UNCASVILLE, Connecticut — CES Boxing’s Friday night show at the Mohegan Sun Arena, “Heat Wave,” treated the near sellout crowd to a full night of boxing entertainment. Eight bouts were included to the card in addition to the main event and co-main event, title victories by undefeated Polish heavyweight Mariusz Wach and local middleweight Elvin Ayala. The undercard featured both old and new faces, each victorious in their respective bouts.
Headlining the undercard was 38 year old veteran Jose Antonio Rivera (41-6-1, 24 KOs), former WBA welterweight and light middleweight champion. 
The Worcester native’s second bout on the comeback trail from approximately two and a half years of retirement came against rather dull opposition, in the form Paul Mpendo (7-8-4, 3 KOs). The Portland, Oregon, based light middleweight entered the bout with Rivera having only five fights against opposition with an above .500 winning percentage. In the aforementioned bouts, Mpendo went 1-4, with the only win coming in 2001 to a fighter who retired one year later with a losing record. The eight round contest lulled the crowd, and although Rivera could not achieve the knockout he anticipated, he did dominate en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Rivera appeared in better shape, and the ring record comparison would lead one to believe that an early knockout would be an easily attainable goal for the former champion. However, Rivera elected to box circles around Mpendo. The jab of Rivera kept Mpendo at a distance and discouraged his opponent from throwing power shots. Although the jab scored points, it did little else. Rivera’s slim power punching output and dedication to the jab dismayed the crowd, who received the unanimous decision (80-72, 80-72, 79-73) with a mixture of perfunctory applause and disgruntled jeers.
The crowd of approximately 2,500 was predominately Polish. Undefeated heavyweight Artur Szpilka’s (7-0-0, 5 KOs) seemingly effortless knockout of David Williams (6-5-1, 2 KOs) served as a canapé for Polish heavyweight Mariusz Wach’s bout later in the night, and brought the crowd to a frenzied state of nationalist pride.
The opening minute of the fight was uneventful, but the cautious pace would soon be disrupted. After trading straights to the jaw, a hard left straight hallway through the round knocked Williams flat on his back. Upon rising to his feet, Williams was greeted with a pair of lefts which sent him down again. The contest was mercifully brought to a halt by referee Danny Schiavone at 1:53 of the first round.
Preceding the Szpilka-Williams bout was a middleweight clash scheduled for four rounds between 
Thomas Folowo (4-0-0, 4 KOs) and Russ Niggemyer (2-3-0, 2 KOs). Folowo, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, has one of the most interesting profiles of any Northeast fighter. During the day, Folowo functions as a pain reliever. At night, the pharmacy technician moonlights as a boxer, dishing out pain. As a veteran of sixty amateur bouts and a runner up at the New England Golden Gloves, Folowo has gotten off to an exciting start in the professional ranks.
At the beginning of the fight, Folowo had slight trouble connecting with the unorthodox Niggemyer. Folowo displayed minor flaws in his fundamentals, but Niggemyer was unable to capitalize on the occasional telegraphed shots and wide punches. Once the second round began, Folowo went on the attack and sent Niggemyer sprawling across the ring and onto his stomach after a five punch combination. The fight was stopped at :40 of round two by Benjy Esteves.
A four round super middleweight clash between Keith Kozlin (6-2-1, 4 KOs) and Reynaldo Rodriguez (5-2-1, 2 KOs) marked the halfway point of the “Heat Wave” card. Kozlin, of Warwick, Rhode Island, has struggled over the course of the past year, going 1-2-1 since May of 2010.
Kozlin made his mark in the first round with a pair of hard left hooks in the final minute, one of which wobbled Rodriguez into the ropes. Neither fighter held back in the second round, beginning with a fearsome barrage of punches from each warrior in the center of the ring in the opening seconds. Marching forward for most of the round, Kozlin refused to relent and landed a left uppercut among several other shots at the conclusion of the round. In the third, each man took a breather. The power punches of the previous rounds were replaced for jabs which landed with mild efficiency. However, the fourth and final round will stand out as the best round of the entire card.
