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Lewiston, Maine (September 2, 2016) – The 3,800-square foot warehouse in Woburn, Massachusetts, is known simply as “The Way.”
No coincidence, since the proprietor who lives out his passion as a personal trainer under its roof, Brandon Montella, has found a way, in his own unique way.
From a turbulent childhood in North Anson, Maine, to four years of meritorious service in the United States Marine Corps, to the mixed emotions of staying ahead in the professional rat race, to intense personal tragedy, Montella, 36, has endured what most would consider a lifetime’s worth of challenges.
Yet he perseveres, finding strength and clarity in a life devoted to helping others. And he stays sharp, counter-intuitive as it may seem to the uninitiated, by letting other people punch him in the face.
“On a personal level it helped me so much. I had a lot of fear, maybe a little lack of confidence, due to some of the abuse in my past,” Montella said. “Boxing helped me so much with that. It made me a more complete person. I’m a better husband, a better businessman, a better man since I started fighting.”
A late bloomer who didn’t fully immerse himself in the fight game until his 30s, Montella (4-0, 3 KO) will put his undefeated credentials on the line against Tollison Lewis (2-1, 1 KO) at “NEF 25: Heroes and Villains” on Zaterdag, September 10 op de Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine, the venerable boxing venue that in 1965, when it was known as “St. Domenic’s Hall,” played host to the infamous Muhammad Ali-Sonny Liston II world heavyweight title rematch. (Ja, the same boxing bout that spawned rumors of the “phantom punch,” and produced the most iconic image in the history of sports photography.)
Montella was born in Massachusetts but spent much of his childhood in the Western foothills of Maine, where he graduated from Carrabec High School. He describes those formative years as “a tough time, a little bit of a struggle,” and says fighting was both a means of both self-defense and a way of compensating for that lack of self-esteem.
“I wouldn’t change it for the world now,” Montella said. “It helped shape who I am. I tell everybody the Marine Corps started the process of my becoming a man, and boxing helped finish it.”
He spent four years in the service before receiving an honorable discharge. Along the way he met his wife, Tonya, and settled into the comfortable habit of seeking significance through work.
Fatefully, and admittedly on a lark, he accepted a military buddy’s challenge to enter a Toughman contest. It was the amateur, brawling, distant cousin of boxing that Eric “Butterbean” Esch made famous.
“I was a 240-pound meathead. Three one-minute rounds; that seemed like it was right up my alley,” Montella said.
In the process, Montella discovered that getting back in shape, setting goals and chasing intangible successes that were larger than wins and losses suited him, ook.
“That was a turning point for me. Corporate America, I just wasn’t into it,” Montella said. “I couldn’t lie to people and take advantage of them. I couldn’t deal with it morally. I had to turn my back on that. The Marine Corps taught me a different code. I cashed in my 401(k), moved to Massachusetts, became a personal trainer.”
Goed, it wasn’t quite that easy. He had to sell Tonya, whom he describes as “the major breadwinner in the house,” on the merits of such a change. She already had politely proclaimed Maine a great vacation spot but not a place she cared to settle down, for professional reasons.
In 2008, work took Tonya to Boston.
“It was when the Celtics were getting ready to win the championship. She got caught up in the atmosphere and came home and told me, ‘I would move to Boston.’ I said OK,” Montella recalled with a laugh. “I didn’t let her take that back.”
Montella started his gym in a 10-feet-by-10-feet basement of a townhouse. He took up amateur boxing, gedeeltelijk, to set an example for his clients.
“I decided I couldn’t train athletes if I’m not doing the (stuff). I want to wear the boots before the suits, weet je?” Montella said. "Zes maanden later Ik de No was. 1 ranked heavyweight in New England. It blew my mind. I found a place that was home.”
Hij won 14 zijn 21 amateur gevechten, including a novice heavyweight championship in Golden Gloves.
Montella’s trainees have watched him conquer adversity in the prize ring and fight through tragedy in his personal life. Tonya and Brandon’s first child was stillborn on Christmas 2015.
Boksen, and the wilderness in the shadow of Sugarloaf Mountain that holds so many contradictory memories for Montella, are part of his healing process.
“I’m here in Maine now getting ready, diving off 40-foot cliffs, doing hill sprints up 100-foot sand dunes, training like a savage,” Montella said. “We used to go up there to drink. All the crazy stuff I did as a kid, now I use it to make myself the best I can be.
“I preach it all the time at my gym: See the world as your training facility. What someone else sees as a cliff, I see as place to work on my focus and mental control. Where they see nothing but trees and open space, I see as a place to go and meditate. In my 30s, I don’t need drugs or alcohol now to be open with my emotions. Boxing has given me the strength to be who I always wanted to be.”
De opening bel op September 10 is ingesteld 7 p.m. The current docket for “NEF 25: Heroes and Villains” includes three professional boxing matches, five pro mixed martial arts bouts and six amateur MMA scraps. Tickets beginnen bij $25 en zijn verkrijgbaar bij www.TheColisee.com or by calling the Colisee box office at207.783.2009, uitbreiding 525.
Voor meer informatie over het evenement en de strijd kaart updates, kunt u terecht op de website van de promotie bij www.NewEnglandFights.com. Bovendien, kunt u NEF video's te bekijken op www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, volg ze op Twitternefights en toetreden tot de officiële Facebook-groep "New England Fights."
