Police arrested the president of CES Boxing after allegations that he attacked a losing boxer at one of his shows.
Police were called to Twin River Casino in Lincoln, RI a few weeks back after a bizarre incident that occurred at a boxing event (per WPRI). The incident ended with the arrest of a boxing promoter and allegations that he taunted and attacked a TKO’d fighter.
This all took place on Saturday, February 23rd during a Classic Entertainment & Sports (CES) Boxing show. CES boxing, and its sister company CES MMA, are both based in Providence, RI. CES is one of the most recognizable brands in New England regional combat sports.
The February 23rd show featured Marcia Agripino defeating Amanda Pavone for the vacant USA New England Super Bantamweight title and Ricardo Quiroz besting Jamaine Ortiz for the vacant WBC Youth World Lightweight Title.
However, the fight which will be most remembered from this card was Joe Cusumano vs. Brendan Barrett. Cusumano won the bout with a TKO in the sixth round. After Barrett was counted out, chaos erupted on the ring apron.
According to reports, after the bout was called off Jimmy Burchfield Sr., president of both CES boxing and CES MMA, climbed onto the apron and began taunting Barrett. Barrett then, reportedly, yelled at Burchfield and others outside of the ring.
That’s when Richard Cappiello, who was on the apron allegedly taunting Barrett along with Burchfield, fell back onto the ground. It’s alleged that when this happened, Burchfield then swung at Barrett three times with a closed fist.
It is alleged that Cappiello then jumped back onto the ring apron and also lashed out at Barrett. Both Burchfield and Cappiello were arrested soon after.
The incident was captured on VIVE Network television and has been shared on YouTube by user Domenico101MMA.
Burchfield was charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct. Cappiello was initially charged with just disorderly conduct. However, after police reviewed surveillance footage — which allegedly showed Cappiello making contact with Barrett — he was also charged with simple assault.
A 2009 article from South Coast Today reported that Cappiello was also a boxing promoter, who merged his promotion with Burchfield’s CES company. That report also stated that Cappiello was concentrated primarily on fighter development at the time.