MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — Undefeated junior welterweight Brandon “The Cannon” Berry of West Forks improved his record to 7-0 with a first-round stoppage of Theo Desjardin during the 13th annual Fight to Educate boxing show at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Thursday night.
Berry knocked down Desjardin (0-4) with a straight right hand, and while Desjardin got back to his feet before the 10-count, the North Attleboro, Massachusetts, product was wobbly on his legs and the referee stopped the bout at 2:18 of the opening round, awarding Berry a technical knockout victory.
What was scheduled as Berry’s first six-round bout was instead the fifth career knockout for the fighter, who trains out of Wyman’s Boxing Club in Stockton Springs. Berry is slated to fight next on Oct. 11 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston and then on Nov. 15 at the Portland Exposition Building.
Another Maine pro, undefeated super middleweight Russell “The Haitian Sensation” Lamour of Portland, improved to 10-0 with five knockouts when Dennis Ogboo (7-8, 6 KOs) of Lexington, Kentucky, was unable to answer the bell for the third round of their bout.
Vermont junior middleweight Chris Gilbert won the Fight to Educate’s eight-round main event, improving his record to 12-1 by scoring a narrow unanimous decision over previously undefeated Steve Matthews (4-1) of Greensboro, North Carolina.
In the co-feature, unbeaten Whitman, Massachusetts, super middleweight Mark “The Italian Bazooka” DeLuca (11-0) scored a technical knockout victory over Gundrick King (19-12) of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, at 2:39 of the third round. DeLuca, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who was a machine gunner in Afghanistan, had hammered King with a relentless body attack from the opening bell.
In amateur bouts, light flyweight Jen Amato of Keene, New Hampshire, won a three-round decision over Felecia O’Brien of Boston, Massachusetts; Manchester, New Hampshire, middleweight Ryan Clark won a three-round decision against Ricky Ford of Claremont, New Hampshire; and 92-pound Junior Olympian Angel Tricoch won a three-round decision over Wyatt Stearns of Monroe, Maine.
