Custom Search

June 26, 2017

A NEW NEF BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPION WILL BE CROWNED IN BANGOR



[NEF Press Release]

Bangor, Maine (June 21, 2017) – New England Fights (NEF) returns to the Cross Insurance Center on Saturday night, August 5, 2017 with the fight promotion's next mixed-martial-arts event, "NEF 30: Rumble in Bangor."  Earlier today, NEF announced the addition of an amateur championship bantamweight contest to the fight card.  Fred Lear (5-2) is scheduled to meet Walt Shea (2-0) for the vacant NEF MMA Amateur 135-pound championship.

A member of Young's MMA based in Bangor, Lear is riding a two-fight win streak into the first hometown fight of his career.  In February of this year, Lear defeated Shea's First Class MMA teammate Michael Crespo (3-3) with a second-round technical knockout.  He is a finisher, with all but one of Lear's five victories coming by way of technical knockout or submission.  He is promising local fans a crowd-pleasing fight against Shea on August 5th.



"Walt Shea has shown tremendous poise and fortitude in his back-to-back wins," proclaimed Lear.  "My job over the next eight weeks is to work hard, stay humble, and listen to my teammates and coaches who have carried me to this point in my career. This is an extraordinary opportunity and it is my responsibility to seize it. This isn't about myself or an ammy title. This is about Bangor and delivering on the fight this town deserves."

Walt Shea has been to the judges' scorecards twice in his time with NEF, and twice Shea has emerged victorious.  He made his debut last September with a split decision win over Joel Downing (0-1).  Shea followed up that appearance with a unanimous decision over Alan Bustamante (0-1) earlier this year at "NEF 27."  He is a member of First Class MMA based in Brunswick, Maine, as well as The Foundry in Farmington, Maine.

"It's an honor to be fighting for the amateur 135-pound title at "NEF 30,'" said Shea. "Honestly, it's hard to believe considering almost two years ago I was just an overweight fan watching my cousin Nick Shea compete in the cage. My opponent, Fred Lear, is a tough kid who comes from another tough gym in Young's MMA and always brings a ton of energy into the cage, so be ready for a war of cardio and willpower from each of us. I'd like to thank my family for standing behind me in this adventure, along with my head coach at First Class MMA, John Raio, and all my other outstanding coaches and my talented teammates."

“NEF 30: Rumble in Bangor” will be held at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine on Saturday, August 5, 2017. Tickets are on sale now at www.CrossInsuranceCenter.com.