One thing is a given when
Peter Manfredo Jr. steps in the ring. You’re going to get 100% from him, win,
lose, or draw.
Hailing from Providence,
Rhode Island, Manfredo has fought most of his fights in the New England area
although he has traveled as far as Wales to face then-super middleweight
champion Joe Calzaghe.
Widely unknown during most
of his career outside of his regional area, Manfredo caught his first big break
when he was chosen to be a participant on the NBC series “The Contender,” only
to see it all vanish when he was eliminated by Alfonso Gomez in August 2004 in
the first fight of the series (actually televised on March 7, 2005).
Fate can be a funny dance
partner sometimes, so when East Coast team member Jeff Fraza was diagnosed with
chicken pox, the remaining contestants voted to bring Manfredo back to the show
in Fraza’s place. Jesse Brinkley was the first to notice the obvious as Manfredo
defeated Miguel Angel Espino just 12 days after the Gomez loss.
Turning to his fellow castmates,
Brinkley stated, “We let a lion back in.”
As true as that statement
was, Manfredo became much more than the king of the jungle to fans watching the
show. He was practically a real-life Rocky Balboa. He was- and still is- a
blue-collar union laborer and the proverbial “everyman,” willing to trade punches
to make a better life for his family. As a result, over the course of that
inaugural season, Manfredo quickly captured the imaginations of millions of fight
fans, old and new, as his popularity skyrocketed.
Fulfilling Brinkley’s
prophecy, Manfredo fought his way to the show’s live finale in May 2005 where
he faced Sergio Mora for one million dollars, incidentally selling out Caesars
Palace in Las Vegas in five minutes flat.
But it wasn’t his night and
as “The Latin Snake” celebrated his seven round unanimous decision win with his
hands held high, Manfredo, who had a million dollars pass right through his
hands, sat on a ring rope, dejected and forlorn.
Almost five months later, Manfredo
and Mora fought a rematch promoted by Contender Partners (a promotional venture
between reality TV powerhouse Mark Burnett Productions and DreamWorks
Television) and although Manfredo lost a split decision, it was clear to most
everyone who watched it that he should have gotten the nod.
In fact, the entire night
was highlighted by extremely questionable calls.
However, Manfredo persevered
and his drive and popularity landed him some big fights, most of which he won
with the exception of two losses, a third round stoppage to Calzaghe and a
unanimous decision to Jeff Lacy. Undaunted, he returned three months later,
kicking off the first of four fights in 2008, losing his last fight of that
year to Sakio Bika via stoppage in three. It would be his last loss to date.
In his last fight, Peter
completed dominated Daniel Edouard, dropping him in the fourth round and
winning a unanimous decision.
Based on his fan base and
his stellar performance against Edouard, Manfredo was tapped as tomorrow night’s
opponent for the much celebrated and largely untested Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.,
now sitting with a record of 43-0-1 (30), as well as the WBC middleweight title.
The only common opponent between
Manfredo and Chavez is Matt Vanda who Manfredo dominated. It took Chavez a
second go-round to get his point across unanimously.
This fight will not be a
walk in the park for Chavez for two reasons. One, Manfredo is a tough cookie
and two, Manfredo knows that, regardless of what happens, this is his last shot,
a final stand. He also knows that if his hand is raised as the winner of this
fight, his entire life will change in one split second. Manfredo will become
the man who beat the celebrated Chavez Jr. and as a result, he becomes a major
middleweight player- and that’s worth a ton of money.
Asked how he feels about the
fight, a focused and determined Manfredo said, “He’s a tough kid but I can beat
him. My plan is to break him down.”
“I’m already at weight and
ready to go,” he continued confidently.
Often times, as a fighter
nears the end of his career, he can become reflective and Manfredo is very
thankful to the many people who have helped him along the way. He credits two
other New England fighters, Scott Pemberton and “Iceman” John Scully, for
giving him a lot of ring time and help as he was coming up.
After a stint with Freddie Roach
as his trainer, Manfredo returned to the man who trained him for most of his
career, his father, Peter Manfredo Sr.
“Yeah,” the younger Manfredo
said, “we started this thing together, so we’ll finish it together.”
He also has nothing but respect
for Roach and his charge, Chavez Jr.
“Both my father and I
learned a lot from working with Freddie,” Manfredo stated, “and I want to thank
both Freddie and Julio for this opportunity.”
When asked what he’d like to
tell his fans, Manfredo responded by saying, “I’d like them to know that on the
19th of November, they’re going to see a great fight and a new World
Champion.”
Asked what he’ll do after
the fight, Manfredo chuckled and said, “After that, [lineal World Middleweight
Champion Sergio] Martinez is going to pay off my house.”
“And then,” “The Pride of Providence”
announced, “I’m out. I’ll leave it to the young guys.”
