will battle Kevin "Cocky" Watts (17-2) in a 10-round battle that promises to be a battle that will go the distance and may pit brother against brother as the two South Boston natives fight for the title in a Massachusetts state title eliminator bout. The winner of this fight will battle Jeff Fraza, the current New England title holder, in May for both the Massachusetts and New England belts. "Hellraza" Fraza (13-2) will also fight on this card in an eight-round battle against Eugene Pratt

There is one other fight on the Fight New England card with a strong Irish as Pembroke native Ed McAlone will fight a six-round battle against Martin Moore of Ireland. Other fights on the seven-fight card include a six-round battle between Ian Gardner (8-1) and Tommy Attardo of South Boston. James Clancy of Brookline will go against Jose Colon of Lawrence. Sir William "Gladiator" Gibbs will also fight on the card with his opponent yet to be determined.

The MSFNE show is presented in association with Cappiello Promotions, the Mohegan Sun, the Holiday Inn Metro South of Brockton and Guinness. The doors will open at 6 p.m. with the first fight scheduled for 7:30. Ticket prices are $60 for gold ringside and $40 for ringside and $30 for general admission. For ticket information, call 508 587-5554 or 508 587-3370 or check out the website at www.cappielloboxing.com.