Manfredo Jr. puts pride and family on the line as he returns to boxing Thursday night
Listed below are final weights for all the participants in Thursday night’s professional boxing event, “The Pride Is Back,” presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports on Nov. 29th, 2012.
PETER MANFREDO JR.
37-7, 20 KOs
Providence, R.I.
169 ½
RAYCO SAUNDERS
22-18-2, 9 KOs
Pittsburgh, Pa.
169
DENNIS SHARPE
17-9-4, 4 KOs
Bayonne, N.J.
166
VLADINE BIOSSE
14-1-1, 7 KOs
Providence, R.I.
168 ½
SHELITO VINCENT
5-0
Providence, R.I.
123
ROSIE THOMAS
2-0
Ottawa, Canada
119
ALEX AMPARO
5-0, 3 KOs
Providence, R.I.
168
JOEY GARDNER
9-5-1, 1 KO
Woonsocket, R.I.
166
TYLON BURRIS
3-0, 2 KOs
Hartford, Conn.
170 ½
KEVIN COBBS
6-0, 2 KOs
Burlington, Vt. (Willimantic, Conn.)
175
ZACK RAMSEY
2-0, 2 KOs
Springfield, Mass.
145 ½
MICHAEL LAMBERT
0-0
Mobile, Ala.
136
Peter Manfredo Jr. has faced every challenge a professional boxer could deal with inside the ring, but there’s nothing that could motivate him more than what he’s facing as he begins his highly-anticipated comeback.
“I’m fighting for my family,” Manfredo Jr. said Wednesday on the eve of his 10-round super middleweight bout against Pittsburgh veteran Rayco Saunders, scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012 at the Twin River Event Center.
“When I was on The Contender I did it for my family and I’m still doing it for my family,” said the Providence, R.I., icon, who will end his brief retirement in the main of Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports’ “The Pride Is Back” boxing event, appropriately named for Manfredo Jr., “The Pride Of Providence.”
“My father [Peter Manfredo Sr.] thinks I’m doing it for all the wrong reasons, but I’m doing it for the right reasons. Boxing is about taking care of your family, and that’s what I’m doing. This is what I’ve been doing all my life. God gave me a gift and I’m going to use it.”
Manfredo Jr. (37-7, 20 KOs) and his father have only worked together briefly in anticipation of Thursday’s bout. Instead, Manfredo Jr. spent six weeks in California training with Freddie Roach and Ernie Zavala. The former helped him during the height of his career shortly after his successful stint on the debut season of The Contender reality television series.
“[My father] is a little upset with me, but deep down he knows I love him,” Manfredo Jr. said. “You’re only as good as the environment you’re in. I love my father, but I felt I had to get away from him and go somewhere where I’d be at my best, and I was always at my best with Freddie and Ernie at Wild Card [Boxing Club].”
Manfredo Jr. will need every advantage against Saunders (22-18-2, 9 KOs), a determined, 38-year-old veteran who has only been stopped once in 42 professional fights despite facing Edison Miranda, Daniel Judah and Chris Henry, among others.
“I’m 38 going on 25. I feel great,” Saunders said. “I definitely plan on winning [Thursday]. I know Manfredo has different plans, but this is my plan.
“I respect Peter Manfredo for fighting me. I’m not your typical 38-year-old guy. I’m just as fast, if not faster. I’m stronger than Manfredo. I’m bigger than Manfredo. These qualities will show [Thursday] night. I look forward to it. I’m on a roll toward 100 fights. I know people don’t fight like that anymore, but I do. If I could do this once a week I would. They call me ‘Rayco War’ for a reason.”
Manfredo Jr., who lost his last fight a year ago to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in Texas, respects Saunders and his impressive resume and is planning on a long, yet successful, night.
“He’s incredible,” Manfredo Jr. said of Saunders. “He’s here to fight. He’s fought everyone in the world at light heavyweight and hung in there with all of them. I’m in for a fight. Marlon Starling once asked me, ‘What’s the worst thing that could happen to you?’ I said, ‘Lose?’ and he said, ‘No, you get in a fight.’
“That makes sense to me. I’m ready to fight. I plan on going 10 rounds. I’m in shape for 10. If I knock him out, that’s a bonus. I’m in great shape and ready for a battle.”
