Paying customers of Jimmy Burchfield’s “Summer Heat” show at Mohegan Sun Casino this past Saturday definitely got their money’s worth, with a total of 17 bouts that ran almost an hour beyond midnight. The night kicked off with Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Invitational, which allowed 14 amateur fighters to showcase their skills at one of the best casinos in the world. Daniel Hernandez was honored as the Fighter of the Night for his exciting victory in the 165-pound open division against Sebastian Durand. The Invitational was followed by ten professional bouts that didn’t disappoint. Many came to the arena to specifically support various fighters on the card, hailing from Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Many left after cheering on their various hometown heroes, so when the first bell rang for the final bout of the night, the arena was fairly empty.
However, those that hung around were treated to a wonderful main event, an intra-state junior welterweight scrap between CES fighter Wilson “Ill Will” Mascarenhas, of New Bedford, MA, and Nicolas “TNT” Tejada, of Haverhill, MA. Most of the faithful fans stood the entire fight. In fact, this reporter had to relocate to properly view the action, as this wasn’t a case with just one or two guys standing and not knowing how to sit. There were rows of people standing this time, but I can’t blame them. This was a fight that made the majority in attendance stay on their feet. The action was back and forth. It was hard to definitively pick a clear winner of rounds in the early going of the eight-rounder. Mascarenhas was the house fighter and was supposed to end up with the win, but all credit to Tejada (pictured, left). He brought the fire to “Summer Heat,” and when it wasn’t tit-for-tat in there, it was Tejada who upped the fireworks. He closed the second round in impressive fashion with a flurry of shots in the final 30 seconds of the stanza, and employed a similar strategy in the fourth round. Tejada may have gotten a little too aggressive in the fifth, as he was warned for pushing a couple of times. Tejada seemed to be manhandling Mascarenhas along the ropes a minute or so into the in the sixth frame.
Around this time, one of his supporters, who had been cheering him on, seemed frustrated. “Wilson, let’s go,” she said.
The seventh and eighth rounds seemed to favor Tejada, who had his way with Mascarenhas whenever he decided to pick it up a notch and let the leather fly.
“Skill-wise, he was definitely the toughest guy I’ve faced,” said Tejada, who won a decision and improved to 12-0-1 (8). “But in the ring, he felt smaller than me. I was pressing the action. I was in his face the whole night.”vMascarenhas, who had been unbeaten in 11 bouts since his pro debut loss, fell to 11-2 (5).
In other action, Bridgeport, Connecticut’s Jacob “Lefty” Marrero – in an eight-round lightweight contest - dominated Alberto Mercado, of Humacao, Puerto Rico, en route to a unanimous decision victory. All three judges scored it 80-72 for Marrero. Marrero did everything right, a constant jab, beautiful lateral movement, and a fair share of impressive power shots to keep things entertaining. Marrero’s movement frustrated Mercado, who seemed to wait until the eighth and final round to put forth more of an effort to get closer to Marrero. It was too little, too late. Marrero improves to 10-0 (7) while Mercado saw his record dip to 17-8-1 (4).
Popular Springfield, MA fighter Anthony Velazquez, 18-0-1 (15), scored a TKO of Terry Chatwood, of North Little Rock, AR. After dropping Chatwood with a right hand in the second round, Velazquez finished things off in the 5th, with a beautiful left hook that put Chatwood flat on his back less than a minute into the stanza. It looked like Chatwood wasn’t going to beat the count, but somehow, he rose to his feet. However, referee Ricky Gonzalez ruled he was in no shape to continue and ended the junior middleweight clash at the 2:26 mark. Chatwood, who was looking to rebound from two straight losses, is now 12-4-1 (6).
Previously unbeaten super bantamweight Joseph “J-Elite” Chisolm, of Stratford, CT, suffered a six-round split decision loss to Sean Diaz, who made the trip all the way from Guadalajara, Mexico. Chisolm seemed to possess the overall superior skills, as well as an advantage in hand speed. He looked like the chess master in the early going in their fistic chess match. Diaz has his moments in the fight, but it did not seem he outworking Chisholm. Chisholm was having his way with Diaz in the fourth round, pot-shotting him with the right hand to start things off. In the 5th frame, Diaz made a hand motion for Chisholm to stop moving and fight more in close quarters. That would seem to signal the fight wasn’t going Diaz’ way. In the end however, two judges scored it for Diaz 58-56 while one judge scored it 58-56 for Chisholm.
Diaz advanced to 9-0 (2) while Chisholm fell to 5-1 (5).
