Saturday, March 6, 1993 | ||||
'Hurricane' fights up a storm in Whitman |
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By Kevin Harriman WHITMAN — Heavyweight "Hurricane" Peter McNeeley is quickly developing quite a following. The talented fighter out of Medfield headlined Friday night's professional boxing card sponsored by the South Shore Boxing Club at the Whitman Armory. After barely working up a sweat two weeks ago in Foxboro knocking out last-minute replacement Jesus Rohena, McNeeley delighted the crowd and went nose-to-nose with J.J. Jackson of Brooklyn, NY, for five rounds. |
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It took a flurry of combinations, but McNeeley was finally able to stop the durable Jackson with a TKO at 2:55 of the fifth round to preserve his undefeated record at 16-0. "He's definitely in the top four of all the guys I've fought professionally," McNeeley said of his opponent. "I fought him once before and he went the distance with me. I am the first one to stop him." McNeeley looked strong throughout the fight. Despite battling the flu for four days, McNeeley actually looked stronger in the later rounds, putting hard, quick combinations together that rocked Jackson. In the fifth round, McNeeley's punches began to wear down Jackson. It took three sharp right hooks to slow the slippery Jackson down. The third forced a standing eight-count. Seconds later, McNeeley finished off Jackson with another blistering combination. "He threw me off a little when he came out fighting as a southpaw," McNeeley said. "I don't think anyone thought he would fight that way, but I was able to make the adjustments as the fight went on. I was able to get in a couple of hard right hooks and left jabs. He's a tough kid, no question about it." McNeeley is scheduled to face an even tougher opponent next weekend at Wonderland when he takes on Juan Quintana. "Quintana is a better fighter than this guy," said McNeeley. "He's fought better competition and I think he's a little tougher. It should be a good fight." In the first fight of the night, local light heavyweight Mike O'Han of Whitman posted a second-round knockout of Worcester's Louis Olivares in a scheduled four-round fight. O'Han controlled the fight from the start until he put his opponent on the canvas at 1:05 of the second round with a right to the body and a left to the head. In the first round, O'Han wore down Olivares with constant punches to the body and then put him away in the second round. In a junior welterweight bout, Bill Murphy of Rockland won a four-round decision over Jose Mendez of Providence. Murphy, in his second professional fight and first in a year after a car accident that saw him break his back, started fast, knocking down his opponent with a left hook in the first round. In the final round, Murphy started to tire and Mendez came on, making it a close decision. Following the fight, the two signed a contract to fight again next Saturday on the card at Wonderland. Two fighters from the Petronelli gym in Brockton posted impressive victories. Sid Vanderpoole made his pro debut as a middleweight and came up with a first-round knockout of Julie Rodriguez. Fritz Vanderpoole, his brother, fought as a junior welterweight and won via a knockout at 1:35 of the second round. In other fights on the card, Brewster's Ralph Caplic remained undefeated (10-0) with a first-round TKO of Hector Ramos; Brockton's Mike Culbert, who fights out of the South Shore Boxing Club, posted a decision in a six-round middleweight bout against Julio Torrez; and Kip Diggs remained undefeated (6-0) with a first-round knockout of Valentine Cruz. See also: 'Hurricane' Takes Whitman By Storm [The Suburban Press] |
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This story ran on page 21 of The Brockton Enterprise on 03/06/93 |