By Lorenzo Recupero
If you’re looking for some live outdoor entertainment this weekend, Everett boxer Ryan Pietrantonio is getting back in the ring for an outdoor fight night hosted by the Somerville Youth Development & Boxing Club.
The annual event, dubbed Fight Night at Dilboy, is set for Saturday, August 17 from 6-11PM at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville.
The show stages over two fists full of boxing matches, with one of them featuring Pietrantonio (11-1 overall), who will be looking for a change of fortune in his second appearance at the event after suffering his only loss in the ring there two years ago.
“I’m in redemption mode right now,” said an excited Pietrantonio, eager to avenge his only career defeat, a split-decision that he is adamant he should never have lost. “I’ve got to get that loss back now,” he said.
The upcoming fight will be Pietrantonio’s last live action match before he takes a jab at the USA Boxing National Tournament in October, where he will represent the New England Region, an honor he earned after topping the New England Golden Gloves Tournament earlier this year.
Win or lose at Dilboy Saturday, Pietrantonio isn’t taking lightly the opportunity at hand with Nationals on the horizon.
“I’ve just been working out since my last fight back in March, pulling 2-hour gym sessions six days a week after 10-hour work days,” said Pietrantonio, who works in the construction business but doesn’t let a hard days work keep him from honing his skills inside the ring.
“I’ve been doing a lot of running, sparring, and bag workouts just preparing,” he said. “[Nationals] That’s when things get serious. I’m going to go hard in the gym for the next month and a half so I can be at my best level when that time comes,” said Pietrantonio.
Tickets for Fight Night at Dilboy can be purchased at the event for $20 per adult and $10 per teen. Children under 13 are free.