Popular cruiserweight Rich Gingras, one of the stars of The Contender, Season IV reality television show, returns to the ring March 9 after a 2 ½-year layoff in a six-round bout on the Who’s Next? card at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence.
Who’s Next? – presented by Big Six Entertainment – is headlined by an eight-round heavyweight fight between 2004 U.S. Olympian Jason “Big Six” Estrada (17-4, 4 KOs), fighting out of Providence, and veteran “Diamond” Dominique Alexander (22-13-1, 10 KOs).
Gingras (10-2, 6 KOs), who was an amateur standout in New Hampshire, faces Worcester (MA) veteran Adam Harris (10-4, 7 KOs) in a six-rounder. Gingras’ boxing career has come full circle. He didn’t start boxing until he was 23, captured the 2006 Ringside World Championship, and was a two-time New England Golden Gloves and Rocky Marciano Tournament winner.
Rich turned pro in December of 2006 and two years later, he participated in The Contender, Season IV in Singapore, losing a hotly-contested five-round decision to undefeated Deon Elam (9-0).
“I’ve never really been a cruiserweight,” Gingras explained. “I’m really a big light heavyweight. I’m known for having a big punch and good chin, so when I got a call from The Contenders, I knew it was risky but also an opportunity. I decided to go for it. I spent 1 ½ months in Singapore and lost a close decision in my fight. But I was a fan favorite. The Contender is a doubled-edged sword. It can boost careers but I wasn’t a main event fighter. I decided to back-off and let the dust settle.
“I had moved to Attleboro (MA) a while back because I was training in Pawtucket with Peter Manfredo, Sr. I had to because I needed good sparring and there wasn’t a lot in New Hampshire. The commute was killing me, though. I became a personal trainer at LA Boxing and it was natural. Eight months ago, I opened a gym in Pawtucket (RI) – Fight 2 Fitness (www.fight2fitnessri.com) — and we already have 188 members. I’m getting married in September and we have a new baby. Boxing is in my blood but I decided to wait until things at the gym settled before getting back into the ring.”
His business plan didn’t take as long as projected to be successful; Gingras’ gym broke even in its third month, leading to Gingras’ comeback fight Mar. 9. “Now,” he said, “I’m fighting for fun like it was in the amateurs. I loved showing up and having somebody point out who I was fighting. Once money was involved, it became a mess. Because of my gym, I don’t need boxing as an occupation to support my family. I’m cross-promoting boxing with my business and getting boxing out of my system.”
Fight 2 Fitness doesn’t have a single boxer as a member; 75-percent of its members are women, and many of the men are professionals – doctors, lawyers, etc. The gym offers boxing, kickboxing and boot camp training for members to use for conditioning purposes, not to become fighters like Gingras.
Two and two years ago, Gingras lost a six-round decision to Ryan Coyne, who is now one of the top-ranked light heavyweights in the world. In his last fight, 2 ½ years ago, Rich won when Robert Davis retired after seven rounds.
The pressure associated with being a former fighter on The Contender doesn’t compare, according to Gingras, to fighting Mar. 9 in front of 300 people from his new world of business. “That’s real pressure,” he admitted. “I’m being trained again by Jimmy Farrell in Quincy (MA). I’m going to be 31 this Sunday but, like Jimmy says, I’m like a car with low mileage. I don’t know too much about my opponent. Hey, I’m not a boxer, I’m a fighter. He’d just better like being in with a puncher like me.”
In the six-round co-feature, former USBA/NABO middleweight champion Brian “The Bull” Barbosa (30-6, 22 KOs) takes on tough John Johnson (13-2, 10 KOs), while Pawtucket junior welterweight Diego Periera (6-0-1, 2 KOs) puts his unbeaten pro record on the line vs. TBA in a six-round match.
