22.11.05 – On Saturday night, the gang from New England Ringside Promotions rallied with yet another triumph in professional prizefighting, this timescoring a knockout evening with its “Expressway Jam 2” event. The night kicked off with a bang – literally – as Lowell’s Sean Eklund notched an electric decision victory over Carlos Reyes and didn’t end until Roy “House of” Payne departed Dorchester’s IBEW Hall with the Massachusetts cruiserweight title belt in his grasp.. The latter concluded this exciting six-bout affair, as Payne upended Worcesterrival John Rainwater to finally put to rest this long-standing grudgematch.
With a festive crowd on hand, Lowell light heavyweight Joey McCreedy may have loomed as the showstopper, delivering aspectacular first-round destruction of Brockton’s Huston Crayton in theco-featured bout. McCreedy, trained by the legendary Dick Eklund, madegood on his promise to serve up an eye-popping, Tyson-like performance.
Brooklyn featherweight Roberto Benitez gave us a glimpse of the future, as the 2004 U.S. Olympic slugger proved why he’s being touted as one of the game’s superstars in the making, whacking out Ohio’s Nick Shaheen inless than a round.
The luck of the Irish prevailed as well, as Ballymena middleweight Joe Rea needed just one round to take care of North Carolina’s Michael Rayner. Also, Irish heavyweight James Clancy, hot on the heels of Kevin McBride (who was in attendance), dazzled hisfaithful with a convincing point victory over Douglas Robertson.
“This was another great outing for us,” said NER president Rick Brutti. “We worked hard at putting forth another quality show, and everybody who came to Dorchester tonight walked out a winner. But we have so muchmore to unveil in the upcoming months. Tonight was just a prelude of what’s to come. You haven’t seen anything yet.”
MARTY JOINS THE PARTY
With its latest acquisition, New England Ringside Promotions nailed aperfect swish last week, as President Rick Brutti proudly announced thehiring of Martin Falkenberg as its new Director of Marketing.
A Chicago native, this marketing know-how made a fast break for Boston in 1994, where he offered his prowess as part of the Boston Celtics organization. Falkenberg also served as an integral component of theChicago White Sox sales team and the Seattle Super Sonics promotions department.
With New England Ringside, Falkenberg will betrading sky hooks for left hooks, as he ultimately plans to hook the sports public into the hottest contender in the boxing promotions circuit.
“With Marty’s tremendous background in sportsmarketing, he brings to New England Ringside the creative ideas and invaluable contacts to help us expand our fan base,” says Brutti. “Our ongoing plan is to market boxing to other sports fans and Marty’s experience working for major league organizations in basketball and baseball is going to be a major asset. We’re excited to hire him andMarty is going to be a big part of our 2006 sports marketing campaign.”
“I’ve always had a passion for the sport of boxing,” says Falkenberg. “It’s clear to me that the team at New England Ringside, Rick Brutti in particular, shares that passion and is committed to building the NER brand.”
ON THE AIRWAVES…
For nearly two years, the New England Ringside Radio Show has allowed fans of the sweet scienceto dig into a smorgasbord full of debates, interviews, and news breaks on the latest around the wild world of boxing. But while the show is anything but a turkey, hosts Ted Bodenrader, Joe Bills, and George Kimball will be swapping the talk for the table this week, as the gangfrom NER would like to wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving.
The show will resume on Saturday, November 26, as it kicks off its newschedule, which includes a twice-weekly airing on WCAP, 980-AM inLowell, Mass. and 1510 The Zone in Burlington, Mass. (Visit www.newenglandringside.com for times).
Last Thursday, NER served up another sizzler, as pound-for-pound great Ronald “Winky” Wright joined the crew to discuss his upcoming showdown with Sam Soliman.
Also,be sure to check out our website for NER’s exclusive interview with thelegendary Bernard Hopkins, as “The Executioner” prepares to take on Jermain Taylor December 3 in Las Vegas for the undisputed middleweight championship.
Visit www.newenglandringside.com