Fight Night in Kingston sparkled with amateur talent

It was a great night of amateur boxing Saturday at the Billy Costello Gymnasium (Mid-Town Community Center) in Kingston. I really mean it. This PAL benefit show has become one of my favorite ones in the entire Adirondack region. First of all, there’s the venue which offers two kinds of seating: great and greater. So the 500 or so people who turned out were happy with the view.

Then there’s the history. Billy Costello, who left us way too soon on June 29, 2011, fought so many of his big fights there – Leroy Haley, Saoul Mamby, Ronnie Shields. He could have fought these guys anywhere, but felt he owed to his Kingston fans to bring the big lights home. And he did. Those of us old enough remember cables spread out in ways they’d never been spread out before. For us, the excitement is in the walls of that place.

Where else can you go to an amateur show and wind up spending half an hour talking to Renaldo Snipes (39-8-1, 22 KOs), a friend of Billy’s who came Saturday night in his honor. Snipes, who fought Larry Holmes for the title and dropped him good in the 7th round, was there just passing the time with anybody who cared to do so with a real star. I may talk to him like I know him, but I’m enough of a fan to have had my picture taken with him (again).

But then there’s the reason everybody came: the amateur talent that comes to these Kingston shows is just the best. But before sharing the results, proper congratulations must be given. First to organizer, Al Nace, who nails it every time. But Al has also told me to make sure I include his thanks to the following folks. So here are some well-deserved credits:

Aaron Fitzgerald PAL President
Kingston Mayor Shayne Gallo
Kevin Gilfeather, Director of Recreation
Kristy Nickerson, Pat McCooey: front office
Demetrius “Big Foot” Johnson, Security Chief
Tom Gordon (Kingston Nissan)
Chris Silva (Ulster Performing Arts Center)
Scott Herrington (Save-On Party Supplies)
Nino’s Big-Bites Catering
Rich Cahill, Ring Announcer
DJ Greg Gateane (WDST)
…and all of the volunteers

To the fights… A special congratulations to each of the brave warriors listed below. There were no losers in the ring last Saturday night. A special shout out to Raphael Edwards, Sam Capriotti, and Shane Harris for bringing home the victories to Kingston. Billy was watching, and was he proud.

1. 132-pounds: Sam Capriatti (Kingston) over Sam Tate (Lorenzo’s)
2. 165-pounds: Kendo Anderson (Schenectady) over Alexander Rodriguez (Elite)
3. 141-pounds: Joe Gbolo (Schott’s) over Richard Bonds (Newburgh)
4. 145-pounds: Mikiah Kreps (Niagara Falls) over Robbie Cook (Standing Rock)
5. 201+pounds: Ezra Scott (Niagara Falls) over Corey Klob (Sweeney’s)
6. 165 pounds: Shane Harris (Kingston) over Jayson Taylor (Schenectady)
7. 141-pounds: Zeb Mikula (Alpha) over Paul Maley (Precision)
8. 152-pounds: Mike Black (Hudson) over Ronnie Robideau (Standing Rock)
9. 170-pounds: Eric George (Niagara Falls) over David Tomaso (Hudson)
10. 152-pounds: Ralphael Edwards (Kingston) over Daniel Fitzgerald (Lee)
11. 82-pounds Dion Laurel (Old School) over Matthew Maloney (Elite)

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