Eddie Spence vs. Pete Riccitelli (5th meeting)
Pete Riccitelli 173 lbs lost to Eddie Spence 165 lbs by SD in round 10 of 10
- Date: 1970-08-27
- Location: Exposition Building, Portland, Maine, USA
- Referee: Pete Bennett
SPENCE WINS N.E. TITLE BEATING RICCITELLI AT EXPO by Blaine Davis, PORTLAND PRESS HERALD,Friday, August 28, 1970.
Eddie Spence of Pittsfield Mass. added the New England light heavyweight championship to his laurels by grinding out a 10-round split decision over Pete Riccitelli of Portland at the Exposition Building Thursday night.
Spence scored the only knockdown of the fight, spilling Pete with a clean right cross in the fourth round. Riccitelli bounded to his feet immediately and took and eight count.
Spence, who also is New England heavyweight champion, thus gain a 3-2 edge in his series with Riccitelli. Eddie weighed in at a lithe 165 and Riccitelli, as expected, hit 173.
OFFICIAL attendance was 2,796.00, although it appeared more than 3,000 fans jammed into the fall, and the gross gate was $6,180.00.
Riccitelli wasn't outclassed by any means, but Spence did a journeyman's job of slashing out the win. He slowed Pete early with a merciless attack to the body, and scored heavily with barrages to the head.
But Riccitelli, hurt a half-dozen times, never stopped trying. He jabbed steadily, twice staggered Spence with left hooks to the head and came back from the knockdown to stage a rally later in the round that had Spence grabbing.
RICCITELLI kept his chin behind his left shoulder and caught a lot of Spence's punches on his gloves and elbows. But the new champion landed a half-dozen right hand shots to the head and in the seventh had Pete groping blindly for the ropes with a rattling barrage to the head and body.
SPENCE paced himself nicely in the late rounds , waiting for openings as Riccitelli, aware he had to score heavily moved to the attack. His jabs and a two-handed flurry late in the round gave Pete an edge in the eighth but Spence was too cagey to trade and moved out of range. Both were tired at the finish but Spence had enough left to stagger Pete midway through the tenth with a two-punch combination.
The Press Herald had Spence winning by three points, and one a round basis, gave Spence six, Riccitelli two, and called two even.