by Alex Pierpaoli

In his last visit to Mohegan Sun, Hartford’s Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey thrilled fans with an explosive second round kayo.  On this visit, Matt needed double the rounds to do just about the same thing in his first fight since losing to Rudolf Kraj in Germany this past March.  Matt Godfrey survived a second round knockdown to finish off Emmanuel Nwodo, of Baltimore, MD in round four of an NABF title bout in the Main Event of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights.

Despite looking a bit sluggish in the early rounds, Matt seemed to be landing the harder punches while Emmanuel pressured the local favorite from the start.  In the third both fighters threw right hands and it was Emmanuel’s that landed first dropping Matt for a flash knockdown.  But things deteriorated rapidly for Emmanuel in round four when Matt scored with a hard overhand right that wobbled Emmanuel.  Sensing his opponent was in trouble, Matt let loose with a barrage of power punches that opened up a cut on the nose of Emmanuel and had him reeling about the ring.  With Emmanuel in trouble, referee Danny Schiavone stepped in to halt the bout at 1:57 of the fourth.

Afterwards Matt told reporters his opponent certainly came to fight but didn’t keep the pressure on to stay effective.

“He started too early,” Matt said.  “I knew he’d start to slow down and I’d get him.”

Matt Godfrey is now 17-1 (10) while Emmanuel Nwodo falls to 22-5 (18).

In the televised co-feature Manchester’s  Matt Remillard scored a crushing fourth round kayo over Adauto Gonzalez of San Luis Potosi, Mexico.  Adauto looked to be in great condition and started fast in round one, winning the first on this observer’s unofficial scorecard.  But by the second, Matt was scoring with power shots, especially to the body, and it seemed Adauto was fighting aggressively because of doubts about his own stamina.

In the fourth, Matt took control and scored the first of two knockdowns with a double left hook to the body and head of Adauto.  With Adauto on his feet, referee Arthur Mercante Jr.  allowed the bout to continue but it was only seconds before Matt was all over his opponent again and sunk a hard left into the side of Adauto which put him on his hands and knees for the ten count.

With the victory, Matt is now 15-0 (8) while Adauto falls to 10-6 (4).  Matt Remillard claimed the vacant WBC USNBC Featherweight belt with the kayo win.

Also making the ESPN2 broadcast was Ledyard native light heavyweight Brian Macy who remained undefeated with a first round knockout over Sean Kirk of Lexington, KY.  Like Matt Remillard before him, Brian finished off his opponent with a hard left hook to the mid-section that dropped Sean for a count of ten. Brian is now 5-0 with 2 kayos, while Sean drops to 4-3 (2).

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story & photos
by Alex Pierpaoli

Mora Upsets Forrest

Vernon “The Viper” Forrest was hoping Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora would be a recognizable foe he defeated along his way to bigger and more lucrative opponents in the prize ring, but boxing is as HBO’s Larry Merchant describes, “the theater of the unexpected.” Sergio Mora had different plans for Vernon Forrest at Mohegan Sun on Saturday, June 7, fighting in the main event of a Showtime double header, with Forrest’s World Boxing Council 154 pound strap at stake.

The southpaw Sergio got right to work versus Vernon, chopping at him with short punches and tying him up when “The Viper” got too close or too bold with that heavy overhand right that plagued Shane Mosley all those years ago. Sergio’s style was never pretty to watch but was effective, and the odd angles, consistent pressure and busy work rate gave Vernon fits from the start. Vernon was never able to establish the distance he needed to get his offense going. Sergio with his clever but frustrating clutch and grab tactics kept Vernon from employing his own strategy.

After twelve rounds, the judges scored the bout a majority decision. Judge Gale Van Hoy saw the fight even, but judges Hongtongkam and McKaie both tabbed Sergio Mora the victor by scores of 116-112 and 115-113, respectively. With the win, Sergio improved to 21-0-1 (5), while Vernon looks to regroup with a record of 40-3 (29).

Williams Avenges Loss to Quintana

There were no judges needed in the supporting bout when Paul “The Punisher” Williams avenged a February decision loss to Carlos Quintana with a brief and brutal first round kayo to reclaim his World Boxing Organization welterweight title. In their first encounter, Paul was outboxed by the crafty Carlos but this time “The Punisher” used his freakish six foot one inch height, unheard of for a welter, and kept Carlos at the right distance where “The Punisher’s” power would do the trick.

It did. Connecting with a heavy straight left from the southpaw stance, Paul stunned Carlos half way through round one and dropped him. Carlos got up but was clearly hurt and Paul finished him off at 2:15 of the opening round. Paul is now 34-1 (25) while Carlos drops to 25-2 (19).

Lisa Brown Prevails Versus Alicia Ashley

On June 12th at Mohegan Sun, an all female boxing card featured on Fox Sports’ The Best Damn Sports Show Period, pitted southpaws Lisa Brown and Alicia Ashley. Alicia took control early using distance and lots of long rights and lefts from the outside that kept Lisa on the defensive. Lisa was aggressive throughout but never pursued or pressured Alicia with enough abandon to score anything meaningful.

Judges Don Trella and Tom Kaczmarek saw the fight at 97-93 for Brown while Clark Sammartino tabbed Ashley the winner by a score of 96-94. Lisa is now 15-3-3 (4) and retains her International Females Boxers Association Super Bantamweight title, while Ashley goes home at 14-8-1 (1).

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