BOSTON (March 1, 2011) – With 15 extra pounds of muscle, a new training regimen and a new outlook on boxing, “Irish” Joey McCreedy is predicting a breakthrough year in 2011.
First, he must get past New England light heavyweight champion Joe Gardner on March 16th, 2011 in the eight-round main event of Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports’ “Boxing At The Royale” show in Boston, a task the former EBA (Eastern Boxing Association) champion doesn’t think will take too long.
“I’m not planning on this fight going past the third round. I’m ending the night early,” McCreedy said. “I’m making a statement. Everyone thinks this is a stepping-stone fight for Joe Gardner. No. This is the beginning of a new career for Joey McCreedy.”
The Lowell, Mass., native and former EBA super middleweight champion hasn’t fought since losing his title to rising prospect Vladine Biosse in front of 42 million homes on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” at the Twin River Casino (Lincoln, R.I.) this past July, and he hasn’t won since September of 2009. Now McCreedy (11-5-2, 6 KOs) is fighting for Gardner’s New England light heavyweight title at 172 pounds, which Gardner won Nov. 12 with a unanimous decision win over Keith Kozlin. The 35-year-old Gardner (7-1-1, 1 KO), of Woonsocket, R.I., was inactive for seven years between 2003 and 2010, but has won three of his last four fights with his only loss coming to Biosse this past May.
The six-round co-feature is a rubber match between EBA welterweight champion Sean Eklund (8-4, 1 KO) of Lowell, Mass. – the nephew of Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund, the inspirations behind the Academy Award-winning film, “The Fighter” – and Pawtucket, R.I., native Eddie “The Puerto Rican Sensation” Soto (12-2, 4 KOs). The two originally fought in February of 2009 with Soto winning a disputed split decision before Eklund won the belt this past March with a unanimous-decision victory.
“Boxing At The Royale” also features a four-round intrastate showdown between junior middleweight Derek Silveira (3-0, 1 KO) of Salem, Mass., and Jose Angel Ortiz (3-6-1) of Springfield. Roxbury, Mass., super middleweight Maceo Crowder (2-0, 1 KO); female welterweight Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes (4-1, 1 KO) of Marshfield; New Bedford junior welterweight Johnathan Vazquez (3-0, 3 KOs) and junior lightweight Frankie Trader (7-0, 2 KOs) of Philadelphia will fight in separate four-round bouts.
McCreedy plans on stealing the show on March 16th and sending his loyal fans home happy, albeit a bit early. Since losing to Biosse, he has rededicated himself to working on his jab and setting up his punches – two glaring deficiencies in his last fight – with his current trainers, Ward and Dicky Eklund, and has also sought out the guidance of a new strength and conditioning coach.
“I’m doing a lot more running and conditioning. I’m right back to where I was before I fought Eddie Caminero,” McCreedy said in reference to his last win, a first-round knockout over Caminero for the EBA title in September of 2009.
“I’m flipping tires, swinging the sledgehammer, swimming, doing underwater training. I was at my peak then [against Caminero] and that’s where I am right now. Fighting at 172, that’s a cakewalk for me. I’ll be strong as a bull. He won’t be able to keep up with me. If you look at my record, everyone I’ve fought above 170, I’ve knocked out. I’m too strong at that weight. I’m so used to getting down to 154. At 170, I’ll be a house.”
McCreedy’s last fight above 170 came in November of 2008 in a unanimous-decision win over James Johnson at Twin River. He also beat Chris Traietti, Zeferino Albino and Henry Mayes at the same weight class. The first four fights of McCreedy’s career – all above 170 – resulted in knockout wins.
“I’m sure Gardner is watching the tape [of the fight against Biosse] and thinks I’m the same fighter, but it’s not even close,” McCreedy said. “I respect Joe as a fighter, but I don’t know what his team is thinking taking this fight. They probably think this is a good stepping-stone fight because I have five losses, but I lost five fights to top prospects.
“Dhafir Smith [who battled McCreedy to a draw in March] recently beat Jeff Lacy. Otis Griffin [who beat McCreedy in November of 2009] is now the USBA light heavyweight champion. [Gardner] lost to Vladine and beat Keith. I’m not taking anything away from them, but they’re not the top contenders in the world.
“I saw [Gardner] fight. I wasn’t impressed at all. He jabs a lot – jab and hold, jab and hold, jab and hold. He doesn’t throw the right hand. He won’t hit me with a jab once. The head movement will be there. I’m coming back like the old Joey.”
McCreedy’s long-term goals extend beyond winning another title. A victory on March 16th could set up an opportunity for McCreedy to regain the belt he lost in July.
“When I fought Vladine, I didn’t jab all night and I was dead by the third and fourth round. You won’t see that [against Gardner]. Two thousand and eleven is my year,” McCreedy said. “You’ll see a whole new Joey. I’ll get a couple wins under my belt and then I want to fight Vladine again. I didn’t have to fight him in July. I gave him a chance at the belt, so hopefully I’ll get a couple more wins and he’ll give me a shot at my belt again.”
Tickets for “Boxing At The Royale,” located at 279 Tremont Street in Boston, are $40.00, $50.00 (ringside) and $75.00 (stage seating for groups of 10 only) and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254 or online at www.cesboxing.com. For more information on “Boxing At The Royale,” visit www.cesboxing.com or www.royaleboston.com. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the first bout scheduled for 7 p.m.