Cusumano, DeLomba make long-awaited returns

Photo courtesy of Will Paul

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Friday, July 20th, 2018) — The return Saturday night of hard-hitting Sicilian heavyweight Juiseppe Cusumano highlights a busy summer for CES Boxing’s top contenders.

Cusumano (15-2, 13 KOs) looks to begin a new win streak at the Caswell Civic Center in Yanceyville, N.C., when he faces 6-foot-8 veteran James Price (3-1, 2 KOs) of Virginia as part of an eight-fight card Saturday, July 21st promoted by Lucky Punch Promotions.

The 30-year-old right-hander has won 13 of 14 fights dating back to 2012 and is 5-1 under the promotional guidance of CES Boxing, including five wins by knockout. The fight in Yanceyville is just a stone’s throw from where Cusumano lives and trains in Danville, Va. Tickets for the event are available online at www.luckypunchpromotions.com.

Cusumano joins stablemates Khiary Gray, Kendrick Ball Jr., Jake Paradise and the recently re-signed Nick DeLomba in what is shaping up to be a busy summer for CES Boxing before it announces its highly-anticipated Friday, Sept. 14th; Saturday, Oct. 21st and special Thanksgiving Eve Wednesday, Nov. 21st events to close out 2018.

DeLomba (12-2, 2 KOs) and Paradise (0-2) will be featured in six- and four-round bouts, respectively, on the undercard of Granite Chin Promotions’ Saturday, July 28th event, “Rumble At The Rim 2,” at The Rim in Hampton, N.H.

DeLomba, the Cranston, R.I., junior welterweight and reigning UBF All-Americans title-holder, returns for the first time since December when he out-worked Louis Cruz in Providence to capture the then vacant UBF title. Paradise, the Worcester, Mass., cruiserweight, aims for his first career win since debuting in September. DeLomba also returns Sept. 14th to headline CES Boxing’s third installment of the 2018 Twin River Casino Fight Series. Tickets for “Rumble At The Rim 2” are available online at www.eventgroove.com.

Gray (15-4, 11 KOs) and Ball Jr. (9-1-2, 6 KOs) fight for the first time in their hometown of Worcester on the undercard of the Friday, Aug. 17th Rivera Promotions Entertainment and Granite Chin showcase, “Homecoming,” at The Palladium. The event features the highly-anticipated return of former two-time world champion Jose Rivera of Worcester, who fights for the first time in seven years.

Gray faces 46-fight veteran Antonio Fernandes in a six-round junior middleweight bout. The 25-year-old righthander recently fulfilled a lifelong dream to fight at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York in a showdown against Russian Alexey Evchenko in March. He closed 2017 with a win over New Jersey’s Greg Jackson to capture the vacant New England Interim Welterweight Title.

The 6-foot-2 Ball Jr. fights in the six-round co-main event, just his third bout away from Twin River. The 25-year-old has won five of his last six, including impressive victories against Pablo Velez Jr., Godson Noel and sixth-round stoppage of Alshamar Johnson in December. Tickets for “Homecoming” are available online at www.thepalladium.net or at The Palladium box office.

CES Boxing kicks off the fall with a blockbuster event at Twin River on Sept. 14th featuring DeLomba in his first fight in Lincoln since April of 2017 when he challenged regional rival Jimmy Williams for the WBC USNBC Welterweight Title. The event also features the CES Boxing debuts of Everett, Mass., female welterweight Shayna Foppiano (1-0, 1 KO), junior middleweight Victor Reynoso of Providence and 6-foot-8 Nigerian heavyweight Raphael Akpejiori of Miami in addition to the return of fan-favorites Jamaine Ortiz (9-0, 5 KOs) of Worcester, unbeaten lightweight Anthony Marsella Jr. (9-0, 4 KOs) of Providence. Tickets are on sale now at www.cesboxing.com or the Twin River Casino box office.

Later this year, CES Boxing returns to Foxwoods Resort Casino with another star-studded pro-am event featuring New Haven, Conn., junior middleweight Edwin Soto (13-2-2, 5 KOs), female bantamweight Marcia Agripino (2-1-1) of Ledyard, Conn., and Providence lightweight Nicky DeQuattro (3-1, 1 KO). Tickets go on sale in August.

Last, but not least, CES Boxing closes out 2018 with a special Thanksgiving Eve event at Twin River on Nov. 21st. Ticket information and fight details will be announced shortly. CES Boxing follows in the footsteps of its MMA division, which packed the Event Center on Thanksgiving Eve of 2017 with “CES MMA 47.”