Lewiston, Maine (Augustus 12, 2016) - New England Fights (NEF) keert terug naar Lewiston op September 10, 2016 with the fight promotion’s next event, “NEF 25: HEROES & VILLAINS.” The fight card will feature both mixed-martial-arts and professional boxing bouts. Eerder vandaag, the fight promotion announced the first pro boxing bout signed for the event. Brandon Montella (4-0, 3 KO) zal op zich te nemen Tollison Lewis (2-1, 1 KO) in een vier-ronde licht-zwaargewicht wedstrijd.
Montella graduated from Carrabec High School in North Anson, Maine in 1998. Soon after, Montella joined the United States Marine Corps (USMC). He served in the marines until 2003 when he received an honorable discharge. After spending the better part of a decade in Virginia, Montella moved with his wife to the Boston, Massachusetts area in 2011. He owns and operates The Way, LLC boxing gym in Woburn, Massachusetts. Montella has been on a tear in the boxing ring of late, scoring three knockouts in an eight-month period.
Tollison Lewis cut his teeth in the NEF MMA cage. He has found more success, echter, in the boxing ring. Lewis took a fight on one day’s notice against veteran John Webster (8-7-1, 6 KO) in het najaar van 2014. He would dominate that fight and win by decision. Lewis followed up that performance with a stoppage of Zenon Herrera (0-2) vorig jaar, earning himself a crack at Brandon Berry’s (11-2-1, 7 KO) Northeast Junior Welterweight Title earlier in 2016. Lewis predicts nothing short of an all-out slugfest with Montella on September 10.
“I’m expecting a battle,” Said Lewis. “I know I’ll be prepared for one. Expect a war! I’m not going to talk about it – I’m going to show it, and losing isn’t an option.”
volgende evenement New England Fights ', "NEF 25: HEROES & VILLAINS,” takes place on Zaterdag, September 10, 2016 bij de Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine. Tickets beginnen bij slechts $25 en zijn nu te koop bij www.TheColisee.com of door te bellen naar het Colisée box office op207.783.2009 X 525.
Voor meer informatie over het evenement en de strijd kaart updates, kunt u terecht op de website van de promotie bij www.NewEnglandFights.com. Bovendien, kunt u NEF video's te bekijken op www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, volg ze op Twitternefights en toetreden tot de officiële Facebook-groep "New England Fights."
Hyannis, Massachusetts (Mei 15, 2016) - New England Fights (NEF), Amerika's nummer een regionale strijd promotie, hield zijn meest recente gebeurtenis, “NEF 23: CAGE THE CAPE” op zaterdagavond in het Hyannis Youth & Community Center (HYCC) in Hyannis, Massachusetts. De HYCC was in capaciteit voor de eerste gesanctioneerde mixed-martial-arts (MMA) tonen ooit op Cape Cod gehouden. De locatie opende de bovenverdieping wandelroute aan status-room-only fans meer armslag. De menigte was elektrische de hele nacht voor de acht-strijd kaart gepresenteerd door NEF.
team Juniko, gebaseerd uit Hyannis en Hannover, Massachusetts, was een perfect 5-0 in de nacht. Fabian Miranda (3-0), Thomas Lee Davis, Jr. (2-0), ed Forlenza (1-0), en Kylie O'Hearn (1-0) alle pakte overwinningen voor het team op de amateur-gedeelte van de kaart.
Het was O'Hearn's strijd met Angela Young (1-2) van Young's MMA in Bangor, Maine die zal worden herinnerd voor de komende jaren door alle aanwezigen. De twee vrouwen zich terug te vechten en weer drie slopende ronden voor O'Hearn de winnaar met eenparigheid van stemmen van de jury werd verklaard’ scorecards. De strijd zal een serieuze mededinger voor zijn “Fight of the Year” in het noordoosten tegen de tijd 2016 komt ten einde.
Team Juniko lid Brendan Battles (1-0) zegevierde in het main event van de avond via technische knock-out over Mike Hansen (4-4). De bout was de pro-debuut voor de inwoner van Eastham, Massachusetts en opvallende worstelaar uit Nauset Regional High School. Battles herstelde van een vroege vlaag van Hansen naar de scheidsrechter stilstand een krijgent 1:46 van de eerste ronde.
De volledige resultaten van “NEF 23”:
professionele gevechten
Brendan Battles def. Mike Hansen via TKO, ronde 1
Matt Denning def. Derek Shorey via hiel hook, ronde 1
Crowsneck Boutin def. Ruben Redman via TKO, ronde 1
amateur-gevechten
Kylie O'Hearn def. Angela Young via unaniem besluit
Ed Forlenza def. Frank Johanson via doctor stoppage, ronde 3
Victor Irwin def. Tracey Schryba via KO, ronde 1
Thomas Lee Davis, Jr. def. Anthony Spires via KO, ronde 1
Fabian Miranda def. Steve Bang via armbar, ronde 2
NEF returns to the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine on June 18, 2016 met “NEF 24: PROMISED LAND.” Tickets for “NEF 24” start at just $25 en zijn nu te koop bij www.TheColisee.com of door te bellen naar het Colisée box office op207.783.2009 X 525.
For more information on the events and fight card updates, kunt u terecht op de website van de promotie bij www.NewEnglandFights.com. Bovendien, kunt u NEF video's te bekijken op www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, volg ze op Twitternefights en toetreden tot de officiële Facebook-groep "New England Fights."
Over New England Fights
New England Fights ("NEF") is een strijd gebeurtenissen promoties bedrijf. Missie NEF's is om de hoogste kwaliteit van evenementen voor vechters en fans van Maine alike creëren. Executive team NEF's heeft een ruime ervaring in de strijd sportmanagement, evenementen productie, mediarelaties, verkoop, juridische en reclame.