Rumble at the River: Clampitt – Manfredo – Benfield

Clampitt fighting on for love of sport
Manfredo-Benfield headline Friday night’s “Rumble at the River” at Twin River Event Center, RI

Three-time world champion Jaime “The Hurricane” Clampitt, 2007 Canadian Female Fighter of the Year, defends her IWBF lightweight crown against GBU junior welterweight title-holder Belinda “Brown Sugar” Larcuente in Friday night’s 10-round co-feature on “Rumble at the River,” part of “The Budweiser Night at the Fights,” at Twin River Events Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

World super middleweight challenger “The Pride of Providence” Peter Manfredo, Jr. (28-5, 13 KOs) and Shane “The Irish Hitman” Benfield (17-1, 9 KOs) headline in the 10-round main event.

Boxing warriors from the past, Vinny Paz and “Irish” Micky Ward, are serving as honorary captains of Team Italy and Team Ireland, respectively, for the Italian-Irish themed “Rumble at the River” pro boxing show, promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc., in association with Twin River, Budweiser and Tournament of Contenders.

Clampitt (18-4-1, 7 KOs), fighting out of Cranston (RI), has become a fitness instructor/coach, but she continues to fight because she truly enjoys boxing. “I love this sport,” Jaime explained. “If I didn’t have passion for boxing I wouldn’t be doing it. Females don’t make millions of dollars doing this, so we have to love what we do. The day I don’t feel this way is the day I retire. I have a lot of new fans from the Battleground Gym (E. Greenwich, RI), where I train amateurs, people wanting to stay fit, those who want to lose weight, etc. They are very supportive of me and my career and follow me to where I fight.”

Larcuente’s (23-21-3, 9 KOs), deceiving record doesn’t note, at least on paper, that 21 of her last 22 bouts, dating back nearly five years, have been against world champions, including 10 world title fights.

“I know I have a tough fight on March 14,” Clampitt said. “Belinda just went the distance against the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in woman’s boxing, Holly Holm. She brings a lot of experience and is capable of pulling off an upset in any fight. Some of her losses and draws should have been wins because Belinda fights in everybody’s backyard. She’s been in with everybody and knows what she’s doing. I plan to defend my title with a big win.”

Benfield is coming from South Carolina to upset Manfredo in his hometown. “Fans are going to see a blast from the past,” Benfield promised. “All of that talk up there about me being a tune-up for Manfredo is BS. I hope he did more than change the tires and clean the windows. If he didn’t train hard enough he’s going to get his butt kicked.”

A pair of power-punching, fan favorites — USBA No. 4 super middleweight Joey “KO Kid” Spina (20-1-1, 15 KOs), of Providence, and Lowell (MA) light heavyweight “Irish” Joey McCreedy (6-1, 4 KOs) — are on the undercard in separate six-round bouts. Spina squares off against Henry Mayes (6-4-1, 3 KOs), while McCreedy tangles with Tommie Speller (4-2, 3 KOs).

Stoughton (MA) cruiserweight Chris McInerney (9-1-1, 6 KOs) meets former New England title-holder Tim “The Hammer” Flamos (19-4-1, 7 KOs), of Brockton, in a six-round rematch of a fight McInerney won by sixth round TKO last December.

Undefeated Russian middleweight Andre Nevsky (3-0, 3 KOs), of Worcester (MA), faces Eric Pinarreta (2-1, 2 KOs), of New Bedford (MA), in a four-round match. Undefeated Lynn (MA) flyweight Isander Beauchamp (3-0) takes on Gabriel Cruz (2-1), while Pawtucket junior welterweight Diego Pereira makes his pro debut against Felix “The Joker” Fernandes (4-7, 2 KOs). All fights and fighters are subject to change.

Manfredo, Spina, Flamos and Pinarreta are on Paz’ Team Italy; Benfield, Clampitt, McInerney and McCreedy are captained by Ward on Team Ireland.

Tickets for “Rumble at the River” are priced at $35.00 (ADA stage seating only), $40.00, $50.00, (Bronze), $75.00 (Silver), $100.00 (Gold) and $150.00 (Jimmy’s Platinum Club) and may be purchased by calling CES (401.724.2253/2254), going on line at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, at the Twin River Event Center (100 Twin River Road, Lincoln, RI), or any TicketMaster location. Contact CES (401.724.2253/2254/www.cesboxing.com) or Twin River Events Center (877.82.RIVER/ www.twinriver.com) for more information. Doors open at 6 PM/ET, first bout at 7 PM/ET.

(Twin River has waived its 18+ rule for “Rumble at the River.” Anybody under the age of 18 must be accompanied at all times by an adult and they must enter through the West entrance.)