Frank Hogan W10 Khiary Gray ... Francis “Frank the Tank” Hogan (19-0, 16 KOs) passed the stiffest test of his young career on Saturday, winning a unanimous decision over Khiary “King Too Sharp” Gray (19-8, 14 KOs) in middleweight competition.  The bout topped CES Boxing’s “Winter Brawl 2025,” a twelve-bout card taking place at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. After a nip-and-tuck first round, it looked like it was going to be an early night, as the 24  year-old Hogan bounced a counter right hook off Gray’s head that dropped the Worcester native for an eight-count. Despite Hogan’s advantage in speed and skills, he was unable stop the motivated Gray, who took exception to Hogan’s pre-fight comments that Hogan would be like a tornado ripping through Khiary’s trailer park. Determined to turn back the clock, “King Too Sharp” rose to his feet and attempted to reestablish his offense, throwing left jabs to the body and overhand rights to the head. The 32-year old who usually competes in the junior middleweight division, began his career at 13-0 before suffering a TKO loss to Ian Green. Since the defeat, Gray struggled against the likes of Gary O’Sullivan, Bakhram Murtazaliev and Charles Conwell. Adamant that Hogan was not of that ilk, Gray and head trainer Kenneth Ball Sr. started training camp in November with a plan to defeat the less-experienced Boston native (who is trained by Mark DeLuca).

After the knockdown, however, Gray found it difficult to connect cleanly with the taller and rangier southpaw, who kept beating Khiary to the punch with his right jab.  Gray used movement to avoid most of Hogan’s attack, but by round 6, ‘Frank the Tank’ was fully in control, landing his straight left hand with regularity.    

Sensing that he was running out of time, Gray made a final stand in round 8, but Hogan was up for the exchange. A counter left hand dropped Gray’s mouthpiece, and when the action resumed, a clash of heads dropped Khiary to the canvas. After ten spirited rounds, Hogan was declared the winner by scores of 98-91 and 96-93 (twicex).  

ADDIITIONAL RESULTS

Anthony “ATV” Velasquez (16-0-1, 13 KOs) made a successful return to the CES ring in the co-feature, blasting out Argentina’s Brian Chaves (14-7, 5 KOs) in round three of a junior middleweight battle.  Chaves, who previously shared the ring with contenders like welterweight Rashidi Ellis and junior middleweight Chordale Booker, was meant to be a barometer of how ‘ATV’ compares with those world class fighters. Putting on a patient and measured performance, Velasquez passed tthe test.  While Chaves went on the attack as soon as the bell rang, the cool and composed Velasquez avoided most of the incoming and controlled the rest of round one behind an educated jab.  Velasquez began taking the fight to ‘El Elegante’ in round two, stalking the smaller Chaves behind a high guard and cutting off the ring to land heavy blows to the southpaw’s body and head. Looking to turn the tide, Chaves decided to trade shots with Velasquez in round three.  It was an unwise decision, as the Springfield, MA native unleashed a counter right hand that dropped the Argentine hard.  Chaves beat the count, but referee Arthur Mercante Jr. decided to prevent the outgunned fighter from taking further punishment, waiving the fight at 2:29 of the round.

In a bloody New England war, Providence, RI welterweight Victor Reynoso (10-0, 7 KOs) stopped Springfield’s Jalen Renaud (10-2, 3 KOs) in the final round of their six-round matchup.  Reynoso, who was out of the ring for 17 months after undergoing eye surgery, surprised Renaud by coming out in the southpaw stance for the first two rounds.  The pair engaged furiously in round three, with Renaud reeling from Reynoso’s assault.  Bleeding from the nose and mouth, Renaud tried his best to keep Reynoso off him, but the Dominican native was relentless in his attack. Renaud’s luck didn’t improve in round five, as a headbutt opened a cut over his left eye.  Jalen was worse for wear, but he began keeping Reynoso at bay with his left jab.  Just as it seemed that he was asserting himself, however, a big right hand at the end of the round stunned the 30-year old.  The ringside doctor examined Renaud between rounds, warning the 2024 member of the Boston Butchers that the fight would be stopped if he took too much more punishment. Unfortunately for Renaud, Reynoso jumped at the chance to end matters, battering Jalen until referee Arthur Mercante Jr. stopped the assault at 1:11 of the sixth round.        

Welterweight Jeffrey “El Bendecido” Torres improved to 14-2 (8 KOs), stopping grizzled veteran Matt “The Mantis” Doherty (10-10-1, 5 KOs) in a crossroads bout.  The bout pitted Torres’ boxing against Doherty’s brawling, as the 36-year-old from Danvers, MA rushed in to cut distance and nullify Torres’ counters.  While Torres, age 27, started slow, his superior technique began to show over the course of the fight.  The Puerto Rican by way of New Haven began landing punishing counter right hands to Doherty’s head and body in round three, finally dropping Doherty in round four.  ‘The Mantis’ beat the count, but referee Harvey Dock had seen enough, stopping the contest at 2:31 of the round. Doherty laid down his gloves after the bout, retiring a 21-fight career over 10 years that saw him continuously thrill New England fans with his all-out style, heart, and determination.

