New York, NY (April 7, 2015) – Boyd “Rainmaker” Melson returns to the ring following a fifteen month layoff when he battles fellow popular New Yorker Mike “El Cangri” Ruiz in the ten round main event of a DiBella Entertainment and New Legend Boxing card Friday, May 8 at the Hilton Westchester in Rye Brook, NY.
Tickets starting at $40 are on sale now at http://teamfighttowalk.com/tickets-for-boyd-melsons-may-8-fight/.
Out of action since February 2014, Melson has an excellent professional record of 14-1-1 with four wins by knockout. The Manhattan resident, who is one of the biggest box office draws in the Big Apple, was slated to face contender Glen Tapia last June at Madison Square Garden but withdrew after suffering a shoulder injury in training. In his last bout, the 2003 West Point grad outpointed Donald Ward while fighting through a stretched brachial plexus. The injury, which a ringside doctor said he’s never seen in more than 30 years of working with fighters, caused temporary paralysis in Melson’s right arm during the last five rounds of the match.
A Long Island based Puerto Rican, Ruiz has a solid 17-8 professional ledger with 9 victories by knockout. In July 2012, Ruiz scored the best win of his career, traveling to Atlanta, GA to knockout title contender Paul Delgado in his hometown. Having faced the aforementioned Tapia, often-avoided Martin Wright (twice) and contender Charlie Ota, Ruiz is Melson’s most experienced opponent to date.
“Ruiz is a tough fighter with a lot of experience,” Melson said of his next foe. “This is also my first ten rounder and in order for me to get to the next level, I’ve got to defeat him impressively. I know I’ve been out of the ring for awhile but at this stage of my career it’s time to step up. Even with the inactivity on paper, I’ve spent a lot of time in the gym so I expect no ring rust come May 8.”
Melson also has personal ties to the area, which further inspires him to put forth a career best performance.
“The high school I graduated from is right down the road. (Team Fight to Walk Founder) Christan Zaccagnino lives a mile away from the venue and we’re expecting a great turnout on fight night.”
After his fight with Ruiz, Melson will continue his pledge assist in curing chronic Spinal Cord Injuries by donating 100% of his purse to Team Fight to Walk in support of America’s first trial of its kind.
Team Fight to Walk is comprised of Melson, Zaccagnino, former Rutgers football player/ESPY honoree Eric LeGrand, two division world champion Paul “The Punisher” Williams, two-time cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, Austin “No Doubt” Trout, title contender DeAndre “The Bull” Latimore, Edgar “El Chamaco” Santana, Sonya Lamonakis, Hector “Machito” Camacho Jr., WBA Middleweight champion Danny Jacobs, WBO Junior Middleweight titlist/2008 US Olympian Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade and fellow 08’ Olympian Shawn Estrada along with prospects Sid “The Messenger” El Harrak, Jeff “TNT” Spencer, Denis “Da Momma’s Boy” Douglin, Will “Power” Rosinsky, Floriano “Italiano” Pagliara, Danny “Little Mac” McDermott, Vinny “The Lion” O’Brien, Ahmed “Prince of Egypt” Samir and Delen “Sniper” Parsley.
For more information or to make a donation, go to teamfighttowalk.com or Justadollarplease.org. All specific questions about the nature of the Clinical Trial to cure Spinal Cord Injury can be sent to bamstrong1981@gmail.com. Fans can also interact with Melson via Twitter @BoydMelson or Facebook.com/Boydmelson
