St. Petersburg, FL (May 1, 2023) – Connor “The Kid” Coyle retained his NABA middleweight championship following a ten round beatdown of Argentina’s Christian Fabian Rios Saturday, April 29 at the Hilton Carillon in St. Petersburg, FL.

Headlining Reyes Fire Fist Boxing’s “Fire on the Bay,” Coyle had a strong opening round, landing hard jabs and thudding body shots. Supported by a loud cheering section, the Derry, Northern Ireland native delivered round after round, peppering Rios with clean punches. Rios was hurt on a few occasions but displayed a tremendous chin and finished the fight on his feet.

Scores were 100-90 on all three scorecards.

With the victory, Coyle improves to 19-0 with 8 knockouts. Rios, who has only been stopped once, slips to 23-18-3 with 7 wins by KO.

“We knew he was a tough guy – he took David Lemieux and Esquiva Falcao the distance,” said Coyle. “I paced myself and landed well-placed punches. That was our gameplan coming into this fight. I did hit him with a lot of solid shots, so I’ve got to give Rios credit for how game he was.”

Coyle, the WBA’s #4 ranked middleweight, believes a showdown with #3 rated Austin “Ammo” Williams is on the horizon.

“We’re the most active middleweights in the rankings. There’s been talk of us fighting but nothing came to fruition so far. I believe he’s fighting again in June so if he handles business, we could hopefully fight in an eliminator or for a world title later this year.”

Coyle’s promoter, Jody Caliguire of Reyes Fire Fist Boxing Promotions, was pleased as well and also envisions a fight with Williams in the near future.

“Connor did a great job tonight – he battered Rios and won all ten rounds. Rios has been in with a ton of world class fighters and always goes the distance so kudos to him for his toughness. I anticipate Connor moving up in the WBA rankings and I know Williams is also ranked highly so we’re ready to make it happen for the number 1 contender spot or a vacant title if Erislandy Lara vacates.”

Fernandez with his team after winning the NABA title

PHOTO CREDIT: Damon Gonzalez – Reyes Fire Fist Boxing

St. Petersburg’s Joseph Fernandez became the NABA junior welterweight champion with an emphatic fourth round stoppage of Marqus Bates. Bates got off to a solid start, but Fernandez rocked the Taunton, MA native with a head shot in round three.

In the fourth, Fernandez scored a hard knockdown via a picturesque left hook. Bates was game and made it back to his feet but was clearly shaken up. Fernandez closed the show moments later by rocking Bates, who was out on his feet when the fight was stopped at 1:41.

?Fernandez’ professional ledger improves to 16-5-3 with 6 KO’s. Bates is 11-6 (8 KO’s).

Silva wasted little time against Luque

PHOTO CREDIT: Damon Gonzalez – Reyes Fire Fist Boxing

Lightweight contender Willian “Babyface” Silva of Brazil demolished Diego Gonzalo Luque in the opening round. Silva connected with hard shots shortly after the opening bell and rocked Luque with an uppercut. Luque retreated to the ropes and Silva teed off until the bout was stopped at 2:21.

?Silva, who trains in Florida, is 30-4 with 18 KO’s. Luque, a native of Argentina, falls to 21-12-2 (10 KO’s).

“Silva’s a different fighter since returning to the lightweight division (trainer) Jim McLaughlin’s done a great job refining Willian’s style,” said Caliguire. “Luque went 4 rounds with Brandun Lee earlier this year, he’d gone the distance with Jack Catterall and Mikael Zewski among others. I believe a big fight for Silva will come in the near future.”

Light heavyweight Imran Haddabah won the NBA Americas title via first round knockout of Scott Lampert. The heavy-handed Haddabah, a crowd favorite in the Tampa Bay region, scored two knockdowns, ending Lampert’s night after a wicked right hand at 2 minutes and 32 seconds.

?Haddabah of St. Petersburg improved to 9-0 (7 KO’s) while Lampert of Dover Plains, NY falls to 5-8 (4 KO’s).

“This was a very successful card,” said Mike Reyes of Reyes Fire Fist Boxing. “We’d like to thank all the fans that came out on fight night, including many that traveled all the way from the Boston area. Connor, Willian, and Joseph all had big victories. We’ve got three more cards scheduled before the end of the year and look forward to seeing everybody during our fight nights.”

Reyes Fire Fist Boxing’s next card takes place June 24 at the Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, MA. A full replay of “Fire on the Bay” is available on Reyesboxingtv.com.

