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Providence power-punching light heavyweight contender Joey “KO Kid” Spina won’t be trick or treatin’ this coming Halloween Night.
His goal is to become the first to stop former world champion Lou “Honey Boy” Del Valle within the distance in their Oct. 31st throw-down, headlining “Fright Night At The Sun,” in the 10-round main event at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
“Fright Night At The Sun” is promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc. (CES), in association with Mohegan Sun Casino.
The 32-year-old Spina (25-1-1, 17 KOs), fighting out of Providence, is rated between the top 12 to 15 contenders in each of the four major boxing organizations. “I plan to beat another former champion,” Spina said about Del Valle.
“That should get me rated in the top 10 and position me for a title fight. My goal is to be the first to knock out Del Valle. He’s older now and I don’t think he’ll be able to take the punishment I’m going to give his body. I think I’ll stop him with a body punch, like I did to (Jessie) Brinkley.
“I’m not going to rush in looking for a knockout and leave myself open to get caught. He’s a counter puncher and I like to dictate. I’m going to bang him with right hands and left hooks; I don’t jab too much.”
Del Valle (36-6-1, 22 KOs), a New York southpaw, has never been stopped in 43 pro bouts. He captured the vacant WBA light heavyweight title in 1997, stopping European champion “Fast” Eddy Smulders in the eighth round.
Lou was the first to floor the great Roy Jones, Jr. in their 1998 WBC/WBA unification bout, which Jones won by unanimous 12-round decision. Del Valle also went the distance in three other world title fights in a loss to Virgil Hill and a loss and draw versus Bruno Girard.
“I’ve only fought one left-hander, Carl Daniels, who was another former world champ,” Spina remarked. “He was crafty like Del Valle. I had no experience fighting a southpaw, not even sparring, but I won that fight. I’m getting good southpaw sparring for my fight against Del Valle. He can’t beat my pressure and age certainly is on my side. I
“f I’m in great shape – I will be – he doesn’t have a chance of beating me. I’m very happy with my conditioning and defense. It’s hard to improve those things. I’d like to throw more combinations instead of loading up and throwing one big punch at a time. I didn’t have a lot of amateur experience and I’m still learning.”
New England and Eastern Boxing Association super bantamweight champion “Machine Gun” Mike Oliver (22-2, 7 KOs), of Hartford, takes on upset specialist Andre Wilson (11-3-1, 9 KOs) in the 8-round co-feature.
Also on the undercard in separate four-round bouts are a pair of Connecticut prospects from Puerto Rico, Hartford junior middleweight David Bauza (2-0, 2 KOs) and light welterweight Edwin Soto (1-0, 1 KO) of New Haven.
Unbeaten lightweight Ryan “The Polish Prince” Kielczewski (5-0, 2 KOs), 2008 National Golden Gloves Tournament runner-up from Quincy (MA), and unbeaten Philadelphia lightweight Frank Trader (6-0, 2 KOs) are also scheduled to fight in separate four-round matches. All fights and fighters are subject to change.
Tickets for “Fright Night At The Sun,” priced at $25.00, $45.00 and $75.00, are available to purchase by calling CES (401.724.2253/2254), going online at www.cesboxing.com or at the Mohegan Sun Box Office. T
icketmaster customers may log on to www.ticketmaster.com, call Ticketmaster’s national toll-free charge by phone (1.800.745.3000) or visit any Ticketmaster outlet.
For more information contact CES (401.724.2253/2254/www.cesboxing.com) or Mohegan Sun (www.mohegansun.com ). Doors open at 6:30 PM/ET, first bout at 7:30 PM/ET.
