PROVIDENCE, R.I. (July 15th, 2013) — Leave it to promoter Jimmy Burchfield to produce the brightest post-Independence Day fireworks display in New England.
In addition to the highly-anticipated showdown between Rich Gingras (13-3, 8 KOs) and Vladine Biosse (15-2-1, 7 KOs) for the New England Super Middleweight Title, Classic Entertainment & Sports has put together an epic undercard for its Saturday, July 27th, 2013 boxing event at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I.
As an added bonus, Twin River and CES have teamed up to offer fight fans an exclusive rewards offer with their ticket purchase (see below for details), and CES has upped the ante for VIP customers by including an additional $25 gift certificate to either Meritage of Chardonnay’s restaurant in Rhode Island with the purchase of every $126 Jimmy’s Club VIP ticket.Â
Popular middleweight prospect Thomas Falowo (10-1, 7 KOs) of Pawtucket, R.I., could steal the show in the eight-round co-feature when he faces hard-hitting southpaw Chris Chatman (10-2-1, 5 KOs) of Jersey City, N.J. The undercard of “Game On,” appropriately titled with Twin River celebrating its recent launch of table games, also features the professional debut of highly-touted female bantamweight Marcia Agripino and the return of Woonsocket, R.I., fan-favorite Joe Gardner (11-6-1, 1 KO) in a six-round super middleweight bout.
Chatman is no stranger to Rhode Island; he fought unbeaten light middleweight prospect and soon-to-be world-title challenger Demetrius Andrade of Providence in a memorable, six-round bout at Twin River in 2009. Andrade won the fight by unanimous decision, but many ringside observers — and Chatman himself — felt Chatman won the fight. The diminutive, 5-foot-8 southpaw returned to Twin River two years later and this time left no doubt about the outcome, stopping Rahman Yusubov in five rounds.
In between those Twin River bouts, Chatman also racked up impressive wins over then-unbeaten prospects Alberto Herrera and Lester Gonzalez and also fought to a draw against Charles Hatley, who was 14-0 at the time.
Falowo has been on quite a role himself; since suffering his first and only loss in May of 2012, he’s won four consecutive bouts — three by knockout — and, in the process, has cleaned house against the region’s top middleweight prospects with wins over Julio Garcia of Boston, Mass., and Tylon Burris of Hartford, Conn.
“This could be a main event on any other card,” Burchfield said. “I applaud both fighters for stepping to the table and challenging themselves. These are the kind of fights that matter, and these are the kind of fights fight fans want to see.”
Gardner will also face a tall task on July 27th as he looks to rebound from his close, split-decision loss to Gingras in May when he takes on Queens, N.Y., veteran Alexander Mancera (8-5-1, 5 KOs). Gardner had put together a solid win streak with victories over Phil Burnette, Alex Amparo and Reynaldo Rodriguez prior to the fight against Gingras, while Mancera will end his nine-month layoff in the same venue where he lost fought in a knockout loss to Kevin Cobbs in October.
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Agripino, a Groton, Conn., native, will debut against Brooklyn’s Vanessa Greco (1-2-3) and Providence super middleweight KJ Harrison-Lombardi (1-0) will make his Twin River debut against Boston’s Maceo Crowder (2-1) in a four-round bout. “Game On” will also feature the professional debut of Hartford light middleweight “Jabbin'” Joe Wilson Jr., who will battle Saul Almeida (0-2) of Framingham, Mass., in a four-round bout. All fights and fighters are subject to change.
The main event between Providence’s Biosse (15-2-1, 7 KOs) and Pawtucket’s Gingras (13-3, 8 KOs) will be for Biosse’s New England Super Middleweight Title, which he has successfully defended three times since winning it in 2010. Gingras, a former contestant on the reality television series The Contender, is aiming for his third consecutive win and possibly his fourth in his last five fights since returning from a three-year layoff in 2012.
