Williams defeats DeLomba In A Thriller

Friday night’s World Boxing Council USNBC Welterweight Championship between Jimmy Williams and Nick DeLomba promised to produce fireworks and delivered as promised.

Williams (13-0-1) kept his perfect record intact in a thrilling, back-and-forth romp with DeLomba (11-2), defeating the Cranston, R.I., by unanimous decision, 98-91, 97-92, 97-92 at Twin River Casino to take home the coveted green belt, handing DeLomba only the second loss of his career.

The New Haven, Conn., native Williams, fighting at Twin River for just the second time in his career, came out firing, sending DeLomba crashing to the canvas in the closing seconds of the opening round with a vicious overhand right.

Williams, the aggressor from the opening bell, continued to press the pace in the second and third, preventing DeLomba from using his patented angles and circling the ring as he’s accustomed to doing. As the pace slowed a bit in the middle rounds, DeLomba found his second wind, but Williams fought back with a strong sixth and again had DeLomba on the ropes late in the fight before a spirited back-and-forth in the 10th brought the crowd to his feet.

The co-feature delivered an equal crowd-pleaser as Portland, Maine junior middleweight Casey Kramlich (7-0-1) also remained unbeaten, handing New Bedford, Mass., vet Ray Oliveira Jr. (7-1) his first career loss via majority decision, 56-56, 57-56, 57-56.

The durable Kramlich survived a second round knockdown courtesy of a left hook by Oliveira and won the final three rounds on two of three scorecards and scored a 10-8 round in the sixth on the other card after a dominating final three minutes that earned him the win.

In a stunning finish, Springfield, Mass., lightweight Zach Ramsey (8-0, 2 KOs) captured the vacant New England Lightweight Championship with a fourth-round knockout win over the previously unbeaten Divante Jones (9-1) of Augusta, Ga., just the second knockout of Ramsey’s career.

The two circled one another for three rounds until Ramsey unleashed in the fourth, cracked Jones with a pair of right hands that sent both fighters tumbling to the canvas, with Ramsey correctly rewarded for the knockdown. Once Jones made it to his feet, the new-look Ramsey continued to apply the pressure, catching Jones defenseless with two overhand rights followed by a left uppercut that forced Joey Lupino to stop the fight at the 58-second mark.

Taunton, Mass., welterweight Marqus Bates (2-1, 2 KOs) again looked impressive in his third fight at Twin River, stopping Arturo Lopes (1-1) of nearby Marshfield at 2:03 of the opening round for his second consecutive first round knock win since February.

Lopes, who hadn’t fought since making his pro debut in Plymouth in 2009, looked rusty at the beginning and hit the canvas early courtesy of an overhand right. Lopes shook it off and fought back, even driving Bates into the ropes on two occasions, but the Taunton vet weathered the onslaught and eventually connected with a pair of left hooks flush to the jaw, forcing referee Danny Schiavone to step in and stop the bout.

Fighting on the same card as her stepson for the first time in both of their careers, Marshfield’s Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes (17-4-2) outworked Mexican challenger Paty Ramirez (11-4) over eight rounds to earn a 80-72, 80-72, 79-73 unanimous decision win. Lopes was the aggressor from the opening bell and stayed out of harm’s way for most of the bout, working on the inside and using angles effectively to frustrate Ramirez.

In what might’ve been the most entertaining preliminary fight of the night, Worcester, Mass., middleweight Kendrick Ball Jr. (6-0-2, 5 KOs) earned his fifth career knockout win and second in two months, stopping the game Zachary Christy (1-1-1) of Warwick, R.I., at the 1:19 mark of the fifth round in a thrilling back-and-forth bout.

The 32-year-old Christy overcame a six-inch height disadvantage and boxed effectively on the inside over the first four rounds, willing to eat a few jabs from the 6-foot-2 Ball in order to land to the body. Christy began softening the body in the third, which led to a series of hard, looping overhand rights from Christy that backed Ball into a corner. Ball survived and began using his height to his advantage to keep Christy on the outside and eventually ended the bout with three hard left hooks that sent Christy tumbling to the canvas. Christy climbed to his feet, but looked wobbly, prompting Schiavone to wave it off.

Worcester lightweight Jamaine Ortiz (4-0, 3 KOs) continued to impress, stopping the previously unbeaten Glenn Mitchell (2-1) of Steubenville, Ohio at 1:13 of the third round. Ortiz took some time to close the gap against the taller Mitchell and eventually unloaded in the third, sending his opponent to the canvas twice before Schiavone mercifully ended the fight.

Facing the toughest test of his career, New London, Conn., junior welterweight Cristobal Marrero (4-0) survived a hard fought battle against New York’s Sidney Maccow (4-5), earning a 39-37, 39-37, 38-38 majority decision win. Also on the undercard, junior welterweight Miguel Ortiz (2-0) of Springfield, Mass., kept his perfect record intact, edging Hartford, Conn., vet Jonathan Figueroa (2-1) by unanimous decision, 39-36, 38-37, 39-38. Ortiz sent Figueroa to the canvas in the second round and continued to apply the pressure, handing the durable Figueroa his first career loss.

Junior welterweight Khiry Todd (3-0, 3 KOs) of Lynn, Mass., also remained unbeaten, stopping Adriano Moreas (0-1) of Coconut Creek, Fla., at the 1:47 mark of the third round courtesy of a short left hook to the chin. Filling in for Vincent Floyd on three days’ notice, Moreas looked up to the challenge for the first two rounds as Todd took his time adjusting to the change of pace, but as Moreas attempted to pressure his opponent midway through the third, he got caught on the way in with the knockout blow, improving Todd’s record to 3-0 with three knockouts.

The opening bout brought the crowd to its feet as pro debuts Ricky Delossantos (1-0) of Providence and Philip Davis (0-1) of Worcester fought tooth and nail for four entertaining rounds. Delossantos scored a knockdown in the second round, but Davis stood his ground and actually closed the round with a flurry to swing the momentum in his favor. Delossantos stayed poised and outworked his opponent over the final six minutes to earn a 39-36, 39-37, 39-36 unanimous decision win.