Spadafora wins

**NuthaPug** · 11-24-2006 11:17 PM

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be in attendance.

a quote from http://www.erieblogs.com/:

Paul "The Pittsburgh Kid" Spadafora won by TKO at 2 minutes, 7 seconds of the fifth round over Jesus Francisco Zepeda at the 22nd annual Erie Boxing Classic held last night at the Avalon Hotel ballroom in front a standing room only crowd of 1,153. Spadafora (39-0-1), in his first fight since serving a prison sentence for the shooting of his then girlfriend, cut Zepeda over the right eye in the first round and sailed to the win. The former IBF world lightweight champion should next fight again in December or January.

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http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/23112006/...rth-round.html
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I can't seem to find a lot of info out there re: JFZ

ICB · 11-24-2006 11:18 PM

whoever see this fight did he look impressive ??

**NuthaPug** · 11-24-2006 11:22 PM

Originally Posted by ICE COLD BOXING

whoever see this fight did he look impressive ??

One of my co-workers went ... he's not really a boxing fan, just went for fun. I'll ask him what he thought. He would certainly be able to tell, at least, if Spadafora appeared dominant throughout.

**CutMeMick** · 11-24-2006 11:30 PM

I'm liking what I;m reading and hearing about Spad I think if he can get his shet! together and focus he can very well get back in the mix and raise a belt.....

**El Gamo** · 11-25-2006 01:43 AM

He wants PBF or Cotto next!

**atomic bull** · 11-25-2006 02:02 AM

Is he fighting at welterweight now? I guess that prison food put weight on him.

**Wacko3205** · 11-25-2006 04:00 AM

Love Spaddy.

I just hope that he's back & stays clean.

Super talented gent...I'd like to think that he can make a comeback & do something meaningful with his life.

**BrooklyniteQueen** · 11-25-2006 04:23 AM

Originally Posted by wacko3205

Love Spaddy.

I just hope that he's back & stays clean.

Super talented gent...I'd like to think that he can make a comeback & do something meaningful with his life.

He's not good outside the ring unfortunately

I liked Spadafora, but he needs to get his life together outside of the ring.

Maybe that part of his life is the dark cloud and right now he's headed to the silver lining.

But most people from Pitt I talked to before Spadafora went to jail said he was a disgrace who would get wasted and piss on peoples lawns

**NuthaPug** · 11-25-2006 07:52 AM

Well, now he's living in Erie - a short couple hours from Pittsburgh, but apparently putting out an effort to live clean, train hard and find a different life than all that. He intentionally removed himself from Pittsburgh to give himself a better chance at that.

Not saying much to say that he's seen the light - lots of folks see the light, and find their way back to the shadows. That psycho-social gravity thing.

Here's wishing him well.

**NuthaPug** · 11-26-2006 06:11 PM

http://www.examiner.com/a-415691~Spa...ack_fight.html

ERIE, Pa. - Paul Spadafora scored a fifth-round technical knockout over Jesus Francisco Zepeda in his ring return Wednesday night at the 22nd Erie Boxing Classic.

It was the first fight for Spadafora (39-0-1), the former International Boxing Federation lightweight champion, after serving a sentence split between Camp Hill Penitentiary and a prison-style boot camp for the October 2003 shooting of his girlfriend outside a gas station in McKees Rocks.

His last fight was in April 2004.

Spadafora, known as the "Pittsburgh Kid," entered the ring in white trunks with blue trim with the nickname "Comeback Kid." He has traditionally worn black and gold trunks.

Spadafora opened a cut above Zepeda's right eye in the first round of the scheduled 10-round bout and used a sharp right jab to bloody his opponent. Instead of his customary defensive strategy, Spadafora didn't slip and dip but stood at the center of the ring and used his jab to keep Zepeda at bay.

The fight was stopped shortly after Zepeda (16-4), of Shelbyville, Ind., was examined by a ringside doctor for excessive bleeding. Spadafora then caught Zepeda with a straight right to the jaw, momentarily stunning him before referee Rick Steigerwald stopped the contest.

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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_481130.html

ERIE - Instead of wearing his customary black and gold trunks, Paul Spadafora wore white with blue trim and emblazoned with a new nickname: The Comeback Kid.

It wasn't long before the McKees Rocks boxer's trunks were splattered with the blood of Jesus Francisco Zepeda, who endured razor-sharp right jabs before succumbing to Spadafora's straight left at 2:07 of the fifth round by technical knockout Wednesday night at the 22nd Erie Boxing Classic before 1,200 at the Avalon Hotel.

Spadafora (39-0-1) fought with precision in his return to the ring after a 2 1/2-year layoff that included a 13-month prison sentence for the October 2003 shooting of his girlfriend.

"I felt great," Spadafora said. "Physically, I felt awesome. Mentally, I felt even better. I just felt great. I felt very confident. It felt so good to get back."

It was the first fight since July 2004 for the former International Boxing Federation lightweight champion, who relinquished his title and moved up to the 140-pound junior welterweight division. The fight came at a catch weight, as Spadafora weighed in at 141 1/2 pounds and Zepeda (16-4), of Shelbyville, Ind., at 139 1/2.

Spadafora, a southpaw, used his right jab as if it were a scalpel to open a cut above Zepeda's right eye in the first round. Spadafora worked the cut the next three rounds, straying from his slip-and-dip style by standing at the center of the ring and controlling the fight.

"I started using my jab," Spadafora said. "Things started opening up. He started to open up. I didn't know it was going to be that bad because I started opening his other side up, too."

In the second and third rounds, Spadafora started throwing combinations. He followed the jab with a hard right hook to the body, then a left cross. He combined a right jab with a left hook, then slipped a punch and threw an uppercut.

"I started getting the rhythm back," Spadafora said. "I waited and drew him in. I wasn't too far away. I was letting him think I was going to punch when I wasn't.

"That's my style. I'm not a big puncher. I like to move and hit 'em from different angles."

Zepeda, however, was a game opponent. He and Spadafora traded blows after the fourth-round bell, and Spadafora landed a right uppercut seconds after it rang.

In the fifth, Zepeda's bleeding worsened and referee Rick Steigerwald stopped the action to have a ringside doctor inspect the cut. Moments later, Spadafora opened a cut near the left eye then threw a straight right to the jaw that stunned Zepeda before Steigerwald stopped the contest. "I thought he was out," Spadafora said. "I thought it was over. I wanted to do it the right way."

**NuthaPug** · 11-29-2006 05:06 AM

My co-worker didn't stay for the Spadafora fight. It was oversold by 400 tickets and standing room only, and he watched a couple fights and went searching for beer that had a seat along with it.

But he did talk to a gal who worked at the Avalon ... picture a 5-ft slight asian woman. Spunky. She's checking Spadafora in to his room before the fight, but didn't know who he was. He makes some sort of smart remark, and she, being the spunky one that she is, says, "I'll knock you out!" He says, "What?" She says again, "I'll knock you out!"

"You must not know who I am," says Spadafora.

She replies, "I don't care who you are. I'll knock you out!"

It wasn't until fight time that she found out who she had been threatening.

Glad it stuck to a war of words only, or we might be seeing a 38-1-1 record for Spadafora.