CES Boxing: Spina, Del Valle Fight To Draw At Mohegan Sun

World rated light heavyweight Joey “KO Kid” Spina (25-1-2, 17 KOs) and former world champion Lou “Honey Boy” Del Valle (36-6-2 (22 KOs) fourth to a 10 round majority draw tonight in the main event on the “Fright Night At The Sun” card, presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc., at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Del Valle won on one judge’s scorecard, 97-93, but the other judges had it even, 95-95. If Spina had won the final round he would have gotten the decision.

“I thought it was a nice win,” Del Valle said after the fight. “I lost 60 pounds in five weeks. Give me six weeks and I would have knocked him out. I was sluggish, not rusty. I hurt my right and my left was numb the whole fight. If he’s rated 12, I should be 10. I wasn’t planning on fighting.

“I trained Tony Grano for his last fight (win vs. Travis Kaufman). When they asked me if I’d take this fight at 181m I set let’s go. I want a rematch with Spina and then we’ll go from there. I’ll do it at 175 but give me two months.”

“I thought it was fine,” Spina commented about the draw. “I just couldn’t get off like I wanted. He’s a slick fighter. He was very frustrating. I thought I hit him with the better punches, but I couldn’t get close enough. I’d hit him, he’d grab and the ref wouldn’t let us fight. He’s a tough, experienced guy.”

In the co-feature, undefeated lightweight “Hammerin’” Hank Lundy (16-0-1, 10 KOs) made a strong statement by stepping up in class and not missing a beat. The reigning UBC light welterweight champion fought as a lightweight again and kept rolling with a first-round TKO win against Aldo “El Pato” Valtierra (25-12, 13 KOs).

Lundy caught Valtierra with an explosive left hook that dropped the game Mexican (25-12, 13 KOs), who was unable to get to his feet before the referee counted to 10 near the end of round one. Valtierra suffered his second stoppage in 37 pro fights, the first coming in 11 rounds.

“I tell everybody the hard work is done in the gym,” Lundy explained. “My sparring partners gave me good work. I did what my corner told me – sat-down on my punches and took my time. When they’re in there with ‘Hammerin’ Hank — my speed and power — once they get hit it’s a wreck and the fight is over.

“This says I’m ready for anybody from 135 to 140 – Timothy Bradley, any of the Peterson brothers, anybody in the world. If they think they’re man enough, call ‘The Hammer.’ I’m not playing. I gave out the punishment and got right out of there. “

Unbeaten Hartford middleweight David Bauza (3-0, 3 KOs) teed-off against overmatched Vaughn Anderson (0-2) from the opening bell until the match was halted less than 2-minutes into the first round. “This was my best fight so far as a pro,” Bauza noted. “Little by little, I’ve been working with my trainer, Luis Rosa, to correct the little things.”

2008 U.S. Olympian Sadam “World Kid” Ali (4-0, 2 KOs) was impressive once again, outclassing fellow Bronx welterweight Osvaldo Rivera (2-2-1, 1 KO) en route to a victory by a unanimous 4-round decision. “I don’t there I had ring rust, it was more his eight and him moving and not staying in there with me,” Ali commented. “I know I can do better. He knew how to use his defense after he got hit.”

Quincy (MA) lightweight Ryan “The Polish Prince” Kielczewski (6-0, 2 KOs) won a thrilling 4-round unanimous decision versus a slick Israel Suarez (2-3) in a back-and-forth bout.

Long Island light heavyweight Joe “The Irish Bomber” Smith, Jr., 2008 New York Golden Gloves champion, went into his pro debut advertised as a heavy hitter and he lived up to his advance billing, slamming David Brown (0-1) with a straight right, followed a barrage of hard punches that resulted in the bout being stopped late in the opening round. “It felt good,” Smith described his big right that started the damage. “I felt it in my hand, saw his eyes go back, and my instincts took over.”

Hartford super lightweight Edwin Soto improved to 2-0 by way of a 4-round majority decision against Deroy Beaton (1-1).

The show was taped live and will air in December on NESN with Pat Sullivan handling blow-by-blow duties and 5-time world champion Vinny Paz as color commentator. Go to www.cesboxing.com for the schedule when it’s announced in a few weeks.