Additional undercard results

Junior middleweights: Luke Iannuccili (6-0 – 3 KO’s – Methuen, MA) KO2 (2:13) Christopher Wright (0-2 – Tifton, GA)

Junior welterweights: Gabriel Morales (7-0 – 4 KO’s – Lowell, MA) KO1 (:49) Nathan Harp Jr (0-2 – Kalamazoo, MI)

Light heavyweights: Mike Misa (4-0, 3 KO’s – Clearwater, FL) TKO2 (2:21) Russ Kimber (1-1 – Peabody, MA)

Junior middleweights: Rodrigo Coria (11-5, 2 KO’s – Cordoba, Argentina) UD6 (60-54 3x) Marcelo Fabian Bzowski (11-21-3 – Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Tampa, FL (April 28, 2023) – On Saturday, April 29, Connor “The Kid” Coyle makes the second defense of his NABA middleweight title against iron-chinned Argentine Christian Fabian Rios at the Hilton Carillon in St. Petersburg, FL.

A native of Derry, Northern Ireland, Coyle trains in Pinellas Park, FL under Florida Boxing Hall of Famer Jim McLaughlin. A perfect 18-0 with 8 knockouts, Coyle had a breakout year in 2022, going 4-0 including a May decision victory over Antonio Todd to secure the NABA title. The 32-year-old is currently ranked #4 by the World Boxing Association (WBA, and plans to fight for a world title within the next 12 months but he must first win Saturday evening.

A veteran of 43 fights, Rios faced a number of top fighters and has only been stopped once. The Buenos Aires battled the likes of David Lemieux, Esquiva Falcao, Billi Godoy, Tommy Langford, William Scull, Kyrone Davis and Najee Lopez among others. He owns victories over Ulises David Lopez (27-3) and Martin Fidel Rios (13-1-2), while battling Jorge Sebastian Heiland (19-2-1) to a draw.

Like all of his foes, Coyle respects Rios and knows the importance of improving with every fight, especially as bigger opportunities are likely to come in the near future.

“Rios is a tough and experienced veteran who’s faced a lot of world class guys,” said Coyle. “We had a full eight week training camp in Florida and we worked hard on making improvements. I am excited to be back in the ring and plan to give the fans a great performance.”

The ten round Coyle-Rios NABA championship bout tops Reyes Fire Fist Boxing’s “Fire on the Bay.” Tickets are on sale at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fire-on-the-bay-tickets-556587025777. The card will also be broadcast live on Reyesboxingtv.com.

In the co-featured bout, St. Petersburg’s Joseph Fernandez, 15-5-3 (5 KO’s), challenges “Mean” Marqus Bates, 11-5 (8 KO’s), of Taunton, MA for the vacant NABA 140 pound title. Both fighters went through the ups and downs of the boxing, but the winner of this 50-50 fight will be in position for a significant opportunity in the near future.

Willian “Babyface” Silva returns to the ring in an eight rounder against Diego Gonzalo Luque. Residing in Brazil and training in Florida, Silva’s excellent professional ledger is 29-4 with 17 victories by knockout. Representing Argentina, Luque’s 21-11-2 with 10 KO’s.

Unbeaten St. Petersburg light heavyweight Imran Haddabah puts his 8-0 record on the line versus Scott Lampert of Dover Plains, NY. A local fan favorite, Haddabah is 8-0 with 6 KO’s. Lampert is 5-7 with 4 wins by stoppage.

Super featherweight Gabriel Morales of Lowell, MA battles Kalamazoo, MI’s Nathan Harp Jr in a four rounder. A former Golden Gloves champion, Morales is 6-0 with 3 KO’s.

Welterweight spoiler Rodrigo Coria meets Marcelo Fabian Bzowski in a six rounder. Coria is 10-5 with 2 KO’s and his last four foes have a combined record of 60-2. On January 14, the 24-year-old Argentine lost a close decision to Brian Norman Jr. (22-0)

Methuen, MA junior middleweight Luke Iannuccilli, 5-0 (2 KO’s), faces Christopher Wright of Tifton, GA and Clearwater, FL’s Mike Misa, 3-0 (2 KO’s) squares off with Massachusetts native Russ Kimber in a light heavyweight contest. Both fights are scheduled four rounds.

Doors open at 6 pm and the first bout is scheduled for 7.