Shea Willcox KO2 Kadhim Alkhazaali ... The two newest members of Granite Chin Promotions’ (GCP) roster, undefeated junior welterweight “Showtime” Shea Willcox and middleweight Rich Allen both turned in knockout wins for a sold-out crowd on Friday night at the Bridgewater Veterans Club in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Willcox, age 23, has successfully parlayed his rich amateur pedigree as a 2024 New England Golden Gloves champion, in which he was also named the “Most Outstanding Boxer, in addition to capturing top honors at the 2018 Rocky Marciano Tournament Champion, into the pro ranks. His fan base continues to travel well to support him, which has rapidly made him arguably the most popular boxer in New England, based on ticket sales. At the site of his pro debut a year ago last September at the Bridgewater Vets Club, Willcox (3-0, 3 KOs) defeated Kadhim Alkhazaali (0-2). He did get Shea’s attention with a solid shot to the face in the opening round. He came out for the second round with a vengeance. A wicked body shot sent an obviously hurt Alkhazaali to the canvas late in round two and he was unable to continue fighting.
“The kid was tough, fighting as he came forward,” Willcox remarked. “We knew he was a step up as an opponent, but we were ready. He kind of woke me up with that punch in the opening round. We always put in the work and trained to be sharp and ready for anything in the fight.” Willcox will be on Granite Chin’s Aug. 10th show in Revere, which borders Shea’s hometown of Everett.
Rich Allen TKO2 Igor Santos.. Local favorite Rich Allen, a police resources officer at Silver Lake High School, returned to the same venue where he made his pro debut last September. The southpaw battered Igor Santos (0-10) to improve to 2-0, knocking down his opponent four times, three in the second and final round. Allen used every punch in his arsenal – straight left, uppercut, left hook, right jab and more – to completely dominate Santos.
UNDERCARD
In a walkout fight, Charlton (MA) cruiserweight Andreas Enetzelis (1-0, 1 KO) had a memorable pro debut, landing a perfectly placed straight right to the chin that knocked out Bruno Saraiva (0-7) midway through round one.
Irish middleweight Bernie McDonagh, now fighting out of Boston, moved to 2-0 with a dazzling performance against an overmatched Jay Gregory (0-14-1). The 17-year-old McDonagh came out the corner for the opening bell throwing bombs. The former Irish National Champion from Cork, Ireland, trapped his opponent in the corner, throwing 12 straight unanswered punches to close the show midway through the first round.
Former Massachusetts middleweight Champion Anthony “The Gentle Savage” Andreozzi, now fighting as a cruiserweight, stopped Juan Celin Zapata (7-26-2) in the second round, registering two knockdowns in the process.
In a junior middleweight match between Massachusetts fighters, Justin “The Bandit” Laporte, fighting out of Millbury, dropped Boston’s David Rodrigues (0-5) in the opening round with a left hook and soon finished him off with a solid uppercut at the 2:18 mark. A U.S. Marine and 2-time New England Golden Gloves Champion, Laporte improved to 3-0.
Rhode Island junior middleweight Alfred “Keenan” Raymond (5-12-4) decked veteran Daniel Sostre (13-29-3) in the opening round enroute to a 4-round unanimous decision to open the show.
Bridgewater TV taped the event live to air this coming week
