O’Neill wins decision in his return to ring
O’Neill wins decision
in his return to ring
By Greg Gulas
CAMPBELL
South Side Boxing Club’s Vinnie O’Neill believes in practicing what he preaches, which is why he made a concerted effort recently to get back into the ring despite a 43-month layoff.
His efforts during Wednesday evening’s seven-bout “Thanksgiving Feast” pro card, presented by SSBC’s Jack Loew at St. Lucy’s Palermo Banquet Center, did not go unnoticed.
O’Neill (3-3-1, 2 KO’s) scored a six-round unanimous decision over James Lester (12-16-1, 4 KO’s) of Detroit to even his record at .500 and he promises to be back in the ring within the next 6-8 weeks.
“I felt rusty is the best way to put it,” the super lightweight said. “I saw some of his shots coming that I normally would have been able to get out of the way of but didn’t. Maybe it was being 39 years old, maybe it was ring rust or perhaps a combination of the two.”
O’Neill agitated Lester with eight seconds remaining in the opening round when he was called for a low hit. Lester returned the favor in the fourth round with 16 seconds left.
O’Neill — who has boxed with Loew since he was 15 — currently serves as Loew’s amateur coach and while it was important to set an example for his fighters, it was also important that he erase the sting of his last fight, a four-round loss by unanimous decision suffered at the hands of Angel Figueroa on April 18, 2015.
“I wanted to show my kids that I have heart and no matter what, you keep moving forward,” he said. “I’ll fight again because this wasn’t the best me in the ring. My original goal was to have maybe 10-15 fights, but I want to get to 10 rounds. I want another six-rounder, then move up to eight rounds and hopefully to 10.
“I need to get the ring rust off and want to get back into the ring soon.”
In the evening’s main event, Downtown Boxing Club cruiserweight Darnell “Deezol” Boone (24-24-5, 13 KO’s) was making his first area appearance in 11 years and wanted to fight in front of his two children for the first time during his 53-fight pro career.
He and Lamont Capers (9-13-5, KO) of Hawley, Pa., battled to a six-round majority draw.
“It felt great and I had fun. The decision is what it is,” Boone said. “I’ve been out of the ring for over a year and felt a little rusty. I wanted to box him, but he was heavier than me and got me fatigued. I’ll be back.”
Capers wants a rematch.
“The last time I fought it was against Lyubomyr Pinchuk in August for the vacant ABF USA cruiserweight title in Pittsburgh,” he said. “He thought he won and I thought I won. Tonight, I’m pretty sure Darnell felt he won and I thought I won. I held my own, so I would welcome a rematch. It was a fair decision.”
In heavyweight action, Youngtown police officer Anthony Congemi needed just 22 seconds to record his initial pro won, scoring a TKO over Robert Taylor of Warren, Mich.
“It was a double jab to the face,” Congemi said. “I know that I hit hard, but I didn’t think that I hit him that hard to end the fight so quick.”
Heavyweight Daniel Infante, who is trained by Keith Burnside of Burnside A.C., got the night started and had a successful debut with a unanimous decision over Davmond Carter of Jamestown, N.Y., who was also making his pro debut.
“My game plan was to cut him off,” said Infante, who went 10-4 as an amateur and celebrated his 31st birthday on Nov. 17. “He tried talking trash, but I felt like I won three of the four rounds so this is a great way to celebrate.”
Super middleweight Lavelle “Turtle” Hadley (3-4, 2 KO’s) earned a unanimous decision over Cleveland’s Latiss Norman (1-3, KO) while welterweight David Rodriguez (2-0) of Akron remained undefeated professionally with a unanimous decision over Pittsburgh’s Deon Goodlow (1-1).
“I’m fighting 10 pounds heavier than I normally fight and felt like I was quicker,” Hadley said. “He made it next to impossible for me to land good punches.”
In the night’s other fight, Downtown B.C. super welterweight Danny Rosenberger (4-6-3, KO) fell by unanimous decision to Roque Zapata (6-2-4) of Culpeper, Va.
“I didn’t fight my fight. I let my hands go, we head butted three times and I lost my equilibrium,” Rosenberger said. “He was a tough fighter, but beatable. I fought his fight and I’m just disgusted with myself right now. It’s back to the gym.”