Melson to face Lowry April 27!

New York, NY (April 8, 2013) – Captain Boyd “Rainmaker” Melson will take a step up in competition when he challenges battle-tested Troy “TNT” Lowry in a six round junior middleweight contest Saturday, April 27 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

One of New York’s most popular fighters, Melson fought to a controversial draw last October in the first bout ever at the Barclays Center. Following his bout in October, Melson, 10-1-1 (4 KO’s), took a much-needed break from boxing after fighting seven times in a twelve month period. Ironically, Melson’s return was initially slated for February, but the entire card was postponed when main event participant Danny Garcia suffered an injury.

“Everybody was telling me that I was killing myself by fighting too often and I didn’t listen,” said Melson, who works full-time for Johnson & Johnson, is an Army Reserve Officer and occasionally teaches fitness courses at Equinox. "I had no idea I had competed 7 times in a 12 month period until it was shared with me after the fact. I did need this rest, but I did not need to rest 6 months. I was ready to come back February 9th for the original scheduled date and I am again ready. I also do not regret fighting as often as I did, even with my last performance being subpar largely do to being burned out. I needed to keep generating money and awareness for this clinical trial to cure Chronic Spinal Cord Injuries, and all of those fights in total, when matched 2:1 by Johnson&Johnson along with being complimented by public donations, resulted in tens of thousands of dollars generated and donated to help fund this clinical trial. With this rest, I feel rejuvenated and better than ever physically.”

One of boxing’s ultimate veterans, Lowry is 28-12 with 17 wins by knockout. The Minneapolis, MN native shared the squared circle with a number of top fighters including future hall of famer Hector Camacho, Vanes Martirosyan, Andy Lee, Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin, Yuri Foreman and Pawel Wolak. Lowry also owns victories over former interim junior middleweight titlist Santiago Samaniego and unbeaten knockout artist Travis Loveless, who was 20-0 with 17 KO’s before meeting Lowry.

“Troy is a classic tough veteran in the sport of professional boxing,” stated Melson. “He has far more experience than anybody I’ve ever fought and this is the kind of test I need. I told my team that I wanted to fight a solid veteran with experience against A-level opposition, and they found a man with 40 professional fights against current contenders and former world champions for me to challenge. Lowry is the exact kind of opponent I was looking for, and I’ve got to look spectacular on the 27th.”

Tickets and merchandise are available on Teamfighttowalk.com. Following the bout, Melson will once again donate his entire fight purse to Justadollarplease.org in support of bringing trials to the United States that could help cure chronic Spinal Cord Injuries.

In association with the 501 (C) 3 nonprofit Justadollarplease.org, Melson and his best friend Christan Zaccagnino created Team Fight to Walk, whose mission is to raise awareness within the boxing community as well as the entire nation about the importance of bringing Clinical Trials to the United States to help cure Spinal Cord Injuries. Team Fight to Walk is comprised of Melson, Zaccagnino, former Rutgers football player/ESPY honoree Eric LeGrand, two-time cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, WBA junior middleweight titlist Austin “No Doubt” Trout, title contender DeAndre “The Bull” Latimore, Edgar “El Chamaco” Santana, Hector “Machito” Camacho Jr., 2008 US Olympians Demetrius “Boo” Andrade and Shawn Estrada along with prospects Sid “The Messenger” El Harrak, Jeff “TNT” Spencer, Denis “Da Momma’s Boy” Douglin, Will “Power” Rosinsky, Floriano “Italiano” Pagliara, Danny “Little Mac” McDermott, 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. All specific questions about the nature of the Clinical Trial to cure Spinal Cord Injury can be sent to boydmelson@yahoo.com.