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Fists Fly in Salem!

March 17, 2007

The city of Salem, New Hampshire, was buried in snow, as the New England region got slammed with a late season Nor'easter, but the boxing action inside Rockingham Park certainly helped warm the hearts of area fight fans. Art Pellulo's Banner Promotions' seven-bout card gave those who endured the treacherous weather conditions plenty to cheer about.

The bouts also represented the return of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights to Salem for the first time since "Irish" Micky Ward scored a tenth round TKO victory over Reggie Green back in October 1999.

Aiken - Carvajal Fight to a Draw

Eric Aiken (16-5-1, 12 KOs) waited until early today to find out that he would be fighting Cruz Carvajal (28-13-2, 24 KOs) in tonight's main event. His originally slated opponent, Valdemir Pereira, was unable to fight due to unclear results in his pre-fight medical screening.

However, Aiken wasted no time in jumping on Pereira's late replacement, as he started off the bout with a dominant first round, during which he landed some tremendous power-punches and even appeared to have Carvajal in some serious trouble. A mouthpiece on the canvas, which surprisingly belonged to Aiken, forced a halt in the action, and gave the former WBO Bantamweight Champ, Carvajal, a brief moment to recover from the initial onslaught.

In the second round Carvajal made Aiken very much aware of the fact that he was not going anywhere. Carvajal continuously trapped the taller Aiken on the ropes, where he fired away with some vicious left uppercuts and hooks to the head and body. Carvajal continued a similar onslaught in the third stanza, working Aiken over when he had his back against the ropes, and landing some big right hands when the former IBF champ moved the fight to the center of the ring.

In the fourth, both fighters dished out and received some big punches, in a round that featured as many ebbs and flows as a boxing match could offer. The rest of the fight continued in much of the same fashion, with both fighters engaging in one brutal exchange after another. Carvajal, the much more experienced of the two, however, appeared to gain the upper hand in the middle rounds, as he began to take control of the action with combination punching to both the head and body of Aiken.

Aiken, who would have been partaking in an IBF title eliminator bout had Pereira been cleared to fight, refused to let Carvajal's momentum carry on any further, and regained control of the bout in the latter rounds. The two continued on, to the final bell, the same way the fight began; with heavy-handed exchanges that were as fierce as the weather conditions outside.

The crowd rose to its feet, as the bell sounded to end the tenth and final round, to show their appreciation for the incredible effort the two warriors put forth. That same crowd had very mixed reactions when the judges’ scorecards were announced and the fight was ruled a draw. Judges at ringside scored the bout as follows: John Stephen 96-95 Aiken, Mike Nolin 96-94 Carvajal, and Tim Finnegan 96-96.

LeHoullier Victorious in Ring Return

The evening's co-feature bout saw hometown hero Jason "The Hammer" LeHoullier make his much-anticipated ring return, following a 10-month-layoff. LeHoullier (21-0, 8 KOs), also known as "The Pride of the Granite State", earned a unanimous decision victory over journeyman Martinus Clay (12-14-2, 4 KOs).

Clay, the veteran fighter that he is, came to fight, however, LeHoullier's accuracy, and power punches to both the body and the head were difficult to miss. "He's a very tough guy," stated LeHoullier. “I hit him with some big shots, but he took 'em. I've been out of the ring for a bit, but we worked hard and I felt real good in there.”

Clay did manage to fare well in the third round, but that was about the extent of his success on this night, as LeHoullier forced the action to take place on the inside, which is right where he wanted to be.

LeHoullier, who just signed with Banner Promotions, also utilized some good head movement throughout the 8-round affair, thus negating any advantage Clay may have had when the action was at a distance.

Judges at ringside scored the fight 80-72, 79-74, and 79-73 for LeHoullier.

Gilbert Venegas TKO 3 Ed Paredes

Moline, Illinois' Gilbert Venegas (10-4-2, 7 KOs) scored the lone upset of the evening with

a surprising third-round technical-knockout win over Ed Paredes (11-2, 7 KOs).

Paredes controlled the action in the first two rounds, with an extremely inactive Venegas rarely landing a punch. However, Venegas more than made up for his aforementioned lack of activity, when he suddenly unloading on Paredes midway through the third of a scheduled six-round junior middleweight bout. Paredes was in some serious trouble, when Venegas landed a few more big punches, thus prompting referee Dave Greenwood to step in and halt the action.

The time of the stoppage was 1:59 of round three.

Eddie Camanero TKO 2 Bobby McAndrews

Lawrence, Massachusetts, junior middleweight Eddie Camanero (1-0, 1 KO) made a successful pro debut, scoring a second-round TKO win over fellow Massachusetts native Bobby McAndrews (3-6-1, 2 KOs).

McAndrews, who took the bout on a week's notice, and entered the bout off a first round TKO loss at the hands of former world title challenger, Israel "Pito" Cardona, simply couldn't withstand the power of the younger Camanero. Camanero dropped McAndrews to the canvas in the closing seconds of the second round, and McAndrews was unable to get back to his feet before referee Vic Gamel reached the count of ten. Time of the stoppage was 2:58 or the second round.

Denise Moses UD 4 Lee Ann Villareal

In the final fight of the evening, "Mighty" Denise Moses was forced to go the distance for

the first time in her professional career (5-0, 4 KOs), yet earned an easy four-round unanimous decision victory over New Mexico's Lee Ann Villareal.

Moses showed little signs of ring rust in her first fight since November 2005, dominating Villareal (1-11-1, 1 KO) from bell to bell. The power-punching Moses had Villareal in trouble on several occasions, but the resilient Villareal always managed to fire back with some big punches of her own, in a crowd-pleasing featherweight bout.

Judges at ringside all scored the action 40-36 in favor of Moses.

Sean Eklund UD 4 Jeff Farmer

In the opening bout of the evening, Lowell, Massachusetts' Sean Eklund (3-2) scored a unanimous decision victory over Des Moine, Iowa's Jeff Farmer (1-6).

In the first round, an accidental clash of heads resulted in a cut over the left eye of Eklund. The cut wound up being a non-factor in the bout, thanks to work performed by Eklund's cutman Jerry Colton.

Eklund utilized a snappy jab and some flush left hooks to control the first two rounds. In rounds three and four Eklund began to open up with his right hand as well, catching the durable Farmer with some flush shots. The fourth round was a big one for Eklund as his conditioning, compliments of the work he's put in with his uncle/trainer Micky Ward, paid dividends, and Eklund made certain an decision to be rendered would undoubtedly be in his favor.

Farmer was hurt by a straight right hand from Eklund, but managed to fight valiantly until the final bell.

Judges at ringside scored the bout 40-36, 40-37, and 39-37 in favor of Eklund.