In a six-round middleweight bout that could had the potential to be ruled a no-contest due to an early clash of heads, Douglas “Machismo” Marroquin, of Stamford, CT, wasted no time dispatching of Jamall Roby in the second round of their middleweight match-up. Marroquin suffered a bloody gash on the top of his head in round one. However, his corner was allowed adequate time to attend to it to stem the bleeding.
When it seemed the situation was under control, the fight resumed. Perhaps fueled by the blood, Marroquin went on a tear in the second round, with a non-stop attack that never allowed the taller Roby a moment to breathe. It was combination after combination in a neutral corner, and just as referee Ricky Gonzalez was looking to end matters, Marroquin connected with an uppercut that sent Roby to the canvas. The official time of the stoppage was 1:54.
Marroquin improves to 7-0 (4) while Roby drops to 2-6 (1).
Gianni Patrizio Liguori, of Branford, CT, dominated Anthony Mora, with superior boxing skills en route to a 4-round decision victory in their lightweight match-up. All three judges scored it 40-36 for Liguori. It was an exhibition in proper boxing, how to hit and barely get hit. He was never over-anxious looking for a knockout. He just stayed calm, cool and collected as he employed lateral movement, a persistent jab and quick combinations. After every quick three or four-punch combination he made sure to move laterally, which forced Mora to re-set his feet and discover catching Liguori with counters was a difficult task. Liguori is now 3-0-1 (2). Mora dips to 6-4-1 (4).
Two recent signees to CES Boxing – both making their pro debuts - experienced different results on Saturday night. Junior middleweight Tyler Macari, of Scituate, RI, scored a first -round stoppage of Kevin Spraags, of Pittsburgh, PA, while Ayowole Jones, of Providence, RI, had to settle for a draw in his super middleweight pro start against Jhonny Rodrigo Dos Santos, of Winchester, MA.
Macari dropped Spraags with a right hand with less a minute remaining in the opening round and a follow-up barrage – mainly right hands but ending with a left hook – forced referee Johnny Callas to end matters at the 2:59 mark.
Jones struggled a bit more in his debut, but his battle to a draw with Dos Santos was one of the most entertaining fights of the night. After a great opening round from Jones – showing he clearly had the faster hands - he also impressed in the next stanza, sending Dos Santos to the canvas with a big right hand. However, the tide would turn, and Jones hit the deck in the fourth round. He was dropped in the first minute and when he beat the count, Dos Santos quickly followed up, catching him with a big straight right. Dos Santos never let up and kept pounding away until the final bell. All three judges scored the fight a draw, 37-37.
In junior welterweight action, Jonathan “Too Smooth” Figueroa, of Hartford, CT, registered a fourth-round TKO of Edgar Efrain Macz Sagui, of Stamford, CT. The official time was 1:27. Figueroa was catching Sagui with a ton of straight rights and right uppercuts near the end of the opening stanza and a follow-up combination dropped him.
Figueroa came out for the second round with guns blazing, seemingly focused on a second-round knockout. He didn’t get it, but he scored another knockdown, a minute or less into the frame, with a combination capped off by a right hand. Sagui, tough as nails, managed to survive the round, as well as round three, but in the fourth round, he hit the canvas again and referee Ricky Gonzalez was forced to call the bout off.
Figueroa upped his record to 5-2 (4) while Sagui is now 1-3.
In the opening pro bout of the night, lightweight Anuel “The Tsunami” Rosa, of New Haven, stormed Anderson Briceno’s body with a vicious assault of punches that sent him to the canvas. Briceno beat the count but was soon under attack again and unable to find shelter from the barrage of leather coming his way. The bout was called off at the 1:18 mark. Briceno, of New York, NY, is now 1-5 (1) while Rosa extends his unbeaten record to 6-0-1 (4).
Former professional referee Joe Cusano, who will be inducted into the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame in October, still assists with amateur shows on occasion and was present at Mohegan in the event he was needed. He was impressed with Saturday’s card.
“I do love seeing and following the careers of young New England talent,” he said. We’ve always been a hotbed.”
In recent years, out-of-state promoters haven’t been as active as in Connecticut as in years past.
“Without Jimmy, New England boxing would suffer a huge hit,” said Cusano. “His shows are top notch, and he knows how to treat people. For his age he’s a whirlwind of energy. I wish him well and may he continue to promote boxing.”
One of Burchfield’s top-notch staffers, Mariano Agmi – CES’ media relations director – was noticeably absent from Saturday’s show. However, he had reason to be missing in action. He’s studying for the bar exam next week. An attendee of New York Law School, Agmi is also a co-host of The Final Bell Podcast. “With the bar exam a week away, I couldn’t be at the arena, but I caught all the action on Swerve.tv,” said Agmi.
