Reno and Greco Fight Draw in New York – by Bernie McCoy

(JUNE 15) Susan Reno and Vanessa Greco fought to a six round majority draw on Friday night as a co-feature on a six bout boxing card, presented by Uprising Promotions, before a late arriving capacity crowd at the Five Star Event Center in Long Island City, in the borough of Queens, in the city of New York. [Fight photos by  JJ Ignotz]

Those are the facts. But only those fans who cheered themselves almost voiceless could truly appreciate just how good this twelve minutes of boxing was. Start with the fact that the only clinch in the bout occurred after the final bell when both boxers embraced near the ropes, where seconds earlier each fighter had been doing exactly what they had done non-stop for the entire bout, trading punches, on a bell/bell, non-stop basis.

This was a return bout. In January, Reno won a close four round split decision over Greco in Staten Island, NY. In March, Greco fought a four round draw with Noemi Bosques in Rhode Island and in the same month, Reno lost a close decision, over four rounds, to Canadian Jacqueline Park at the Five Star venue.

Greco came to the ring on Friday, at 114 pounds, a four pound advantage over Reno and during the first two rounds, Greco seemed to be the stronger of the two boxers, landing the bigger punches, more consistently. In the third round, however, Reno’s speed and in and out tactics seemed to be taking a toll on Greco who slowed noticeably during the round and it appeared that Reno might be on the verge of turning the momentum of the bout in her favor. Remarkably, midway through the fourth round, Greco seemed to find a “second wind” and from the point forward, to the final bell, both fighters traded taking control of the action, while maintaining the individual styles that epitomized all six rounds: Reno, constantly moving in and out, effectively landing solid lefts and rights, while Greco continued to look for the big punch, trying to, and sometimes succeeding in catching Reno “on the way in.”

Both fighters were accompanied by large contingents of fans, spread throughout the packed house, and those supporters only quieted down when the ring announcer made ready to intone the verdict. Judge John McKaie saw the bout 59-57 for Reno, while Robin Taylor and Carlos Ortiz turned in identical 57-57 tallies. It’s a certainty that neither fighter was satisfied with the decision, but, quite candidly, neither would this observer have been satisfied with one of these two boxers coming away with an “L” after the performance each turned in.

This was Uprising Promotions second boxing card in 2013, the first two efforts of this nascent promoter. The initial card featured a main event in which Patty Alcivar (who was in attendance on Friday) won the NY State Flyweight title over Eileen Olszewski, in another very well received female bout. It was also the second SRO crowd at the cozy Five Star venue. Based on the quality and reception of the two shows, encores are in order for both Uprising Promotions and the sport of Women’s Boxing.