Iraq war veteran returns to Boxing

BOSTON (July 18, 2013) -- His up-and-down boxing journey has come nearly 360-degrees for Iraq War veteran Chris Traietti, the headliner on the July 27th "The Roxy Homecoming Celebration" card (special starting time of 5 p.m. ET), at The Royale Nightclub Boston (formerly The Roxy) in downtown Boston.

Traietti (13-3, 9 KOs), fighting out of nearby Quincy (MA), takes on Kansas City-invader Dion Stanley (11-5, 7 KOs) in the eight-round main event.  The card is being presented by Big Six Entertainment in association with Cappiello Promotions.

The 27-year-old Traietti is a real fighter.  In addition to boxing, he has a 3-1 record in mixed martial arts, and fought in a recent bare knuckles contest. He's also promoting several local shows and has boxing manager license.

Traietti started boxing professionally in 2005, the same year his U.S. Air Force Reserve unit was deployed to Iraq, and he was also a psychology major at Westfield State College.  Now a contract armed guard for Homeland Security at the Federal Building in downtown Boston, Traieitti has vowed to make-up for time he admittedly wasted earlier in his boxing career.

"Boxing was good to me but I wasn't good to boxing," the brutally honest boxer explained.  "When I was in my early twenties, I had fights (7th & 8th) at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods.  I had it made but didn't care at the time.  I thought I'd always be fighting at places like that.  I was too busy partying and chasing girls.  I'm all in, now, and dedicated to training without any distractions.  I didn't want to look back and wonder what if, so I went back to my roots.  I'm working with my original trainer, Jimmy Farrell,  and we decided to make a run at it or I'm all done.

"I had my first fight back with Jimmy this past March and we've gradually stepped things up a little in two other fights, to where I'm fighting an 11-5 opponent (Stanley) in this fight.  I still bring a good crew who've always supported by watching me fight and, honestly, they really shouldn't be there anymore for me.  I didn't give them their money's worth in the past because I didn't train seriously.  They're still coming to my fights and I owe this much to them.  How long things lasted without me really training was amazing. I still need to get back to 175.  (His fight vs. Stanley is contracted at 185 lbs.)  I'll do that gradually with another fight scheduled in late August at 185, then I'll fight at 180, and if everything goes right, back at 175.     

"Now, I think about what I'd do for a fight when I was 22, and do the opposite.  I'm 27 and I work at the gym.  I've had enough ups and downs in my boxing career; it's time for me to be steady and ready.  I'm going to breakdown my opponent and then get rid of him.  This fight isn't going the distance because boxing fans want to see knockouts."

Two of New England's most decorated amateur boxers of the past decade, Ronald "Akeem" Ellis (6-0, 5 KOs) and "Speedy" Rashidi Ellis, from nearby Lynn (MA), have returned home to fight as professional boxers for the first time. 

Ronald, 23, is an undefeated super middleweight prospect who captured a gold medal at the 2012 National Golden Gloves Tournament.  He trains in Oxnard, California, with former world champion and 2012 Trainer of the Year, Robert Garcia. 

Ronald's younger brother, 20-year-old welterweight Rashidi, was the 2012 National PAL (Police Athletic League) champion, who is trained by Alex Rivera from the Somerville Boxing Club.  

Ronald and Rashidi are scheduled to fight in six and four rounds fights, respectively, against TBA and pro-debuting Joe Pingitore, of Providence.

Unbeaten Boston welterweight Gabriel Duluc (8-0, 1 KO) meets another unbeaten prospect, Jonathan Perez (4-0, 2 KOs), in a six-round fight.

Also scheduled to fight on the undercard in four-round matches: Somerville (MA) super middleweight Jimmy Cappiello (4-3, 1 KO) vs. Pubilo Pena (0-1), of Providence;    popular Irish middleweight John "Buncrana Banger" Hutchinson (3-0-1, 1 KO), now fighting out of Boston, vs. Robert Hunt (0-3), of Hyannis (MA); Stoughton (MA) light heavyweight Michael Weisberg (3-0, 2 KOs) vs. Joe Powers (0-1), of Groton (CT); Boston welterweight Greg "The Villain" Vendetti (3-0, 2 KOs) vs. Jose Angel Ortiz (4-12-1, 1 KO), of Springfield (MA); pro-debuting middleweights Matt Phinney, of Boston,vs. South Dennis' (MA) Peter Eldridge, and Jose Rodriguez, of Springfield,makes his pro debut vs. TBA.  

All fighters are subject to change.

Tickets, reasonably priced at $40.00, $50.00 and $75.00, and are available to purchase by calling 1.617.312.5059.

Doors open at 4:00 p.m. ET with the first bout scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET.