Calzaghe Wins; Manfredo Stops Spina
Peter Manfredo Jr. (27-3), a graduate of season one of The Contender, scored his most impressive win to date with a third-round stoppage of Joey Spina (19-1-1) to settle a crosstown rivalry in front of a pro-Manfredo crowd in Providence, RI. Manfredo outclassed the physically-larger Spina from the opening bell - rocking the wide-punching Spina in the second before dropping him and then finishing him in the third. Manfredo and his father (his former trainer) showed no class in getting in Spina's face after the stoppage but there's no longer any doubt who is the true "Pride of Providence". Rumors are circulating that Manfredo's next bout will be on January 20 against Roy Jones Jr. While a prime Roy Jones Jr. would have picked Manfredo apart, the former pound-for-pound king is sufficiently past his prime that this could actually be an interesting bout.
Comments
Calzaghe fought an unranked boxer who had a TD with then WBC champ Beyer. His #1 WBO contender Markussen was stopped on the same night on Denmark show that Kessler added the WBC title to his WBA title and is calling out Kessler who seems to mention everybody but him. Manfredo looked good in stopping Spina who has had his share of gift decisions (Daniels and Spearman) so the judges would not be involved. Green and Ravelo was a wrestling match. Both could have been disqualifed.
Manfredo is looking better all the time. Contender proved to be a good show, and produce a worthy boxer. As far as Calzaqhe, I think the three guys listed could all beat him. Least likely though I’d say Taylor, he better be picky who he fights next, cause his time to fall is very near.Winky would take his titles.
Manfredo / Calzaghe might prove to be an interesting match, however the slight edge in experience would have to go to Calzaghe. Should Manfredo come in well trained and tight, it could be an interesting show.
The Spina / Manfredo fight was ‘no-win’ fight for Peter. He had everything to lose and nothing to gain by taking this fight. Spina shot his mouth off about being the “contender killer” after pulling off a late round TKO of Brinkley– who by the way just happened to be ahead on all cards and in my humble opinion was giving Spina a boxing lesson. Spina is still a young fighter and perhaps has a future should he cultivate his skills- time will tell here. As far as Manfredo and his father showing ‘no class’ after the fight, this was an unfair statement. The fight was ‘hyped’ with Spina making inflaming statements about both Manfredo and his family. This is how tickets are sold and events promoted. Manfredo’s report card on that particular evening was perfect. He got the job done neatly and disposed of Spina pretty impressively.
Boxing writers should stick to the “facts” of the boxing game, rather than making character assaults.
Best of Luck to both Spina and Manfredo.