Press Release: As previously reported by Boxingtalk, the last significant show of 2005 will take place on December 30 at The Mountaineer Racetrack & Gaming Resort in Chester, West Virginia. The main event will feature Monty Meza-Clay (18-0, 12 KOs) of Rankin, Pa. vs. Shamir Reyes (18-4-2, 7 KOs) of Brooklyn, NY., in a twelve-round junior lightweight bout. Today it was announced that 2004 Olympian Devin Vargas and undefeated junior middleweight Joe Wyatt were added to an undercard that already included Brian Minto and Verquan Kimbrough.
The always exciting Meza-Clay is coming off an exciting fifth-round stoppage of Jefferson Rodriguez on November 23, also at Mountaineer. Rodriguez brought in a professional record of 21-6 and had previously gone the distance with current WBA champion Vicente Mosquera. The first four rounds against Mesa-Clay were back-and-forth, with Meza-Clay trying to get on the inside and bang with his taller opponent and Rodriguez throwing several unanswered shots. But, the unbeaten Pittsburgh area contender landed an overhand right that floored his opponent. Rodriguez would rise, only to be floored again, causing referee Steve Allred to halt the contest at 1:53 of the round.
Reyes, a 24-year-old southpaw, earned the main event slot with a first-round TKO over Luis Antonio Arceo on July 23 at The Orleans in Las Vegas. Arceo was favored in the contest and had a 19-1-2 overall record, but was stunned by an early attack by Reyes. At 2:47, referee Tony Weeks stopped the contest and Reyes had a first-round victory over the once beaten Arceo. Reyes also has previous decision wins over Gerald Gray (17-9-1) and Ivan Valle (20-3-1).
The undercard will feature Brian "The Beast" Minto (22-1, 13 KOs) of Butler, PA vs Troy "Country Boy" Weida (44-20-2, 31 KOs) of Kewanee, Ill. Minto is coming off a second-round KO of Forrest Neal (16-7) at Mountaineer. Prior to that, Minto had a TKO victory over arch rival Vinnie Maddalone on an HBO Pay Per View contest. Weida's biggest wins have consisted of a TKO over 18-5-1 George Lindberger and a TKO over 9-2 prospect Grant Cudjoe.
Verquan Kimbrough (14-0-1, 7 KOs) of Aliquippa, Pa. will battle Ricky Alexander (5-2-1). A former U.S. amateur star, Kimbrough received a head butt in the first round of his last fight from Juan Matias (8-3) that caused an eye cut that would eventually require five stitches. When ringside physician Steve Mascio considered stopping the bout upon examination, Kimbrough asked if he could finish the round. Within 20 seconds, Matias was floored by an explosive right hand and was unable to continue.
Other contests on the card include undefeated junior middleweight Joe Wyatt (22-0, 14 KOs) vs. Roland Cummings (22-24-3, KOs), 2004 U.S. Olympian Heavyweight Devin Vargas (7-0, 4 KOs) vs. Ed Perry (6-1, 3 knockouts), heavyweights Nicolai Firtha (8-1-1, 4 KOs) vs. Otis Mills (4-2, 3 KOs), female favorite Leslee "Long Play" Perella (4-1) of Pittsburgh vs Terry Blair (6-9-1) of Ashland, Ken., and the return of Brian "Mountain Man" Thacker vs. an opponent to be named.
The event begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are priced $125 for platinum, $60 for gold, $40 for reserved and $20 general admission and are available at all Ticketmaster locations and onsite at Mountaineer's Roarin 20's Players club in the Downtown Speakeasy.
