Undefeated Shelly Vincent won a unanimous decision win over challenger Christina Ruiz at Twin River Casino on Friday.
Vincent (14-0) perhaps fought her best fight to date, aggressively out-working the slick-boxing Ruiz (7-8-3) to earn a 98-92, 98-92, 97-93 win, and now holds the IBA & UBF super bantamweight titles.
Fighting in the 10-round headliner of “The Revival,” presented by CES Boxing, Vincent expected a challenge similar to what she faced in November when she beat Jackie Trivilino to earn the then-vacant UBF title. Ruiz, a San Antonio native with three world-title fights already on her resume, brought a similar resume to the table, but wasn’t as aggressive as Trivilino, instead choosing to counterpunch in an attempt to use her power to her advantage.
Vincent, as is often the case, was the aggressor, stalking down Ruiz and wearing down her opponent in the later rounds. The eighth and ninth turned into slugfests with both fighters exchanging blows in the center of the ring and the 10th ended in exciting fashion as the two stood toe-to-toe for one last flurry.
In the end, Vincent did enough to earn the win, landing more the effective, cleaner blows on a consistent basis. She’s now 2-0 in world title fights and still undefeated as she continues to climb the ladder in the 122-pound division.
Facing the toughest test of his career, unbeaten Providence super middleweight Angel Camacho Jr. (14-0) passed with flying colors, earning a 58-56, 60-54, 59-55 unanimous decision win over gritty veteran Chris Chatman (12-5-1) of Jersey City, N.J.
Fighting for the first time since November, Camacho looked much more poised and focused than he did in his return to the ring five months ago, using his height and reach advantage to keep Chatman at bay. While Chatman tried to work the body and break down Camacho on the inside, Camacho wisely kept his distance and used his footwork to weave in and out of danger.
Chatman came on strong in the second half of the fight, showing a second wind that wasn’t present during his win over Paul Gonsalves in November, a clear sign of his improved conditioning, which Chatman felt would work to his advantage instead. With the win, Camacho is now firmly near – or at – the top of the list among the elite super middleweights in New England.
In the most complete performance of his career, unbeaten Cranston, R.I., welterweight Nick DeLomba (7-0, 1 KO) dominated Joe Wilson Jr. (3-2) of Hartford, Conn., showcasing power unseen in his previous fights en route to his first career stoppage.
After a back-and-forth opening round, DeLomba began turning up the pressure and eventually sent Wilson to the canvas midway through the second. Wilson got back to his feet and tried to reestablish his jab, but DeLomba continued to box effectively on angles while displaying impeccable footwork and earned the stoppage at the 2:59 mark of the third round Wilson’s corner threw in the towel.
Fighting for the first time in Rhode Island and for the first time under the guidance of new trainer Vinny Paz, Lawrence, Mass., cruiserweight Jean Pierre Augustin (4-0-1) fought to a 39-37, 38-38, 38-38 majority draw against New Haven, Conn., vet Solomon Maye (1-4-1).
The fight turned sloppy at times with Maye charging at Augustin and Augustin repeatedly backpedaling and tumbling through the ropes. Neither fighter gained much momentum at any point during the bout and Augustin could not keep his footing long enough to work the perimeter and use his superior height to his advantage.
New Bedford, Mass., junior middleweight Ray Oliveira Jr. (4-0, 2 KOs) kept his perfect record intact in the opening bout of the evening, outworking Providence’s Luis Felix (0-5) to earn a hard-fought unanimous decision win, 39-37, 40-36, 39-37.
Felix tried to circle the ring and keep Oliveira chasing him, but Oliveira cut the ring off effectively and landed the cleaner blows. Instead of being able to out-box Oliveira on the perimeter, Felix found himself in defense mode trying to throw punches while backpedaling. Oliveira closed out the fourth and final round in impressive fashion to earn his second win of 2015 and second since February.
Worcester, Mass., middleweight Khiary Gray-Pitts (6-0, 4 KOs) also remained unbeaten, making quick work of New Haven, Conn., veteran Greg McCoy (3-5). Gray-Pitts landed a clean right early in the opening round that briefly put McCoy on the canvas. McCoy popped back up immediately, but referee Joey Lupino stopped the bout at the 40-second mark to save McCoy from further punishment. Gray-Pitts has now won his last two fights by first-round knockout.
Also on the undercard, Freddy Sanchez (4-0, 3 KOs) earned an impressive win in his Twin River debut, bloodying New Bedford’s Briam Granado (1-1) via third-round knockout.
The hard-charging Granado fought valiantly against the taller Sanchez as the two exchanged blows through the first two rounds, but Sanchez began boxing circles around Granado and landing the cleaner shots, at times sending Granado tumbling backwards.
A hard, overhand right by Sanchez late in the second round opened a cut over Granado’s left eye. Granado survived that round, but began getting pummeled again in the third until he could no longer continue. The fight at ended at the 1:51 mark, the first loss of Granado’s career and Sanchez’s fourth consecutive win.
