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| NEW BEDFORD, MA – Wilson “Ill Will” Mascarenhas (10-1, 4 KOs) returns to the ring for the second time in as many months on Saturday, when he meets Patrick “The Mallet” Okine (21-6-2, 18 KOs) at Bally’s Twin River Lincoln Casino for the WBC USA Silver Super Lightweight Championship. The bout is the main event of “The Brawl at Bally’s,” a scintillating 7-bout card featuring many of the CES Boxing’s top prospects in competitive matchups. Tickets are available at CESFights.com, priced at $60, $80, $155, and $180. Fans who can’t make it to Bally’s can catch the action for free on Swerve Combat TV. “It’s going great, man,” says Mascarenhas when describing his preparation for Saturday night’s bout. “It’s the same routine, just turning it up a notch because it’s my first 8 round fight. I’ve been stepping up my level of competition little by little, so my workouts are getting harder. I just fought 2 months ago, which gives me the advantage, so there’s nothing to do but to keep the momentum going.” In February, the New Bedford resident made short work of Braulio Rodriguez at the same venue, stopping the savvy veteran after only one round. The performance convinced CES Boxing founder Jimmy Burchfield, Sr. that Mascarenhas was ready for his first title. “Rodriguez was a strong puncher, but he didn’t end up catching me flush,” explains Mascarenhas. “I believe that Braulio underestimated me a little bit because he probably thought that I’m a young kid with only 10 fights and he’s been in the ring with veterans and top prospects, so he came in there thinking that he was gonna take me out of there and it didn’t go as planned for him.” Indeed, Rodriguez had previously been in the ring with top jr. welterweight Ryan Garcia, former title challenger Chris “Pitufo” Diaz, and blue-chip prospect Ashton Sylve. While Rodriguez was competitive in spots against Garcia and Diaz, he was completely blown out by Mascarenhas. “Honestly, I wasn’t too satisfied,” admits Mascarenhas of the bout. “The fight didn’t last as long as I wanted it to. I didn’t really get to show my skills. I didn’t get to show my talent and what I’m made of. At the end of the day, it’s the ref’s call and he decided to stop the fight after the first round. It’s too bad, because we got right to it in round one. It was becoming an interesting fight. I just wanted to see what would have happened in the later rounds when I started warming up.” Speaking with Mascarenhas, one gets the sense that the 29-year-old craves the opportunity to dig deep in a fight and show the world what he can do against an opponent who is there to win. The Portuguese native hopes that Okine will fit the bill on Saturday. “When you work so hard in training, you want to challenge yourself and see what it’s like to go into deep waters,” agrees Mascarenhas. “I didn’t get a chance to do that against Rodriguez. Maybe I’ll be able to do it with Patrick Okine.” In Okine, ‘Ill Will’ is facing a tough-as-nails Ghanian puncher who always comes to fight. ‘The Mallet’ has 18 knockouts in 21 wins and has shared the ring with the likes of former world champions Lee Selby and Emmanuel Tagoe as well as contenders Jeremia Nakathila and Cletus Seldin. “I know that he’s a physically strong guy,” opines Mascarenhas of his opponent. “He’s a little flat footed, but he’s a power puncher, so you can never count those guys out. I know that he’s coming to fight, and that’s what I want because it builds confidence to know that I’m not having a walk in the park with my opponents.” In an era where top prospects are often fed cannon fodder for opponents, Mascarenhas is grateful that CES Boxing is giving him the opportunity to develop against hard-nosed veterans who will both test him and teach him something about himself. “Sometimes I sit back and see guys playing around with easy fights and I think, I just wanna go out there and get knock outs too,” laughs Mascarenhas. “But then again, I’m glad that I’m getting built this way because I’m taking tough fights so that when the big fights get to me, it’s nothing new, there’s nothing I haven’t seen.” Wilson’s goal is not to just get a world title shot, but to be in a position to win that title when the opportunity arises. “I’m not saying it would be a walk in the park, but it’ll be something I’m used to,” elaborates Mascarenhas when envisioning fighting for a world title. “I’m not going to have stage fright, I’m not gonna hesitate, I’m not going to be as nervous, so I’m glad I’m having these tough fights now so that when the time comes that I fight for a major title, I’m ready to win it.” But before Wilson takes that big step towards a world title, he must first overcome ‘The Mallet’ for the WBC USA Silver title. It’s a task that Mascarenhas takes very seriously. “First and foremost, all glory to God because without Him, none of this would have been possible,” reflects Mascarenhas. “And a big shout out to CES for even giving me this opportunity because two years ago, I wasn’t even supposed to be here.” Mascarenhas is alluding to a stabbing incident he suffered at a post-fight celebration in 2022, when he almost lost his life and was afraid that his boxing career had suddenly come to an end. “I wasn’t even thinking about getting this type of shot,” admits Mascarenhas, who spent nearly a year in physical therapy to recover a full range of motion. “Two years later, I feel like everything is starting to come together. My mental, my physicality, I’m starting to be in the best shape of my life. I’m fighting for the WBC Silver title, so it means a lot. It’ll mean more after I have the title wrapped around my waist. It’s big for me, but this is just the beginning. We have more belts to go after.” In what he hopes will be the first of many, Wilson’s title run begins on Saturday night at Bally’s Twin River Lincoln Casino with the WBC USA Silver title on the line. For more information, follow CES Boxing on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @CESBOXING. INFORMATIONCES Boxing is one of the top promotions on the East Coast. Founded in 1992 by Jimmy Burchfield Sr., CES Boxing has promoted many world class fighters, including Jamaine Ortiz, Juiseppe Cusumano, Hank Lundy, Vinny Paz, Peter Manfredo, Mariusz Wach, Jason Estrada, Matt Godfrey, Chad Dawson and Ray Oliveira. CES Boxing has promoted such super fights as “The Thriller on Triller: Tyson v Jones Jr.”, “Mayweather vs. Gotti III” and “The Contender: Manfredo v Pemberton”. |
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