Rhode Island boxing icon Peter Manfredo Jr., "The Pride of Providence," returns to the ring Saturday, November 23rd at the Twin River Casino Hotel in his home state. Fighting for the first time since 2016, Manfredo Jr. (40-7-1, 21 KOs) faces "The Romantic Redneck" Melvin Russell (11-7-2, 7 KOs) of Kentucky in a ten-round light heavyweight bout. [Manfredo's prime was at junior middleweight. He is now 38 years old; Russell, age 40, has lost four straight]. UFC Fight Pass will broadcast.
Tickets for the event are available online at www.cesboxing.com, and www.showclix.com or by phone at 401-724-2253.
Manfredo Jr., born and raised in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Providence, returns to the Ocean State, where he's fought 22 times since making his professional debut at Rhode Island's historic Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet in 2000. Manfredo Jr. also helped launch Twin River's Event Center in 2007, knocking out veteran Ted Muller in the main event of the casino's first live combat sports event.
Nineteen years and more than 100 shows later, Twin River is once again home to "The Pride of Providence," who hopes to improve upon his unbeaten record of 7-0-1 at the venue. One of Rhode Island's most accomplished fighters in this, or any, era, Manfredo Jr. is a former IBO middleweight champion who rose to fame on Season 1 of The Contender reality television series. He became a household name on the show following his win over Alfonso Gomez in 2005 and later went toe-to-toe twice with Sergio Mora and challenged Joe Calzaghe and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for world titles.
Fighting just a stone's throw from where he grew up in Federal Hill, Manfredo Jr. returned to the Ocean State in 2006 following his run on The Contender and dazzled fans at The Dunkin' Donuts Center with knockout wins over regional standouts Scott Pemberton and Joey Spina, arguably the most dominant stretch of his career. In 2012, he returned to Twin River with an impressive win over veteran Rayco Saunders and then honored lifetime friend and fellow Rhode Island legend Gary Balletto a year later with a knockout win over in-state rival Rich Gingras, wearing Balletto's trunks to the ring just four months after Balletto was paralyzed in an accident at his home.
The legend continues November 23rd as Manfredo Jr. returns to write the next chapter in his storied career, his first bout since May of 2016 when he and "Mr. Providence" Vladine Biosse fought to a draw in the highly-publicized "Battle for the Capital" at Twin River.
"This is going to be a night to remember," said CES Boxing president Jimmy Burchfield Sr., who helped launch Manfredo Jr.'s pro career nearly two decades ago. "The Homecoming King is back! What could be better than the return of living legend Peter Manfredo Jr. on combat sports' No. 1 streaming platform? The beautiful Twin River Casino Event Center is the place to be November 23rd. The crowd noise will be deafening and many of our sport's young stars will get the opportunity to share the ring with a true legend -- a fighter, father and husband who they look up to as a role model. You cannot miss this event!"
