‘You work hard, things can happen’
Local boxer, ex-plumber Vendetti gets WBA title shot
Greg Vendetti was spending a quiet night at home when he received a call from his trainer, Joe Ricciardi, who told him he was going to get the chance to do what he’s dreamed of doing since he started boxing.
“He was screaming,” Vendetti said. “He said, ‘I told you, you work hard, things can happen.’ ”
The 30-year-old Vendetti, who grew up in Stoneham and recently moved to Wakefield, will challenge Erislandy Lara for the World Boxing Association World light middleweight championship on Aug. 29 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The 12-round bout will be televised live on Fox.
“It’s a great opportunity,” said Sean Sullivan, the vice president and partner of Murphys Boxing, Vendetti’s promoter. “We got the call directly from Premier Boxing Champions. They reached out to Ken Casey (Murphys Boxing’s president and the front man of the Dropkick Murphys) about the fight. Greg is a throwback fighter and he’s willing to fight anyone.”
Said Casey, “I’m thrilled to help some of our boxers get these opportunities during these difficult times. It is a pleasure to be involved with Greg Vendetti. He’s tenacious, dedicated and full of heart.”
Vendetti (22-3-1, 12 knockouts) last fought on July 7, 2019, when he won the vacant International Boxing Association title with a 12round unanimous decision over Michael Anderson. It was the main event of the first boxing card at the Encore in Everett.
He was scheduled to return to the Encore on April 9 to fight Cleotis Pendarvis. That fight was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(Pendarvis) was a southpaw, like Lara,” Vendetti said. “I didn’t have to change much. The gym had been closed but Joe and I have still been doing stuff. I’ve been running and staying in shape.”
Vendetti started boxing when he was 16, while attending Northeast Metro Vocational High School, where he played football and studied to become a plumber.
In football, he played guard and linebacker and was occasionally a wing-back.
“We run a wing-T offense and we need athletic guards,” said Northeast football coach and athletic director Donald Heres, who was also Vendetti’s plumbing shop teacher. “Sometimes we’d put him at wing-back when we needed someone to block and he also got to carry the ball.”
Off the field, high school was a difficult time for Vendetti.
“He was in trouble a lot, but the most important thing is he was always accountable,” Heres said. “He was always respectful of me and the other teachers but he could be disruptive. He always had a chip on his shoulder.”
Through the years, Vendetti and Heres have remained close.
“The transformation he’s made has been amazing,” Heres said. “On Thanksgiving I’d have students over and he’d come over. After he won the IBA title he talked to the football team about making good decisions in life.”
Said Vendetti, “(Heres) gave me something in my life. He saw something in me that I could do great things.”
Vendetti worked as a plumber early in his boxing career and still has his plumbing license.
He turned pro in 2013. Six fights into his pro career, he dropped back-to-back decisions. He recovered to win his next 13 fights in a row. After a unanimous decision over Yoshihiro Kamegai on Aug. 17, 2018, on ESPN, he earned a fight against Michel Soro on Dec. 8, 2018, in Paris for the vacant WBA Gold title. Soro stopped him in two rounds.
“I feel like I learned a lot in that camp about how to prepare for a fight,” said Vendetti, who has won two fights since that loss. “Lara isn’t Soro. Soro is a little bigger and he’s younger. If it weren’t for that fight, I may not have gotten this one.”
The 37-year-old Lara is a native of Cuba and a veteran of more than 300 amateur fights who defected before the 2008 Olympics. As a professional, he is 26-3-3 with 15 knockouts. All three of his losses were split decisions, bowing to Paul Williams, Canelo Alvarez and Jarrett Hurd. He’s 1-1-1 in his last three fights, with the loss to Hurd, a draw against Brian Castano and a second-round knockout victory against Ramon Alvarez on Aug. 31, 2019, in which he won the WBA title.
“He’s one of the best of this generation,” Vendetti said. “He hasn’t looked spectacular in his last three fights. He relies on reflexes and speed and he doesn’t move like he used to move. He doesn’t like pressure.”
When Vendetti fights in Los Angeles, it will be different than his previous bouts in another way. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Microsoft Theater will not have any fans present, just the boxers, trainers, officials and TV personnel.
“It doesn’t worry me too much,” Vendetti said. “Not having the fans there can help. If they’re booing, it can get you to be more aggressive than you need to be. If they react to something it can affect how the judges score.”
Vendetti and his team will also have to stay in a bubble for five to seven days prior to the fight. He and his team will be tested before leaving for Los Angeles and upon arrival, as well as before the fight. In the lead-up to the fight, he’ll have access to workout facilities.
“It’s the same thing I’ve been doing, just training and staying home,” he said. “You can’t go anywhere anyway. I just bought a house and I’ve done some work on it. I read a lot. That’s about it.”