LOWELL, MA
When we hear Lowell most boxing fans think of Irish Micky Ward and, of course, his epic trilogy with Arturo Gatti. A few think of his brother Dicky, and his boxing skill, and many think of their recent portrayal in the movie The Fighter.
Even though both of the brothers were in the Lowell Memorial Auditorium last night, they were not the stars of the show. To be honest, although the fighters put on great performances I did not even feel they were the stars of the show. The real star was Boxing.
“This is the first professional fight we have had in Lowell in ten years” said Bobby McCreedy, who’s son Joe happened to be the main event. “We need a fight scene up here, there needs to be more boxing in Lowell, I am getting my promoters license and we are going to make it happen.”
To be honest, in all of my time as a fight fan, having been to fights all over, aside from the legendary Blue Horizon in Philadelphia I have never seen a better arena for a fight. The arena holds about 2800 people for a fight. There is a history of boxing in the room. Legends like Marvin Hagler have fought there and Rocky Marciano started his career in that very room.
Last night there were a few careers started. Lowell’s own Bernie Ongewe lost his pro debut to Anthony Jones of Newark, NJ who advances to 1-0-1. While Bernie was not satisfied with his performance, he said that he plans to come back stronger and learn from his mistakes.
Also starting their careers last night were Jimmy Smith and Rafael Vasinmo. The fight ended in the second round due to a cut sustained by Jimmy caused by a head but, causing the bout to be a No Contest. Both fighters were disappointed in the result but are looking forward to getting back in the ring.
In what turned out to be one of the best fights of the night, Tyrone Chatman of St. Louis fought Antonio Canas of Chicago to what the judges had ruled a draw. Personally scoring the fight ringside I gave the fight to Chatman, after knocking Canas down twice in the third round and boxing his way through the rest of the fight. When speaking to Chatman after the fight he simply shrugged and said, “Next time ill take it for sure. I got caught up in the knock downs and went looking for the knockout, I forgot to box.”
Sean Eklund, the co-featured fighter, and nephew of Micky and Dicky fought a great fight winning an eight round unanimous decision against James Ventry. This was Eklund’s first fight in his hometown, and under the tutelage of his uncles. He showed major improvement from his last outing. Sean said that he went back to the corner after every round except the fifth knowing he won the round “and that’s what you want to do in boxing.” Using footwork and body shots that eerily mimic those made famous by his uncle Micky, he proved his skill in what was only his first eight round fight. “The Kid is tough, he trains hard, and with a little more experience he will be able to stop a kid like that in the future” said Dicky Eklund.
The main event of the evening was Lowell’s own “The Beast” Irish Joe McCreedy, who lost a ten round UD to Shujaa El-Amin (aka Dion Savage). The fight was fought in a telephone booth restricting Irish Joe from throwing combinations and landing clean punches. While I am certainly not one to speculate what was going on in McCreedy or El-Amin’s heads or corners, a heated exchange at the weigh in the day before defiantly brought both fighters into the ring with a little bit more to prove. Most of the action took place in the first three rounds with El-Amin landing the cleaner shots of the exchanges that almost always took place on the ropes.
While it was not the homecoming McCreedy or his constituents who came out in full force expected, it was a tough fight fought by bother fighters.
While it remains unclear what is next for McCreedy or Eklund after last night, one thing we can all hope for is more fights in Lowell. It is a special place for a fight, and to be honest, im still not sure what makes it so special. It could be the venue, it could be the people, the fighters, or just a special blend of all of them that makes it.
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