BOXING
Marinaccio, others home for bouts
NIAGARA FALLS — Paul Marinaccio stumbled into a professional boxing career simply by being in the right place at the right time.
The Sweet Home graduate and current resident of Cary, N. C., just happened to be attending a boxing card in Raleigh when one of the fighters in the main event pulled out minutes after the echo of the national anthem had stopped reverberating in the venue.
The desperate promoter, who had heard that Marinaccio had been a New York State Golden Gloves champion and had just started training again as a way of getting into better shape, essentially begged Marinaccio to fill in because it would have looked bad if the man people paid to see that night, Tom Talley, didn’t fight in his own hometown.
The promoter should have given his man the night off as Marinaccio, wearing sparring gloves and jeans, won the “exhibition” bout against the unbeaten prospect via knockout in the second round.
Nearly seven years and 30 fights later, the 41-year-old Marinaccio now has the opportunity of a lifetime. The southpaw will fight veteran heavyweight Michael Grant for the North American Boxing Association United States title in the 12-round main event Saturday night at the Seneca Niagara Casino Events Center.
Marinaccio, who figures to have more than 100 family members and countless friends at the show, is one of four boxers with Western New York ties slated to appear on the seven-fight card that starts at 7 p. m. Buffalo’s Ross Thompson (26-12-2) and Guillermo Sanchez (4-0) and Niagara Falls’ James Ventry (7-5-1) also are scheduled to fight.
But the spotlight will be on Marinaccio, who is fighting in Western New York for the first time and for a title, no less.
“This is a big opportunity for me,” said Marinaccio, who brings a 24-3-3 record into the fight. “If I can just win this, it’ll be a true blessing. It’s kind of exciting because . . . I’m at the end of my career.”
Marinaccio, who owns his own construction and concrete company in North Carolina, didn’t plan on having a long career when he turned pro as a 35-year-old. He figured he’d box two or three matches and have a story to tell his grandchildren some day.
He stayed in the game a little longer than expected because it provided a morale boost to a good friend and fellow Western New York transplant Mike Skipper. Skipper was one of Marinaccio’s biggest fans until he passed away 2z years ago from Lou Gehrig’s Disease (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). Skipper attended Marinaccio’s first seven fights before the illness prevented him from attending any more. Marinaccio kept him in the loop though by reporting fight results to him via telephone.
“It’s kind of like what kept him going,” said Marinaccio, who donates his portion of his purses toward ALS research.
The 6-foot-5 Marinaccio has a chance to do something for himself Saturday even though he’ll be the underdog against the 36-year-old Grant (44-3). The 6-foot-7 Grant once fought Lennox Lewis for the WBC and IBF world championship belts and has won his last six fights since losing in 2003 to Dominick Guinn.
General admission ($30) tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com or by calling 852-5000.
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