Uncasville, Ct
Not even a week after Team Gillett fighter Josh LaBerge (4-4) edged out a decision victory over Frank Latina at USFL’s ‘Springfield Massacre’, he now faces an even bigger challenge in Strikezones’ Chris Simmons (5-1). Simmons is coming off a loss to Ken Stone, which is the only blemish on his record. LaBerge, who had dropped two in a row, rebounded with a hard fought 3 round decision over Latina. Although not under the best of circumstances, LaBerge did not hesitate when the call came on Wednesday night. Normally, LaBerge fights at 145, but having fought last Saturday he was at about 160 when the call came and luckily the fight with Simmons is at 155. Meaning the weight cut would be relatively easy. “I could hop in the sauna and drop 5 pounds with no problem, so that wasn’t a factor”, said LaBerge. What about fighting an opponent the caliber of Simmons on such a big stage? LaBerge says, ” I only want to fight top-guys and Chris is definitely a top-ten guy. He’s well-rounded and he has a great record but I’m here to test myself. I could take easy fights and try and pad my record but sooner or later you’ll get exposed. From this point on..I only want top-ten guys”
Bellator Fighting Championships is coming to New England the same weekend as EFI, AFO and I.C.E, so it remains to be seen what impact that will have on ticket sales. Below is the fight card:
145 lbs. – Wilson Reis (6-0) vs. Henry Martinez (5-1)
155 lbs. – Thomas Schulte (18-6) vs. Eric Reynolds (10-1)
170 lbs. – Lyman Good (7-0) vs. Hector Urbina (12-4)
170 lbs. – Jorge Ortiz (15-4) vs. Aaron Romero (5-2)
170 lbs. – Omar De La Cruz (3-1) vs. Victor Meza (9-0)
Non-Tournament Bouts:
155 lbs. Matt Makowski (4-1) vs. Aaron Tregear (6-3)
155 lbs. Josh LaBerge (4-4) vs. Chris Simmons (5-1)
