SKOWHEGAN — For a guy who just won a unanimous decision, Brandon Berry was disappointed in his fight.

“It was nice to get six rounds in and get a win, but it’s embarrassing because you always want to look good. You always want to fight good, and especially in front of a crowd in the hometown. I’m embarrassed with how sloppy I looked,” Berry said.

Berry, a West Forks native, earned a unanimous six round decision over Francisco Neto in front of a packed Skowhegan Area High School gym. The crowd was decidedly behind Berry in what was basically a hometown fight for him.

Despite how he felt about his effort, Berry was never in danger of losing the fight. In the third round, it looked as if Berry would finish the bout. First, he rocked Neto with a series of blows against the ropes. Later, back-to-back body blows forced Neto to a knee in his corner.

“That’s when I said finally, I think I’ve got him hurt. I think I can get him out of there. But the kid was tough,” Berry said.

This was Berry’s second fight since his comeback from multiple shoulder surgeries last year. In November, Berry fought Eric Palmer to a draw.

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“I haven’t been able to spar in a little over a year because of cuts. Tonight it actually showed. Now I realize how important it is to stay sharp and be able to spar,” Berry said.

This was Neto’s first professional fight, Berry said. Neto was a late substitution to the card.

“He was obviously very awkward. He held a lot. I think that was his first professional boxing match. He claims he’s boxed in Brazil, and he’s had some ju jitsu and MMA fights. It was quite obvious he didn’t know the rules very well,” Berry said.

Fairfield’s Justin Rolfe won his pro debut, beating Michael Hansen of Rumford when Hansen didn’t answer the bell for the second round, citing a shoulder injury.

“He was hurt. Some people get hurt, they get scared. Some people get hurt, they get angry. He got scared,” Rolfe said. “I think he underestimated me, too.”

A Golden Gloves heavyweight champion, Rolfe expected Hansen, a longtime MMA fighter, to come out with a brawling style, and that’s exactly what happened.

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“I knew he’d be throwing punches from a lot of weird angles. I waited him out to see where he was punching,” Rolfe said.

Rolfe knocked Hansen down midway through the first round with a right to the side of the head. Hansen got up clutching at his right shoulder, but continued the round.

Many remember Josh Jones as a basketball standout for Erskine Academy. Now 30, Jones has built a career as an MMA fighter. His last MMA fight was two weeks ago. On Saturday night, Jones made his boxing debut, and made quick work of Christiano Pedro, winning via TKO at 2:40 of the first round. Jones said he worked with trainer James Carville for two weeks since agreeing to the fight.

“We went with the basics,” Jones said.

The 6-foot-5 Jones had a distinct reach advantage over Pedro, and Jones knew he had the smaller fighter on the ropes when he saw a dazed Pedro glance at his trainer after Jones landed a series of blows to the head. Pedro went down midway through the round. When he went down again, the official stopped the fight.

“When I hit him and he was dazed, I heard my coach yell ‘Finish him.’ Get it over with and go home,” Jones said.

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In the co-main event, Casey Kramlich of the Portland Boxing Club won a unanimous decision over Dennis Sharpe, Jr. Kramlich began as the aggressor in round two, and controlled the fight’s tempo in every round

In the featured amateur fight, Anthony Riga of the Portland Boxing Club took a win 20 seconds into the second round of his fight with Isaac Parker, a Lawrence High School junior making his amateur debut. Both fighters came out swinging hard at the start of each round. Riga knocked down Parker late in the first round, before finishing the fight early in the second.

In what was chosen as the amateur bout of the night, Apostolus Lolus defeated Jake Knowles of Canaan in a three round 152-pound fight via tiebreaker.

In other amateur fights, Mohammed Fotana defeated Joshua Johnston at 1:24 of the first round in a 165-pound bout; Abhishak Thape earned a unanimous three round decision over Morgan Berard; Kate Zohr won amateur fighter of the night when she scored a unanimous decision over Noelle Baron; Charlie Espinal took a split decision in a 152-pound open fight against Isaac Escobar; Liz Leddy won a unanimous three round decision over Jessica Lampron; Braden Littlefield took a split decision over Marion Rodriguez in a junior fight.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM


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