JA: You had a show this past Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun casino. Tell us how the show went? "The crowd was fantastic; there was a lot of energy in the room. Overall it was a great night of boxing. I was a little bit disappointed in the main event; Rasheem wasn’t throwing punches, that was kind of a let down. Overall with the [Mike] Oliver fight and the rest of the fights were excellent. "

JA: Sounds like it was a great way to start off 2006 with Cappiello promotions.

RC: Yeah it was. I think that Mohegan was very satisfied with the way things turned out. We had about 5,000 at the fight and the place was rocking.

JA: For the people out there that didn’t see Rasheem fight. Can you tell us a little bit about the fight and how he performed in the fight?

RC: I didn’t know what it was but Rasheem wasn’t letting his hands go. It ended up being a lack luster fight with a lot of holding. Thank goodness for the Mike Oliver fight because that fight saved the show. Castulo Gonzalez really came to fight and even though he lost it was still a very good fight. My hat goes off to Castulo and the Rivera brothers because they had there guy ready. Mike just had the ability to out hustle but I am sure that Casulo will be back. Mike is a rising star and a hot prospect and he showed why on Saturday night. This gave Mike the opportunity to get rated really high and I think that this fight lets the people know how good of a fighter Mike really is. He has fought at a high level of opposition and this fight showed how good of a fighter Mike really is.

JA: Were you a little skeptical about putting Mike in there with a tough opponent like Castulo so young in his pro career?

RC: No because to me he has to win fights like the one that he had Saturday night. You’re never going to build fighters unless you out him in with real fights. To get a guy rated you have to put them in tough fights and they have to go out there and perform. I can guide a fighter’s career but some where along the line they have to win a big fight.

JA: Is that the situation with Rasheem?

RC: Exactly. On paper Rasheem was suppose to win this fight. This kid was a kid with less experience, didn’t have a big amateur back ground but a gutsy kid that came to fight. On paper Rasheem was suppose to win this fight and that would have put him in a good position, but he didn’t.

JA: What’s next for Rasheem?

RC: I don’t know. Rasheem has to decide if he wants to continue or not.

JA: It was that bad that he is thinking about stopping?

RC: Yeah.

JA: What do you have planned next for Mike [Oliver]?

RC: I am probley going to have him fight at the casino sometime next month at Foxwoods. I am looking to see where he falls in the ratings after this fight and we will go from there. I am looking at putting him in a co feature on ESPN. I think that with in a year and a half I can get him a title shot.

JA: Tell us some of the fights that were on the undercard.

RC: Eddy Bishop fought Kevin Watts; it was a good local fight. Watts didn’t come out for the 5th round. The opening fight of the night was spectacular we had Lenny Devictoria who was a replacement for Melvin Cumba. Lenny fought and defeated Yamin Mohammad.  Lenny was losing the fight and he came up big in the 4th round with a knockout. Tony Grano fought but the guy he fought wasn’t much and he knocked the guy out in the first round. I am going to be having Tony Grano on my St. Patricks day card.

JA: So your next card will be the St. Patrick’s Day card?

RC: Our next card is going to be at the Roxy in Boston on ESPN. Out main event is going Vince Phillips against Neil Sinclair.

JA: I understand that Kevin McBride has signed with Don King. Would you like to comment on Kevin?

RC: No comment.

JA: Is there anything that you would like to say in closing Rich?

RC: I just want to thank everyone for coming out and watching the fights on Saturday night. We are going to be coming back to the Mohegan sun in late April or early May. 

MORE HERE

Send questions and comments to: aldenjimmy@cox.net