By Stephen Tobey (Jan 26, 2008)
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MASHANTUCKET, Conn. -- Jason Estrada has always been blessed with fast hands.

Friday, he used them as well as he ever had in any of his 12 professional bouts, capturing a 10-round unanimous decision over Charles Shufford at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

George Smith and Steve Epstein scored the fight 99-91. Don Ackerman scored it 98-92 for the Estrada, the super heavyweight on the 2004 US Olympic team.

Estrada (11-1, 2 K Os) did a better job putting his punches together and landing combinations than in many of his professional bouts. Some of his best work came in the ninth round when he landed a quick combination to the body, then went upstairs with an uppercut.

“I have to thank Charles Shufford for that,” said Estrada, who lives in Providence, R.I. “He made me stay busy. If he landed one, I had to come back with two, or at least one cleaner punch.”

Shufford, of Las Vegas, landed his share of punches, though Estrada landed the crisper, cleaner shots throughout the fight. In the fourth round, after Estrada landed a three-punch combination, Shufford responded with a hard left uppercut and a straight right hand in return.

Estrada did most of his better work with the right uppercut.

“We watched tapes on him,” Estrada said. “He catches a lot of uppercuts, but he also throws a lot. I had to make sure to move my head so it wasn’t there when he threw it.”

Estrada weighed 241 pounds to Shufford’s 248. Shufford dropped to 20-8 (9 KO s).

In the co-main event, Matt Remillard of Manchester, Conn. returned to the ring for the first time since September of 2006 and he captured the World Boxing Council Youth featherweight championship with a 10-round unanimous decision over Manuel Perez of Denver.

Don Ackerman scored the fight 98-92; Clark Sammartino scored it 96-94 and Walter Stone scored it 98-93 for Remmilard, who is now 12-0 (7 KO s).

There were no knockdowns and Perez (11-4, 2 KOs) kept coming forward and throwing hooks to the body and uppercuts. Remillard used his jab to move Perez back to a more comfortable range and landed enough body punches to slow down Perez, who was breathing much heavier and holding more often in the final three rounds.

“That’s what we worked on for months,” Remillard said. “I kept working on my jab. If he was going to come after me, I was going to box. If he was going to box, I was going to box.”

Remillard sat out all of 2007 after undergoing surgery on his left wrist twice.

“They say it’s 80 percent mental and I felt great,” Remillard said. “Even if I wasn’t in shape, I knew I was going to win because I had it mentally.”

Cruiserweight Aaron Williams of Las Vegas won an eight-round unanimous decision over Manu Ntoh of Atlanta. The scores were 80-72 (twice) and 79-73. Williams is 16-0-1 (11 KO s); Ntoh is 17-14-1 (10 KO s).

In an all-Massachusetts light heavyweight contest, Joe McCreedy of Lowell won a six-round majority decision over Chris Traietti of Quincy. The scores were 59-55 (twice) and 57-57. McCreedy is 6-1 (4 K Os); Traietti is 7-1 (4 KO s).

Manuel Lopes of Brockton, Mass. and John Michael Terry of Portsmouth, Va. Fought to a four round draw. Clark Sammartino scored it 38-37, Terry; Walter Stone scored it 38-37, Lopes and Glenn Feldman scored it 38-38. Lopes, who survived a flash knockdown at the end of the first round, is now 4-0-1 (1 KO); Terry is 2-7-3 (1 KO). Lopes broke a bone in his left hand.

Eric Pinaretta of New Bedford, Mass. earned a TKO victory when Richard Starnino failed to answer the bell for third round of a scheduled four-round middleweight bout. Pinaretta is 2-1 (2 Kos); Starnino is 8-3 (1 KO).

Super middleweight Angel Camacho, Jr. of Johnston, R.I. out-pointed Terrence Jones of Oklahoma City over four rounds. All three judges scored it 40-36. Camacho is now 9-0 (4 K Os); Jones is 10-11 (6 K Os).

Addy Irizarry of Hartford, Conn. won a four-round decision over Tonya Gallegos of Denver at welterweight. All three judges scored it 40-36 for Irizarry (4-1, 2 K Os). Gallegos, who fought since the first round with a bloody nose, dropped to 4-7 (2 KO s).

Debuting Brian Macy of Ledyard, Conn. knocked out Pete Guthy of Myrtle Beach, S.C. in the second round of a scheduled four-round super middleweight fight. Macy, who works at Foxwoods as a poker dealer, dropped Guthy with a left hook. Referee Dan Schiavonne stopped the fight without a count at 1:34. Guthy is now 1-2-1 (1 KO).