Oliveira Enters CES "Ring of Honor"!

February 1, 2008
Text: Peter Mark Heintzelman
Photos: Emily Harney

Former world title contender and New England fan favorite, "Sucra" Ray Oliveira (47-11-2, 22 KOs), of New Bedford, MA, was inducted into the "CES Ring of Honor" on Friday night, January 25, 2008, at the Fox Theatre located inside Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Mashantucket, Connecticut during the fight evening's festivities.

While the Classic Entertainment and Sports event was dubbed, "The Champions of Tomorrow," promoter Jimmy Burchfield took time to honor his 39 year-old former champion Oliveira as he has reportedly retired from the sport with his induction into the "Ring of Honor."

Jimmy Burchfield, president of Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc. (CES), established the CES "Ring of Honor" in 2005 to pay respect to the inductees for their special accomplishments and contributions to New England boxing.

Charter members include five-time world champion Vinny "The Pazmanian Devil" Paz (50-10, 30 KOs), former WBA and WBC welterweight title-holder Marlon "Magic Man" Starling (45-6-1, 27 KOs), and three-time "The Ring" Fighter of the Year (2001-2003) participant "Irish" Micky Ward (38-13, 27 KOs). Other CES Ring of Honor members include former 3-time world champion "El Gallo" Jose Antonio Rivera (38-6-1, 24 KOs), world light heavyweight contender "Iceman" John Scully (38-11, 21 KOs), famed Connecticut trainer Johnny Dukes, and 2008 U.S. Olympian Demetrious "Boo Boo" Andrade.

CES's undefeated heavyweight contender, "Baby" Joe Mesi (36-0, 29 KOs) inducted Ray Oliveira in to the Ring of Honor, stating, "He has been a warrior inside the ring. He has always been a warrior outside the ring. He has always represented New England with class. He's been a class act inside the ring and outside the ring. It's my honor to induct "Sucra" Ray Oliveira into the Ring of Honor Hall of Fame."

"Sucra" acknowledged the recognition of induction into the CES "Ring of Honor" by stating, "It's exciting, all throughout my career when I was an amateur, and I didn't want to go to the Olympics. I wanted to be a world champion, but it didn't mean much to me. What meant so much to me was getting the respect of my peers and being elected into something like this. Now that I am, I know what I did now with my career was worth it."

"I am retired now from boxing, and hopefully getting my own stable of boxers. Jimmy Burchfield is the man on the east coast. I love working with him, and couldn't have done it without him. I also believe I was his first world champion fighter who gained his belt under the banner of Jimmy and CES. It is a great honor for me to be inducted and I think Jimmy a whole lot," said Oliveira.

Oliveira concluded by saying, "I also want to thank my fans as they cheered for me whether I was winning or losing, because they knew I was always coming to fight, and they made me happy. I take this honor for my father, in recognition of him, and I want to thank the greatest person in the world, I want to thank me!"

"I think that Ray Oliveira was one of the best fighters that ever came out of New England," said Jimbo Isperduli, his long time corner man.

"By far, he holds a lot of records, the most punches ever thrown. He had the heart of a lion. I mean, the kid was just unbelievable. He was one of the most exciting fighters that ever came out of New England, and I think he deserves the recognition into the Ring of Honor tonight." stated Isperduli.

Ray Oliveira fought the likes of Ricky Hatton (43-1, 31 KOs), Vince Phillips (48-12-1, 34 KOs), and Vernon Forrest (40-2, 29 KOs) just to name a few. At various times during his fifteen years in the professional ranks, Oliveira held the IBU welterweight title, the NABF light welterweight title, the IBF Inter-Continental light welterweight title, and the New England lightweight title.

Oliveira also co-held CompuBox all-time records of 3,020 total punches thrown in a fight by "Sucra" and Zack Padilla (22-1-1, 14 KOs) on December 16, 1993, and 1,424 total punches thrown in a single round, between Oliveira and Vince Phillips on December 22, 2000 with both records having been set at Foxwoods Resort Casino. One thing was always for certain, that whenever "Sucra" Ray Oliveira stepped into a boxing ring, you knew you were going to get an exciting, entertaining, and action packed fight.