Boxing

Returning fighter has new style

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published September 26, 2006

Asked why his son would return to the ring nearly three years after unofficially retiring, Jack Frissina did not hesitate.

"Money," he said. "It gets them every time."

But not just money. There's the desire for fame, the promise of a title shot, the desire for the adulation of the home crowd.

For all those reasons, Tarpon Springs' Pete Frissina is making a comeback.

The former 118-pound contender will come back at 130 pounds Friday, most likely headlining the latest One Punch Productions card in Tampa.

He will come back a better boxer, says his dad and trainer, as well as stronger and more ready for the challenges ahead.

"He's more a boxer-puncher now, instead of a brawler," Jack Frissina said. "Instead of making a hard fight out of everything, we're going to try and make it easy. He's been working hard on his jab and his overall boxing. I think he looks better now than he ever did."

When we last saw Frissina, he was flailing about in the ring, lucky to survive one round with Rafael Marquez, but not two.

The loss, for the IBF bantamweight title and on HBO no less, was so devastating Frissina (27-4-1, 15 knockouts) quit. No longer able to make the 118-pound limit and no longer a viable contender after his performance, the closest he got to the ring was helping his father train fighters in New Port Richey.

"We were really fighting the scale back then," Jack Frissina said. "His body just said no more. And after losing that fight, he was so depressed. He just didn't want to fight anymore."

But after trying real estate school, and working with his father's fencing business, Pete Frissina decided it was time at the age of 30 to try boxing one more time.

Jack thinks this time might be different. He said the IBF has promised it will rank Frissina should he win his first two fights back, they are hoping to get on the undercard of the upcoming Winky Wright-Jeff Lacy card, and the Tarpon Springs party scene has been one man short in recent months.

"He's much more mature," Jack Frissina said. "He used to be a party boy, but he hasn't been out of the house in four months. He wants this badly."

IN FLUX: Because Dante Craig's promoter and manager Fred Cribbs died two weeks ago, creating some contractual issues, the former Olympian most likely won't be the main event Friday at the Tampa Westshore Doubletree Hotel, opening the door for Frissina.

"I'm assuming it's not happening," Terry Trekas of One Punch Productions said. "If Dante fights now, it will just be a bonus."

Also, the previously scheduled Nov. 17 card has been postponed due to Trekas handling the local and site coordination duties for the Wright-Lacy card.

For more information about Friday's card, call (813) 503-8109 or visit onepunch.net.

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE: A news conference has been tentatively scheduled for Oct. 11 to make the Wright-Lacy card at the St. Pete Times Forum official.

Tickets are expected to go on sale Oct. 14.

RING NOTES: Clearwater's Keith Thurman, the No. 5-ranked amateur at 152 pounds in the country, will compete this week at the National Police Athletic League Championships in Oxnard, Calif. The winner in each weight class gets an automatic spot in the 2007 U.S. Olympic Trials. ... Joey Gilbert, former star on The Contender when it aired on NBC and now training under Dan Birmingham at the St. Pete Boxing Club, will fight Oct. 11 at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, N.Y.

[Last modified September 26, 2006, 01:27:21]