By Jason Marchetti at ringside

New England Jr. Middleweight Champion Greg Vendetti (15-2-1, 10 KOs) defeated Khiary Gray (14-3, 11 KOs) Friday night at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, RI. The card was promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports and Murphy’s Boxing.

Worcester’s Gray may have won a few of the early rounds but the bruising, Vendetti brought the fight to his opponent throughout the night, absorbing Gray’s power early and sizing up his opponent. Vendetti’s confidence grew, particularly in the 4th, when he threw Gray to the canvas after an exchange. Vendetti controlled the entire second half of the bout, walking down Gray and landing the more effective punches. In the 5th, Vendetti had great success connecting with the right hand to Gray’s head and tracking him down across the ring to continue the exchange. Gray slowed in the 6th, throwing few punches and keeping his distance from Vendetti’s power. Vendetti closed the show strong, commenting afterwards he would’ve knocked him out if it were a 10 rounder. Perhaps he was right, as Gray is now falls to 1-3 in his past 4 fights. Vendetti, who is promoted by Murphy’s Boxing and trains with Mark DeLuca, retains his regional title with the victory.

In the co-feature, rising Jr. Middleweight Mark ‘The Bazooka’ DeLuca (19-0, 12 KOs) impressed New England fans by out-boxing Chris Chatman (14-7-1, 5 KOs) over 8 rounds. The earlier rounds were close, but DeLuca impressively cut off the ring and began to connect with heavier shots and more frequency. Chatman is normally busier, dancing on the outside and lunging his jab on Deluca, who sustained a cut early in the fight. However, Deluca finished the 5th round with a huge shot to Chatman’s face and knocked him down with a body shot in the 6th. DeLuca’s defense is tough to penetrate and Chatman did not have his usual advantage using his footwork and conditioning. Both southpaws and possessing pedigree, the fight did not disappoint fans as the final round had tremendous exchanges by both fighters. The final scores were unanimous, 78-73.

Despite being dropped hard with a left hook in the 4th, Anthony Marsella, Jr. managed to defeat Abraham Torres in a 6 round bout at lightweight. Marsella was able to score with fast hands when Torres came in low, but the rounds were much closer than the final scores reported. At times Marsella would leave himself open and Torres would counter to the head. Each round had an even back and forth and both fighters fought with a sense of urgency as the bout closed.m Marsella improves his undefeated record to 5-0, 2 KO’s and Torres falls to 3-2, 1 KO.

Italian heavyweight Juiseppe Cusumano (11-1, 8 KOs) dropped Dan Biddle (9-7, 5 KOs) three times in the 2nd round with crushing right and left hooks. Biddle tried dancing on the outside and lunging with his punches, but Cusumano cut off the ring and was able to score on the ropes. Biddle winced in pain after the first knockdown and Cusumano took less than a minute to knock him back to the canvas twice more.

In a back and forth affair, Kendrick Ball, Jr. (7-0-2, 5 KOs) out-punched Godson Noel (6-1-1, 4 KOs) at Super Middleweight. Ball used his height and reach to score on the outside and connected at times with a right cross when Noel left himself open. Noel had his moments, fighting on the inside, and frustrating Ball as they tired into the later rounds. Neither was particularly hurt but Ball picks up his 7th win in just over a year.

It took less than a a minute for Michael ‘Bling Bling’ Valentin (1-0 1 KO) to overwhelm MMA fighter Kevin de Freitas (0-1) in a bout at super featherweight. Valentin has begun his career at age 19 in Providence at Big Six Boxing Academy under the tutelage of former Olympian Jason Estrada and his staff.

Matt Doherty (7-3-1, 4 KOs) outboxed Placido Hoff (1-2-1) enough to win their contest at junior welterweight. The majority decision scores were 38-38 and 39-37 (twice)

Ricky DeLosSantos (2-0) defeated Malcolm Simms (0-1-1) by unanimous decision in a four rounder at featherweight. The final scores were 39-36 and 38-37 (twice).
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Photos: Emily Harney