New England Lightweight Golden Gloves Champion Ilyas Bashir, left, and New England Super Welterweight Champion Casey Streeter shake hands during a press conference Tuesday at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland. Carl D. Walsh/Staff photographer
Wade Faria remembers going to Cross Insurance Arena as a Portland High student to watch the high school basketball tournament. An immigrant from Angola who came to Portland a decade ago, Faria was impressed by the arena’s size, as well as the spectacle of the events it hosts.
Now, Faria, a New England Golden Gloves middleweight boxing champion, will get his chance to perform on Maine’s biggest stage. Faria, who trains at the Portland Boxing Club, will be on the card June 15, when Cross Insurance Arena hosts a boxing event for the first time in almost 30 years.
The main event is the World Boxing Organization bantamweight title fight between champion Dylan Price (17-0 with 11 knockouts) of Philadelphia and Paul Hayo (20-3, 12 knockouts) of Ecuador.
“Cross Arena, I came here to watch the big games. This is going to be big, to having my pro debut here,” said Faria, 27, who will make his professional debut against a yet-to-be-determined opponent in the event. “Seeing that whole environment, I’m going to be on that stage.”
The boxing event is the first at Cross Insurance Arena since Dec. 10, 1994, when Lewiston native Joey Gamache fought Orzubek Mazarov for the World Boxing Association world lightweight title. It was Gamache’s third and final title fight at what was then known as the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Mazarov won via knockout in the second round.
“It was a great building to fight in,” Gamache said via phone from New York City, where he lives and works as a boxing trainer. “It was great exposure, a great experience.”
Arthur Pelullo of Banner Promotions, left, talks about the return of pro boxing to the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland during a press conference Tuesday. Cross Insurance General Manager Michael Loconte, middle, and Portland Boxing Club President Bob Russo listen at right. Carl D. Walsh
Gamache was a World Boxing Association world champion as a super featherweight in 1991 and as a lightweight in 1992.
The number of spectators who will take in the title bout could provide a barometer of the sport’s popularity in Maine, which has hosted some of the biggest fights in history.
At the top of that list is the 1965 heavyweight title fight in Lewiston between Cassius Clay and Sonny Liston.
Clay, in his debut as Muhammad Ali, knocked out Liston early in the first round.
Cross Insurance Arena in Portland – which seats 6,733 for boxing events – has also hosted its share of big-time bouts and boxers. Sugar Ray Leonard won here in 1978 in front of 6,280 fans. Marvelous Marvin Hagler won here three times between 1979 and 1980.
In recent years, interest in the sport has waned in Maine, in part because there just haven’t been many fights with big-time draws.
“All three of Joey’s fights here were world championship fights. You need that level of competition,” acknowledged Bob Russo, a promoter who owns Portland Boxing Club and also serves as the national president of Golden Gloves.
Russo has put on more than 100 boxing shows over the last three decades, including a number at the smaller Portland Expo.
The June 15 event came together through the work of Michael LoConte, the general manager of Cross Insurance Arena, Russo and Arthur Pelullo, the president of Banner Promotions, a Philadelphia-based boxing promoter.
LoConte said he began thinking of hosting a big pro bout at Cross Insurance Arena more than a year ago. After meeting with Russo, they decided to make it a reality.
Portland Boxing Club President Bob Russo talks about the history of the sport in Portland during a press conference Tuesday at the Cross Insurance Arena. Carl D. Walsh/Staff photographer)
“I understand the history of boxing at this venue. I understand the history of boxing in Maine,” LoConte said.
The two connected with Pelullo, who said Price and Hayo were looking for neutral ground for their title fight. Portland, they all agreed, was a good fit.
“The bottom line is, the fans want more boxing,” Russo said.
Other Mainers on the card include: Portland’s Casey Streeter, the New England superwelterweight champion; 2023 New England Golden Gloves super heavyweight champion Zordan Holman of Westbrook; New England Golden Gloves lightweight champion Ilyas Bashir of Auburn; and veteran pro fighter Brandon Berry of West Forks.
“It will be a dream come true. I always wondered as a kid what it would be like to fight at the Civic Center, and now I get to make that dream come true, showcase my talent on the big stage,” Streeter said. “Boxing is my passion. Portland, it used to be a big fight city, a big fight scene back in the day. I’m looking forward to bring that atmosphere back.”
The event will begin at 6:30 p.m., June 15. Tickets, which start at $35, go on sale Wednesday.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.