Merely eight seconds in, Kozlin was dropped to the canvas by a short left hook. Kozlin received the eight count from Danny Schiavone , and continued to put the pressure on Rodriguez as though he was unhurt. The combination punching of Kozlin backed Rodriguez against the ropes, effectively stunning him. Kozlin landed a barrage of blows which knocked Rodriguez down approximately thirty seconds after he knocked Kozlin down. The fighters traded power punches for the remained of the round, and the delighted crowd rose to their feet for a standing ovation at the sound of the bell.
After the conclusion of the fourth round, the bout went to the scorecards. Tom Carasone scored the fight 40-36 for Kozlin, but he was overruled by Tom Schreck and John McKaie, who each saw the contest even at 38-38, a majority draw.
Despite bringing losing records to the ring, Greg McCoy (3-3-1, 1 KO) and Ralph Johnson (0-2-0) brought excitement to the crowd. McCoy, of New 
Haven, Connecticut, was stunned by a left right combination with his back against the ropes in the first round, and wobbled by a right hand which caught him off guard in the second round. However, McCoy came back with a devastating hook to the body which sent Johnson down to one knee. Lacking restraint, McCoy teed off on Johnson while he was down, resulting in a point deduction. Regardless, McCoy weathered the wild and unorthodox form of Johnson and picked up the unanimous decision victory (39-36, 39-36, 38-37).
In the third bout of the evening, another New Haven based fighter, Edwin Soto (7-0-1, 3 KOs) put his unbeaten record on the line against Felton, Delaware’s Michael Denby (3-12-4, 2 KOs). Throughout the duration of the welterweight bout, Soto put together terrific combinations. By out landing and throwing Denby to both the head and body, he broke Denby down. In the third round, amid cheers of encouragement, Soto buckled Denby with a combination to the body and an overhand right to finish off the fight at 2:26 of round three.
In another four round welterweight bout, undefeated New England Golden Gloves runner up Jonathan Vazquez (4-0-1, 3 KOs) and Augustine Mauras (1-0-1, 1 KO) met for the first time as professionals. In the New England Golden Gloves tournament, the pair met in the semi-finals, where Mauras edged out Vazquez for the victory. Eager to best his rival, the New Bedford, Massachusetts, native took to the ring for the fifth time.
The bout was a fan friendly affair throughout. Mauras was the aggressor for most of the fight, but Vazquez landed plenty of counter shots. Heading into the fourth round, the back and forth fight produced an extra dose of animosity. Mauras refused to heed referee Benjy Esteves’ request to touch gloves, instead opting to come out swinging. After the reset, the fighters traded power shots. In the final twenty seconds, Mauras unleashed a frenetic batch of punches with Vazquez on the ropes, but Vazquez maintained hi defensive posture and the punches failed to do any damage.
Steve Epstein scored the bout 39-37 for Vazquez, but he was overruled by Tom Schreck and Tom Carasone who each saw the fight even at 38-38, resulting in a majority draw.
The night began with a scheduled four round fight between Jose Torres, making his pro debut at cruiserweight, and Joshua Harris (8-5-1, 6 KOs). Torres, from Springfield, Massachusetts, dominated the Youngstown, Ohio, native for eleven minutes. After out landing and out throwing the more experienced Harris, Harris mounted a last chance charge likely down 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards. After a sloppy exchange of power shots, “The Juice” reared back and fired a monstrous left haymaker which sent Torres to the mat. Torres could not beat Danny Schiavone’s count, and Joshua Harris was declared the winner by knockout at 2:23 of the fourth and final round.
Prior to an exciting pairing of bouts on the main card, televised in Poland on TVP 1, a massive eight fight undercard provided the crowd at the Mohegan Sun Arena with close decisions, brutal finishes, and prospects with bright futures.
Photo Credit – Jamie Curci of www.Ringnews24.com
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