(AUG 8) PROVIDENCE, R.I. --
Junior welterweight bragging rights are on the line Friday,
Sept. 14th, 2018 at Twin River Casino as CES Boxing and Murphys
Boxing team up to bring New England fight fans one of this
year's most highly-anticipated main-event showdowns.
Reigning UBF All-America champion
and Rhode Island's own Nick DeLomba (13-2, 3 KOs) returns to the
Twin River Event Center for the first time in more than a year
to face undefeated Irish junior welterweight and two-time
amateur gold medalist Ray Moylette (11-0, 4 KOs) in the
eight-round headliner of CES Boxing's latest installment of the
2018 Twin River Casino Fight Series.
On the undercard, there is a female bout featured on the card
with fighting at Twin River for the first time since joining the
CES Boxing roster in the spring, Everett, Mass., lightweight
Shayna Foppiano (1-0, 1 KO) battles Sarah Click (0-1) of
Buzzards Bay in a four-round bout.
More on the Press Release....The event, promoted in associated
with Ken Casey's Murphys Boxing, also features the return of
unbeaten Providence junior welterweight Anthony Marsella Jr.
(9-0, 4 KOs) and hard-hitting Sicilian heavyweight Juiseppe
Cusumano (16-2, 14 KOs), plus the debut of several new faces
fighting in Rhode Island for the first time.
The 28-year-old DeLomba, a Cranston native, returns to Twin
River and CES Boxing for the first time since of April of 2017
when he battled New Haven's Jimmy Williams for the then-vacant
WBC USNBC Welterweight Title.
Under the tutelage of R.I. ring legend Gary "Tiger" Balletto,
DeLomba debuted in 2013 in unorthodox fashion with a six-round
bout against Maine's Jimmy Smith. He began his career with eight
consecutive wins before suffering his first career loss in
September of 2015 to New Yorker Gledwin Ortiz.
The resilient DeLomba resurfaced in 2016 with critical wins over
New England rivalsFreddy Sanchez and Oscar Bonilla, then upset
former Golden Gloves champion Amos Cowart in a dominant,
eight-round unanimous decision win later that year. DeLomba has
won back-to-back fights since facing Williams, including another
signature win overLouis Cruz for the then-vacant UBF title. He's
won five of six overall heading into next month's showdown with
the highly-decorated Moylette and is now reunited with his
original promoter, Jimmy Burchfield Sr. The two sides ironed out
a new promotional agreement this past spring to bring the Rhode
Island native back to CES Boxing.
Born in the Irish village of Islandeady, Moylette is coached by
renowned trainer Paschal Collins, the brother of former two-time
WBO champion Steve Collins, who also works with Irish
middleweight star Gary "Spike" O'Sullivan.
As an amateur, Moylette won gold medals at the World Youth
Amatuer Boxing Championships in Mexico and the European Amateur
Boxing Championships in Turkey before signing with Murphys
Boxing and the United Kingdom-based Assassin Promotions. After
winning his professional debut in London in March of 2017,
Moylette made his United States debut at the House of Blues in
Boston two weeks later, beating Maine's Matt Probin by unanimous
decision.
Moylette has fought on U.S. soil seven times, most recently in
June, and also boasts wins over Salem's Matt Doherty and
64-fight vet Michael Clark, whom he stopped inside of two
rounds.
Marsella Jr. also finds himself in a hotly-contested regional
showdown as he faces Maine's Brandon Berry (13-3-2, 8 KOs) in a
six-round junior welterweight showcase. Marsella Jr. survived
his toughest test to date in May against Ricardo Maldonado,
scoring a late knockdown to secure the win, while Berry enters
September fresh off a win over Francisco Medel last month.
Unbeaten Pawtucket, R.I., featherweight Ricky Delossantos (5-0,
1 KO) returns to face Jersey City vet Jose Ortiz (3-3-2, 1 KO)
in a six-round bout and New England rivals Phil Dudley (1-1) of
Warwick, R.I., and Worcester, Mass., native Ranse Andino (1-0)
square off in a four-round featherweight bout.
One of six fighters making his professional debut on the
undercard, newly-acquired 6-foot-10 Nigerian heavyweight Raphael
Akpejiori of Miami, a former college basketball and football
player at the University of Miami, faces Omar Acosta (1-1, 1 KO)
of Amarillo, Texas in a four-round heavyweight bout.
Also debuting, Fall River, Mass., junior welterweight Kris
Jacobs battles Andy Aiello (1-1) of nearby Bridgewater and
junior middleweights Victor Reynoso of Providence and Maurilio
Alava of Ecuador make their professional debuts against one
another in a four-round bout. Accomplished amateur Nicholas
Briggs of Worcester makes his professional debut against fellow
newcomer Jacob Wright of Decatur, Ala., in a four-round junior
welterweight bout.
Cusumano returns fresh off his knockout win over James Price in
July. The 6-foot-4 right-hander has now won 14 of his last 15
bouts, including 12 by knockout, six of which have occurred in
the first round. He made short work of the 6-foot-8 Price,
finishing at 1:40 of the opening round.
Tickets are priced at $47, $102,
$127 and $152 and are available online at www.cesboxing.com or
www.twinriver.com, by phone at 401-724-2253, or at the Twin
River Casino Players Club. Showtime is 7 p.m. ET and doors open
at 6. All fights and fighters are subject to change.