Chris Chatman couldn’t help but let his emotions get the best of him. Shortly after beating Grady Brewer Friday night at Twin River Casino, a fight he dedicated to both his grandmother, who passed away this past week, and his late manager Mark Dion, who died from Lou Gehrig’s disease earlier this year, Chatman sat in his corner and cried uncontrollably, a welcomed display of humility for a fighter on the brink of stardom.
The hard-hitting southpaw from Jersey City took another step toward his dream of winning a world title, beating The Contender Season 2 champion by unanimous decision, 79-73, 80-72, 79-73, in the main event of Classic Entertainment & Sports’ professional boxing show, a back-and-forth war from start to finish.
Chatman (12-3-1) has now won three times in four tries at Twin River, including his win over Rhode Island’s Thomas Falowo in July. Against the 43-year-old veteran Brewer, Chatman fought with the same reckless abandon, pressing the action from the opening bell and wearing down Brewer in the later rounds. Brewer (30-19) has now lost five consecutive bouts.
The always-entertaining Zack Ramsey (7-0) of Springfield, Mass., remained unbeaten in the six-round co-feature, defeating 33-fight veteran Shakha Moore (11-20-3) of Norwalk, Conn., 40-36, on each scorecard. The slick Ramsey used his superior speed defensively and offensively, toying with the overmatched Moore. He picked his spots, utilizing his lightning-quick left jab and overhand right, and kept out of harm’s way throughout the fight, frustrating Moore, who lacked the speed to close the gap on Ramsey.
Chattanooga, Tenn., prospect Ryan Martin (4-0, 3 KOs), promoted by platinum rapper 50 Cent, put on a show in a second-round knockout win over Justin Robbins (2-6) of Springfield, Ill. The taller, leaner Martin bloodied Robbins early in the fight and then sent him crashing to the canvas with an overhand right at the 2-minute, 42-second mark of the second round, prompting referee Joey Lupino to stop the fight.
Welterweight Nick DeLomba (3-0) of Cranston, R.I., a protégé of Gary “Tiger” Balletto, kept his perfect record intact, outlasting Providence veteran Josh Beeman (5-15-3) by unanimous decision, 40-36, on all three scorecards. The crafty Beeman, who took the fight on short notice, held his own, but DeLomba’s speed was the difference as he controlled the center of the ring from the opening bell.
Heavyweight Jesse Barboza (8-1-1) of Hyannis, Mass., won a hard-fought unanimous decision against East Stroudsburg, Pa., native Glenn Thomas (1-2) in the opening bout, 40-36, on all three scorecards, and Providence middleweight KJ Harrison-Lombardi improved to 5-0-1 with a 38-38, 39-37, 39-37 majority-decision win over the tough Jason Bakanowski (0-2) of Worcester, Mass.
