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 O’Connor Shuts Out Gonzalez
Reports byScott Ploof
Photography by Emily Harney
Irish eyes were smiling on Friday night, the day after St. Patrick’s Day at the Twin River Events Center in Lincoln, RI as unbeaten Framingham, MA junior welterweight prospect Danny O’Connor scored an eight round unanimous decision over Brooklyn, NY’s Franklin Gonzalez (13-4, 9 KOs) All three judges scored the bout a shutout for O’Connor 80-72 on all cards. O’Connor stayed true to his game plan as he worked his jab to perfection, setting up his combinations, while at the same time, keeping Gonzalez off balance and unable to attack. Gonzalez was able to work and counter with his opponent, however O’Connor got the better of almost all the exchanges and consistently out-landed Gonzalez throughout. The seven bout fight card titled “Shamrock’d” was promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports.
O’Connor started out in round one by firing his jab, a punch that he would use early and often in this fight. “I work hard on the jab in practice, its one of my best punches and it just sets up everything else. I think it is one of the most effective punches in boxing. I just wanted everything to come off of the jab so I tried to throw it tonight and everything else worked out well after that,” said O’Connor afterwards.
Gonzalez stood in the ring early with his opponent and traded punches with him during the first half of the fight. He landed counter shots such as the right hook in round one after O’Connor threw his jab that found its mark and a left hook in round two that connected only after O’Connor landed with three punches and a right hook.
O’Connor continued utilizing his jab to setup combinations on Gonzalez. His slipping was on target as well as he was able to move out of the way from the attack of Gonzalez. O’Connor began to slowly break down the offense of Gonzalez as he landed a nice right hook to the body of Gonzalez at the end of round four.
Gonzalez in round six fired lefts and rights at O’Connor as he attempted to get back into the fight while O’Connor came right back and landed four punches in a row. O’Connor continued to be first during almost all of the exchanges throughout the fight.
 O’Connor had Gonzalez back peddling in the final two rounds of the fight as Gonzales continued to not have an answer for his opponent’s attack. Gonzalez was still able at times to counter with some good hooks to the head and body of O’Connor but continued to get beaten to the punch during most all of the exchanges. O’Connor said afterwards, “I knew coming in that this kid was going to be a tough kid going into the fight and I tried to stick to the game plan as much as I could. At first he was standing and fighting and towards the end he was trying to box a little bit and move around. I had to adapt my style to that. I was kind of playing it by ear and I listened to my corner for what they were telling me to do.”
O’Connor continued by saying, “He was a tough opponent. He was in pretty good shape. He lasted and his punches were real loopy, haymaker type of shots. I was just trying to come right down the middle tonight because the quickest way from point A to point B is a straight line so I was trying to come right down the middle and beat his punches. He was trying to move around a bit and I was trying to slow him down with some body shots and he did not like the body shots too much. I was trying to basically take any shots that were open while at the same time not take any unnecessary punishment.”
 Clampitt Decisions Emery
Former four time women’s champion Jamie “The Hurricane” Clampitt (21-4-1, 7 KOs) pounded out a hard fought six round majority decision over New York City’s Jill Emery (9-3, 3 KOs). Scores of the bout were 59-55 twice for Clampitt while the third judge scored the fight even at 57-57. Clampitt throughout tried to negate the reach advantage of Emery while trying to work on the inside. Emery used her reach throughout keeping an arm’s length away from Clampitt at all times. In the end, Clampitt out worked and out landed Emery during the six round encounter.
Emery came out firing in the first round using her reach advantage. Clampitt kept digging from down low to try and work on the inside of Emery.
Clampitt got at Emery in round two as she worked around the long jab and reach of Emery, who kept her glove extended throughout the fight in a way to keep a safe distance from Clampitt. Clampitt continued to move around the ring well which allowed her to land punches and fight on the inside.
Emery again kept a safe distance from Clampitt in round three. When Clampitt is able to get in on the inside, she is tied up by Emery. Clampitt lands a right to the body, while Emery missed a right hook. Emery seemed to cause Clampitt some trouble but really did not do much to capitalize on this advantage.
Clampitt was more active during the six round bout, however Emery used her reach well as she never fought in close with Clampitt and kept her arm extended throughout while trying to find a way to attack. In the end it was Clampitt that got the narrow decision in a close fight.
