McNeeley scores first-round knockout

By LARRY BEAN

Larry Davis looked good fighting Peter McNeeley — then he got hit.

The Hurricane thought he had a fight on his hands Friday night at the Lowell Sheraton, until he connected with a left hook to Davis' ribs and a crunching overhand right to the side of Davis' head at the 1:40 mark of the first round of their scheduled eight-round heavyweight fight.

Davis (18-9), a 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Albany, NY, crumpled to his knees after McNeeley landed the shot to his head. He stayed down for a few seconds, got up, took an eight count from the referee, then decided he'd already had enough.

Before McNeeley even started celebrating his 24th straight victory and his 18th knockout, Davis had left the ring and was getting on the first train back to Albany.

"I was upset," said McNeeley. "He got the eight count then he just packed it in. I had a lot of people there from school and from home who had driven a long way, and they had all paid at least $20 to be there."

With an 81-inch reach and a quick, crisp jab that once knocked down Marvin Hagler in a sparring session, Davis should have been a good test for McNeeley and a good warm-up for his next fight, a Feb. 18 match against 6-foot-10 Stanley Wright for the New England heavyweight championship title.

"What bothers me is that he had talent," said McNeeley. "He threw hard, fast punches. I blocked most of his punches, but I could feel his speed and power.

Maybe my defense scared him. He couldn't get anything in. Or maybe he was just afraid of me. I didn't hit him with a real hard shot, but I guess he just knew I could."

The fight against Wright is part of a charity benefit at the Westin Hotel in Boston's Copley Square.

Tickets are $150 each. The fight will be televised at a later date on Medfield Cable Channel 8.

See also:   McNeeley (24-0) KO's Davis   [The Daily Transcript]

This story ran on page 13 of The Medfield Suburban Press on 01/27/94