Locals Dominate Cornwall Boxing Event

The Cornwall Civic Complex was home to a second live professional boxing event on June 17th, 2017. The event began at 8:00 p.m., with a massive amount of supporters in attendance. The event has been greatly anticipated by many from Cornwall and Akwesasne.

The headline matchup being Tony Luis vs. Cam O'Connell, for the NABA Championship belt. Tony Luis being from Cornwall, was proud to be able to fight for the championship belt in front of his hometown. The event was action packed with a fight card filled with six different boxing matches.

One of those matches was between Ronnie "Rocket" Robidoux of Akwesasne and Ivan Banach of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The event began with a boxing match between Daniel Andiyo and Ramen Parro. The match only made it to the third round where Andiyo got the best of Parro, and knocked him down for the count. Andiyo took the win in the third round.

The second match was Michael Brandon vs. Rene Fernandez. Michael Brandon, a super welterweight from Mississauga, Ontario was shown much love and support by most people in attendance. The match was short and sweet, with Brandon knocking his opponent out in the second round. Michael Brandon remains undefeated with a record of 6-0, after his recent victory.

The third match was Ronnie "Rocket" Robidoux vs. Ivan Banach. Ronnie "Rocket" Robidoux, is an undefeated middleweight fighter from Akwesasne. Although this match was not a co-feature, it seemed like it was, with the amazing amount of support shown to Ronnie. As soon as he set foot in the arena, everyone stood and cheered for him. Ronnie and his opponent put up a good fight, lasting all four rounds. Throughout the four rounds, people would be chanting Ronnie's name in support and encouragement. It was a good match but not a close match, with Ronnie taking the win by unanimous decision. As a pro, Robidoux is now 4 – 0.

The fourth match was "Ill" Will Madera vs. Rolando Mendivil. Will Madera, is an undefeated lightweight from Albany, NY. This match was no different, with Will taking the victory in the fourth round by knockout. Leaving Will Madera with a new record of 10-0.

The fifth match, which was the co-feature, was "Irish" Tim Cronin vs. Louisbert Altidor. Both opponents are light heavyweights from Quebec. Both opponents put up a good fight, but Altidor seemed to be getting the best of Cronin. The match lasted right up until the end of the 8th round, where Cronin was bleeding from the side of his head and it seemed that Altidor was victorious. Everyone in the Arena was stunned when Tim Cronin was announced the winner by split decision. It was apparent that not many agreed with the decision, as the arena filled with people booing Tim Cronin.

The last and final feature match was between Tony Luis and Cam O'Connell. Tony Luis, a lightweight from Cornwall was shown a tremendous amount of support as he walked out to the ring. The opponents were fighting for the NABA Championship belt, and it could have went either way. Cam O'Connell was undefeated with a record of 15-0 and 10 knockouts. Tony's record being 23-3 and 8 knockouts, it was any man's guess who would be victorious. Of course everyone backed Tony, because he was fighting in his hometown. The match lasted the entire 10 rounds, with both opponents landing as many hits as they could. It became apparent towards the last couple rounds that Tony was taking the lead and landing more combo's then his opponent. The arena definitely showed their support and encouragement throughout the match. The arena filling with sounds of people chanting Tony's name throughout the entire match. After the 10 rounds, everyone sat in anticipation as the winner was announced. As soon as Tony's hand was lifted in victory the entire arena stood and cheered. Tony took the win by unanimous decision.

Another great turnout for the boxing event, with promises of more boxing matches to take place in Cornwall in the future. It was definitely entertaining, and great to see a talented boxer from Akwesasne shown the same amount of support as his fellow boxer Tony Luis.