Miami-based Kazakh Nikolay Shvab (13-0, 8 KOs) continued his ascension in the lightweight division, stopping tough Colombian Belmar Preciado (22-9-1, 15 KOs) in the th and final round of their contest. Shvab, who trains out of the World-Famous 5th Street Gym that was once the training grounds of the legendary Muhammad Ali, dropped Preciado with a straight left hand in round one.
Preciado came alive in round two, landing heavy shots to Shvab’s body. Nikolay patiently stalked the Colombian in the mid rounds with his own body attack, but the tough Preciado absorbed the shots and fired back.  A counter left hand in round 6th momentarily stunted Shvab’s advance, but the Kazakh would not be denied.  A right jab, left hand combination in round 8 dropped Preciado hard, causing referee Artur Mercante Jr. to stop the fight at 1:17 of the final round.  

man Lee (12-0, 8 KOs) kept his unbeaten record intact, stopping Mexico’ Bernardo Uribe (17-10, 9 KOs) in round four of a featherweight bout. Uribe came to fight, trying to time the faster Lee with counter right hands. Lee, of Yonkers, NY, boxed smoothly throughout the bout, focusing his attack on Uribe’s midsection and dropping the Guadalajara native with a body shot in round two. Uribe survived the round, but Lee launched a vicious assault in round four that dropped the Mexican twice, causing Harvey Dock to waive off the bout at 1:52 of the round.  

In his CES Boxing debut, light heavyweight Steven “The Savage” Sumpter (10-1-1, 8 KOs) stopped tough Argentine Victor Exner (11-19-3, 5 KOs) in round four.  The Lawrence, MA native landed the heavier blows throughout, but Exner never stopped pressing, landing lefts to the body and rights to the head of his own.  The fighters traded heavy leather in round 3, with Sumpter hurting Exner twice with right hands.  After four completed rounds, Exner’s corner indicated that the Santa Fe native had enough, causing Arthur Mercante Jr. to halt the fight.

In a four-round middleweight bout, Stamford, CT’s Douglas Marroquin (5-0, 3 KOs) won a shutout unanimous decision over Miami’s Austin Spivey, outboxing the Florida native.  Marroquin was too experienced for the debuting Spivey, who fought hard despite being outgunned.  Scores were 40-36 across the board.

In an action-packed New England war, New Haven, CT’s Anuel Rosa (5-0-1, 3 KOs) and East Providence, RI’s Elijah Peixoto (4-0-1, 2 KOs) battled to a four-round draw.  It was a pitched battle from the start, with Peixoto looking to land his left hook and Rosa countering with overhand rights. A Peixoto right hand stopped Rosa in his tracks early in round one, but Anuel returned the favor a few seconds later with a right of his own.  The fighters traded furiously over the next threerounds, with a Rosa right hand in round three seriously hurting Peixoto, who stumbled to the neutral corner before composing himself enough to fire back.  The fighters traded on even terms in the 4th and final round, with Peixoto appearing to hurt Rosa with a body shot.  Anuel quickly threw back, and the round ended with the fighters trading leather.  Scores were 39-37 Rosa, 39-37 Peixoto, and 38-38 for a fight so entertaining that it deserves a rematch somewhere down the line.

Joe Bush (6-0, 4 KOs) kept his record intact, winning a six-round unanimous decision over Springfield, MA’s Derrick Whitely, Jr. (8-5-2).  Marshfield’s Bush applied pressure from the opening bell, attacking Whitley’s body and landing right hands over the top.  Whitley countered well from the southpaw stance early on, but his lack of power couldn’t deter Bush, who often trapped him on the ropes to land left and right hands.  Scores were 60-54 and 59-55 (2x).  

Shannel “The Sniper” Butler improved to 2-0 (1 KO), outboxing Melanie “Pitbull” Costa (3-1, 1 KO) via split decision over four rounds.  The featherweight contest was a contrast of styles, with the shorter, high octane Costa applying pressure and the taller, rangier Butler countering with straight left hands.  ‘Pitbull’ pressed to the body behind a peek-a-boo guard, but a Butler counter bloodied her nose.  Costa, a Norton, MA police officer, made her last stand in round four, but The Sniper was able to halt her advance behind an educated jab and straight left hands. Scores were 40-36 (2x) for Butler and 37-39 for Costa.

In the opening bout of the evening, power punching jr. welterweight Tevin “The Hitman” Regis (6-0, 5 KOs) wasted little time introducing Chris Gunn to the pro ranks, knocking out the Michigan native with a body shot at 1:00 of the round.