This Cool 'Roughneck' Enjoys Art Of Boxing
October 23, 1986|by JOHN KUNDA, The Morning Call
Cool kid, this Brian Porreca. Cleverly subtle, too.

He was sitting with the Holmes Brothers, Larry and Mark, yesterday answering questions about himself and about his fight tomorrow night against Mark Holmes; and outside of an occasional admiring glance at the former heavyweight champion, the kid Porreca went about his business.


"I wanted to be a hockey player in high school," said Porreca, who comes from the hockey-oriented area of Medford, Mass., "but I got too many penalties."

That's got to tell you something about his rough-house nature.

Ask him if he's being brought in as a stepping stone for young Holmes, Porreca gives a sly grin and says, "I like being the underdog. I grew up being an underdog. Besides, I think the pressure is all on Mark. He's fighting in his hometown, and a lot of people are expecting good things from him. Me? They don't even know me. I like this whole scene."

Porreca is 26 and has the looks of a Dead End Kid. He has a 12-2 record, but he hasn't fought in 16 months because of a freak accident that tore apart the Achilles tendon in his right leg.

He looks at tomorrow night's fight at Stabler Arena as an "opportunity to prove myself." He has no second thoughts about his long layoff. The kid is not lacking in confidence.

Oddly enough, it was Mark Holmes who also had a long layoff (13 months) before he returned to the Stabler Arena ring five months ago to resume what he thinks is a climb to the middleweight championship. Mark showed some rust signs, but gained a decision over Doug Mallett, another New Englander who, by the way, is a close friend of Porreca.

Perhaps some of Porreca's confidence comes from the fact that he saw films of the Holmes-Mallett fight. Not trying to sound like a kid with a chip on his shoulder, he did indicate that he was a better fighter than Mallett.

"We're friends and I don't want to say I'm better; or that he's better," Porreca said. "We work out together; and we give and take. I did get a feel, though, after watching the films."

Porreca was quick to make a correction about his 12-2 record, with two knockouts. "Make that four knockouts," he said, again giving a sly smile. Does that make him a "knockout artist?" he was asked.

"Let's say that if a knockout comes, I'll go for it, but I can go the distance, too," Porreca said.

Young Holmes chimed in, saying, "this fight will end in aknockout, and I'll take it." More grins from Porreca.

Porreca, whose mother, Marylin Porreca, is the mayor of Medford, got into boxing after being flagged in hockey, still follows the ice game closely. He has friends who play college hockey, and, he says, "you'd be surprised how many of the guys (the hockey players) come to the gym to work out with me. You gotta know how to fight in that game, too."

Porreca's boxing career was launched when he won the New England Golden Gloves title, but not too long after, his career was in jeopardy. He had the strangest of accidents.

It happened shortly after he had knocked out Jose Cruz in four rounds in the spring of 1985. He pulled into a service station to fill up his car. As he got out of his car, he stepped into a hole and tore the Achilles tendon. "It was painful and damaging," said Porreca, who, despite the accident, never thought he'd be forced to give up fighting.

"I stayed in shape," he said, "working out the best I could. I feel fine now, and the doctors tell me I'm physically fit."

Porreca and Mark Holmes will fight 10 rounds under the promotion by Larry Holmes and his company, Sports Cor. This is the second in a series of such promotions by Larry Holmes, who says, "I want to give these young fighters a chance to prove themselves."

For the time being, anyway, the fights are showcasing Mark Holmes, who has a 33-1 record. "Mark's getting his confidence back," said Larry, "but I saw some things (in his last fight) that he has to work on."

Larry admits his brotherly bias, but he says, "Hey, if a guy like Brian can beat Mark, we'll bring him back and let him show his stuff again."

The thought delighted the attentive Porreca. His eyes opened wide, and, again, that sly grin of his reappeared.

Mob murder witness found dead in Vegas.(News)
Article from: The Boston Herald | August 22, 2003 | Richardson, Franci | Copyright

Byline: FRANCI RICHARDSON

As a judge is set to rule on whether two convicted mob killers will get a new trial, the state's key witness who helped put them behind bars was found dead of an overdose in a Las Vegas hotel room with $25,000 cash on him, sources have told the Herald.

The Middlesex District Attorney's Office said an audiotape of the initial testimony of witness Brian Porreca, 44, of Medford would be heard in court if Anthony Barry, 34, and Brian Cahill, 38, are granted a new trial in the 1999 gangland shooting of Kevin McCormack in Malden.

"In general, any testimony taken under oath in a first trial would ordinarily be admissable in a second trial," Middlesex spokesman Seth Horwitz said yesterday. …