Melson Hits the Jackpot; Knocks out Lugo in Three!

Atlantic City, NJ (December 20, 2011) - Captain Boyd “Rainmaker” Melson of New York City scored his seventh victory in as many bouts following a sensational knockout of Daniel Lugo last Saturday evening at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.

The West Point graduate outboxed his hard charging opponent over the first two frames, landing cleanly to both the body and head. In the third, Melson dominated Lugo, before unloading a straight left followed by a hard right hook which put him down for the count at 2:01. However, his most powerful moment inside the ring succeeded the bout.

After being declared the winner, Melson took the microphone and notified the crowd that he’s donating his entire purse to Justadollarplease.org in support of America’s first Clinical Trial using Umbilical Cord Cells. His post fight speech, which details how the trial could aid millions of Americans with severe Spinal Cord Injuries, clearly moved those in attendance.

He shared for the first time that the trial was scheduled to take place in January at Austin, TX’s Brackenridge Hospital, but unfortunately had to be rescheduled for the summer because of insufficient funds. Melson closed his speech by sharing that he’d continue donating his future fight purses to assist the trial.

Upon receiving applause from the audience, Melson responded with “your clapping is nice, but I don’t need claps…I need you to go to teamfighttowalk.com, click on the link to donate to justadollarplease.org and give one dollar.”

Fans quickly made their way over to Melson and made donations to help support the trial.

“This was a night I’ll never forget,” said Melson. “With the help of Johnson and Johnson matching my donations 2:1 after every single purse donated, I’ve raised about $30,000. “With the knockout punch and support of those in attendance, I feel like I hit the jackpot twice.”

Melson’s next bout is scheduled for January 21 at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom.

In association with Justadollarplease, Melson created Team Fight to Walk, whose mission is to raise awareness within the boxing community about the importance of stem cell research for spinal cord injuries. Team Fight to Walk is comprised of Melson, former two-time cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, title contender DeAndre “The Bull” Latimore, Edgar “El Chamaco” Santana, Hector Camacho Jr., 2008 US Olympian Shawn Estrada, and prospects Sid “The Messenger” El Harrak, Denis “Da Momma’s Boy” Douglin, Frank Galarza, Vinny “The Lion” O’Brien, Ahmed “Prince of Egypt” Samir and Delen “Sniper” Parsley.

For more information or to make a donation, go to teamfighttowalk.com or Justadollarplease.org.