Ringside Boxing Report: Peter Manfredo Jr – David Banks
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Fresh off his 9th round TKO of Ted Muller, “The Pride of Providenceâ€, Peter Manfredo Jr. (28-4 13 KO) was back in action against David Banks. Since gaining world wide recognition while taking part in The Contender Manfredo has put together some solid victories against quality opposition, besting Scott Pemberton, Joe Spina and Ted Muller all by TKO. The lone blemish on his post Contender record coming against the current World Super Middleweight Champ and one of the best Pound for Pound fighters going in Joe Calzaghe. Tonight’s fight with Banks will mark the third time in less than three months that Manfredo will step into the ring, a schedule that looks as though it has begun to take a toll on him.
David Banks enters the contest with an impressive record of 14-1-1 (2). His last two fights resulted in victories over highly touted prospect Elvin Ayala. Banks can be a difficult fighter to solve, he possesses very quick hands, good defense and a solid chin, all of which he would demonstrate against Manfredo tonight.
Manfredo was an overwhelming crowd favorite as the Fox Theatre at Foxwoods Resort & Casino was rocking when he made his entrance. Along with the crowd support Peter had a bunch of fellow fighters including Contender favorites Jesse Brinkley, Gary Balletto and current Cruiserweight title contender Matt Godfrey pulling for a Manfredo victory.
The night didn’t start well for Manfredo who had trouble dealing with Banks’s speed. Banks controlled the early and middle parts of the first round by keeping Manfredo off balance with good movement and quick hands. Manfredo rallied late landing some powerful shots to close the round.
At the start of round 2 Manfredo seemed to have found a way to offset Banks’s speed with well timed counters and heavy right hands. Just as Manfredo looked poised for a solid round Banks rallied and stole the second half. Banks speed is really giving Manfredo fits.
After scoring the first round for Banks and the second round a draw Manfredo pounded out four straight rounds on my card. In rounds three through six Manfredo fought the perfect fight constantly pressuring Banks and banging at his body. Banks quickness, which early on looked like it could be the key to the fight, was slowly fading along with his chances for victory. Manfredo is the constant aggressor backing Banks up and using his strength to zap Banks’s speed that was causing him so many problems in the early rounds.
Manfredo and Banks traded rounds for the final four on my card to close out the fight. In round 7 David banks may have had his best round of the fight. While he never really had Manfredo in trouble he completely dominated the action. Banks stunned Manfredo with a constant attack of short flurries that almost all found their mark. Manfredo managed to land an occasional stinger but to do so he had to walk through multiple shots from Banks.
If nothing else the 8th round showed us that Banks possesses a very sturdy chin. His quick hands again went missing while Manfredo lobbed overhand rights at Banks who absorbed the shots well but ate them frequently.
Amazingly after such a dominant round for Manfredo, Banks came right back to capture the 9th. In one of the slowest rounds of the evening Banks sticks and moves, puzzling Manfredo at times and capitalizing on his opponents’ aggression. Banks sticks some nice counters and slips Manfredo’s attack.
The final round of the evening was sloppy but exciting with both men swinging wildly and not doing a whole lot of damage. Banks appeared to have a slight edge in volume of punches thrown, but Manfredo’s shots carried more weight and found their target more often in round 10. Banks looked drained and nowhere near as quick as the guy who began the fight.
Peter Manfredo scores a Unanimous Decision victory over a tough David Banks. All three judges scored the fight 97-93. My scorecard read 97-94 with the second round being a draw.
Manfredo looked battered and bruised following the fight. He addressed the media and expressed a need to step away from the sport for a while. He stated that his heavy workload and countless hours of training have left him needing a break from boxing and sick of the sport. Jeff Lacy was ringside and a speculated match up between “Left Hook†or Alan Green may be in the works.
Cruiserweight prospect Aaron Williams remained undefeated and made a name for himself with an incredible knockout sending his opponent Deleon Tinsley through the ropes. Williams’s knockout of Tinsley landed him on ESPN’s top 10 plays and improves his record to 13-0-1 (9). With the loss Tinsley falls to 7-2-1 (5). Williams is a slick, strong fighter who has all the makings of a future title contender.
Damon Antoine hands Gerry Grealish his first loss. Antoine scored a Unanimous Decision win in this four round fight. Consequently I scored the fight 39-37 in favor of Grealish but the rounds were close and the decision was not a horrible one. Antoine improves to 6-11-1 (3) while Grealish falls to 6-1 (4).
In another one of the evenings stunning knockouts Jarrod Tillinghast knocked Hillario Santiago out cold. Santiago was eventually removed from the ring in a stretcher. Tillinghast runs his unbeaten record to 9-0 (4).
Jamie Clampitt came out on top against grizzled veteran Jane Couch. Clampitt improves to 18-4-1 (7) while Couch falls to 28-10 (9).
Angel Camacho Jr. is victorious over John Terry. Camacho Jr. remains undefeated and runs his record to 7-0 (4). Terry falls to 2-6 (1).
Henry Lundy and Addy Irizarry both scored TKO victories against Devarise Crayton and Domesha Allen respectively. Lundy improves to 7-0 (5), Irizarry improves to 2-1 (2) while Crayton falls to 4-3 (0) and Allen to 0-3 (0).
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