Tunnel vision Traietti returns to boxing with retribution on his mind

By Michael Parente

QUINCY, Mass. –- This isn’t about making more money or soaking up the spotlight often associated with professional boxing.

Chris Traietti is back in the ring for one reason and one reason only: Revenge.
Still smarting from a loss to “Irish” Joey McCreedy, Traietti has decided to give up his brief tenure in mixed martial arts and return to boxing in hopes of getting one more shot at the fighter who handed him his only loss a year and a half ago.

“I’d do it tomorrow,” Traietti said.

While that’s not a realistic option at this point, Traietti could begin working himself back onto McCreedy’s radar Friday by taking care of business in the main event of Classic Entertainment & Sports’ “Brawl At The Hall” card at Memorial Hall in Plymouth, Mass.

Boxing for the first time since losing to McCreedy in January of 2008, Traietti (7-1, 4 KOs) will face Shawn Kirk (4-3, 2 KOs) in Friday’s six-round light heavyweight main event.

This is, by far, Traietti’s most high-profile fight considering he’s the headliner of a major boxing card for the first time in his career, but none of that seems to faze him as he continues to target a desired rematch against McCreedy. In fact, Traietti didn’t even know he was competing in the main event until last week.

“I was just worrying about the fight,” he said. “I mean, it’s cool and it’s definitely something I haven’t done yet as a pro, but I’m more worried about the fight than the fact the fight is the main event.

“I try not to think about it. Honestly, this is just one of those fights. It wouldn’t matter if it’s the main event or a fight that happened before they started letting people in the door. I’m in there with a guy who I’m supposed to make a statement [against], so that’s what I’ve got to do.”

With only eight fights under his belt, Traietti may not be a household name just yet, but he’s an intriguing prospect with a fascinating background that includes a six-month stint fighting the war in Iraq and a job working as a correctional officer, not to mention his brief foray into mixed martial arts.

His military experience stems from high school when he enlisted in the Army to help pay for college. After missing a semester at Westfield State (Mass.) to finish basic training, Traietti was deployed to Iraq in December of 2004 and didn’t return home until the following May.

“It puts a lot of things in perspective when you’re in a situation where you don’t have the stuff that we take for granted – something stupid like being able to go to the store and buy a bag of chips,” he said. “It’s just not there. Or sleeping in a room instead of a tent.

“You take certain things for granted when you’re home, but when you go over there you realize that, for a lot of people, that’s just a luxury.”

Having always loved boxing (“I first started going to the gym when I was 13,” he said), Traietti decided to test his skill in the ring when he returned from Iraq. The lack of available amateur fights forced him to turn pro just four months later. He debuted with a unanimous decision victory over Huston Crayton in September of 2005.

Traietti quickly climbed the ladder in the light heavyweight division, knocking out four of his next five opponents to set up a showdown against McCreedy at the Foxwoods Resort Casino.

At the time, McCreedy had just six fights under his belt, but he won a close 58-56, 58-56, 56-58 decision, knocking Traietti’s career off track.

“I just took the fight for granted. It took it as a lay-up,” he said. “I basically had myself winning the fight before I even started getting ready for it.

“He took advantage from that aspect. I have to give it to him. He won the fight. There’s no way I felt I got hosed by the judges. It was one of those fights where I did everything wrong. I trained about four days for the fight. I dropped 13 pounds the day before the weigh-in and I fought like garbage. Physically, I was only able to throw about 20 punches per round. I was done before I got in there.”

Traietti took the loss hard. He spent the next two months away from the gym and completed his college degree in psychology -- which was interrupted by his service in Iraq – before moving back to Quincy in search of a job. With no boxing matches on the horizon, Traietti satisfied his urge to fight by taking up MMA. He wrestled in high school and had taken jujitsu classes in the past, so the transition was relatively seamless. Traietti won his only fight as an amateur and went 2-1 as a pro before deciding to resume his boxing career.

“I’d say the biggest difference has got to be that you get taken to the ground,” Traietti said. “In boxing, you’re not really used to throwing a right hand with someone shooting at your leg. That was the biggest thing for me.

“Personally, I’m a boxing guy. I never got passionate about the mixed martial arts. It was something that was kind of killing time and keeping me active and keeping me in the gym, but I have a lot of respect for that sport, though. It’s definitely tough. There’s so much that goes on and so much to worry about. In boxing, you’re basically going toe-to-toe. In mixed martial arts, you’ve got to worry about submissions, strikes, kicks … yeah, it’s pretty wild.”

The lure of facing McCreedy was too tempting for Traietti to resist. Now he’s back in the boxing ring looking to re-climb the ladder and get back to where he was before everything fell to pieces.

“Every time I step in the gym, I just think about it. It’s embarrassing,” Traietti said of the loss to McCreedy. “I mean, I’ve been doing this for a while and it’s not like I went in there and lost to a solid, or what I feel like is a solid, respectable guy to lose to. No excuses. I beat myself. It’s just tough losing to a guy who now struggles to beat .500 fighters.”

Traietti has a lot of options and a lot on his plate right now, not to mention the fact he recently spent six months at the reserve police academy in hopes of becoming an officer. Until then, he’s focused on his boxing career –- and one fighter in particular, to be exact. 

“I don’t really know what his options are,” Traietti said of McCreedy. “He’s been fighting nothing but .500 guys since he fought me and he’s either losing or barely beating them. I’m the only logical choice, but I haven’t fought in a year and a half, so I really need to go in there and reel off a couple wins to back up what I’m saying.
“I intend on doing it. He definitely won’t catch me in that situation again.”