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McCreedy – Smith Battle to Six Round Draw
Middleweight Joe McCreedy (12-4-1, 6 KOs) and ring veteran Dhafir Smith (22-20-6, 4 KOs) battled to a six round draw. Scores of the bout were 59-56 for McCreedy, 59-55 for Smith, and 57-57. McCreedy fought on the inside almost the entire fight and landed punishing hooks on Smith. Smith used his speed and movement to keep away from the charging McCreedy and to land combinations of his own. McCreedy kept Smith on the defensive throughout the contest as Smith could only counter and move at times. McCreedy landed the stronger power punches during the contest while Smith seemed to be a bit slicker as a boxer. Smith kept a safe distance from the charging McCreedy. McCreedy continued to look for hooks to the body and head of Smith, while a jab and combinations might have better suited him.
Pires – Revich Battle to Draw
Former USBA titlist Jason Pires (22-3-1, 9 KOs) and Louisiana’s John Revich (10-1-1, 8 KOs) battled to a six round majority draw in an excellent all action fight. Scores of the bout were 56-55 for Revich and 56-56 twice. Revich knocked down Pires twice in round two, however Pires controlled the majority of the fight as he landed his jab effectively and landed some great combinations on Revich. Pires had the edge in experience, while Revich had the edge in speed making this a great fight for the fans in attendance.
Eklund Decisions Soto in Rematch
Lowell super lightweight Sean Eklund (7-4, 1 KO) out-worked the previously undefeated Eddie Soto (12-1, 4 KOs) over six rounds to capture the unanimous decision victory in a rematch of their encounter won by Soto back in Feburary 2009. Scores of the bout all in favor of Eklund read 58-55 twice and 59-55.
Soto started out well in the first round as he landed punches to the body of Eklund. With Eklund looking to get his footing and head into the game, Soto battered the body of Eklund early with hooks.
Eklund got into the fight in the second round as he began using his jab to set up other offense. Eklund landed a jab and a solid over hand right that was quickly met however with a right hand counter from Soto that sent Eklund back into the ropes. Eklund was able to fight out of danger and get back to his jab.
Soto continued to fire hard punches at Eklund in the third and fourth rounds of the fight. Eklund continued to work his jab and displayed a good chin as he was able to overcome the punishment dished out by Soto. A right from Eklund hurt Soto in round three however he was unable to land any follow up combinations on his opponent. Eklund connected in round four with a good uppercut but again the defense of Soto was crucial in keeping him in the fight.
Soto and Eklund exchange hooks in the fifth round, however towards the end of the round, the tide turned heavily in favor of Eklund. A left body shot from Eklund put Soto on the canvas for the eight count. Soto was able to recover and as Eklund charged at him to try and put him away, the bell sounded to end the round.
Eklund took control of the sixth as he was able to masterfully counter Soto throughout the final round. Eklund landed a right hook and a flurry of punches that had Soto backed into the ropes. Soto landed a huge right hook on Eklund but was quickly countered by a left and right combination from Eklund.
Barboza Stops Mason
Undefeated heavyweight Jesse Barboza (3-0, 3 KOs) took a slow comfortable pace as he broke down and eventually knocked out his opponent Richard Mason (0-1) at 1:45 of round two. Mason punched himself out early in the first round as Barboza bided his time. Barboza settled down and began landing punches as Mason tired himself out. Barboza landed a powerful right hook that had Mason reeling around the ring. Barboza caught his opponent in the corner and landed a devastating left right combination that left Mason out cold on the canvas and referee Danny Chiavonne to wave the fight off in the middle of round two.
Kozlin Stops Burgess
Undefeated super middleweight Keith Kozlin needed just 1:59 of the very first round to stop Philadelphia's Roberto Burgess. Kozlin landed several unanswered right hooks that hurt and eventually sent Burgess to the canvas twice during the fight. Burgess was able to recover from the first knockdown at the count of eight however after the second knockdown, referee Charlie Dwyer called an immediate stop to the bout as Burgess was just not fighting back and unable to defend himself. Kozlin improved to (5-0, 2 KOs) while Burgess falls to (4-3, 2 KOs).
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