Boxing promotor Jimmy Burchfield to be inducted into the RI Heritage Hall of Fame
WARWICK — Jimmy Burchfield’s career as a fight promoter was just about over before it ever really had the chance to get started.
His first event at the old Rocky Point Palladium resulted in a financial loss of roughly $28,000. Burchfield had surrendered his credentials as an international boxing judge and shifted his interests away from his North Providence restaurant in pursuit of a third — perhaps fourth, maybe even fifth — chapter of his working life.
The easy decision would have been to quit. But that course of action would have run counter to Burchfield’s character. The founder of Classic Entertainment and Sports is into his fourth decade bringing sporting entertainment to Rhode Island residents, and he wouldn’t change all that much.
“At the end of the night, I said to myself, ‘Oh, God — I wonder if I can get my judgeship back,’ ” Burchfield said on Friday. “But I said, ‘No, I’ve persevered with everything in my life. I’m going to make this work.’
“I’m not telling you there haven’t been bumps in the road. I’m not telling you there haven’t been challenges.”
'I can do this better than they're doing it'
Burchfield will be inducted into the R.I. Heritage Hall of Fame on Sunday. The evening ceremonies at the Crowne Plaza will feature business leaders and cultural staples from throughout the state. Burchfield has earned his place among the nine-person class by showcasing the likes of Vinny Paz, Peter Manfredo Jr., Gary Balletto and Jamie Clampitt in rings from here to Las Vegas.
“When I look at my fellow inductees, they’re leaders,” Burchfield said. “They have done so much for Rhode Island. That adds even a little more prestige.”
Boxing caught fire in the state in the 1980s with the rise of Paz, a Cranston native who developed into a five-time world champion. Burchfield was involved in the sport from the time he was a teenager training under the direction of the late Philip Addison. One familiar face he saw regularly at a makeshift South Providence gym was the late Wilfred Greene, a fellow pending inductee and world-ranked middleweight who eventually presided over the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe as Chief Eagle Heart.
Burchfield carried his love for the sport over the next several decades and eventually bankrolled that first promotion in June 1992. New Bedford native Ray Oliveira topped the card on his way to title fights with the likes of Vernon Forrest and Ricky Hatton. Burchfield’s belief despite the early setback was that he eventually could rival and surpass fellow promoters in terms of how they managed fighters and events.
“I can do this better than they’re doing it,” Burchfield said. “And I want to do it right in my state of Rhode Island.”
Manfredo followed Paz in receiving widespread acclaim thanks to his place on "The Contender," a reality TV show that matched rising prospects against one another both inside and outside the ring. He went on to headline the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on multiple occasions and squared off with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for the WBC middleweight crown in 2011. Nearly two dozen of Manfredo’s 50 career fights took place within state borders.
“I’ve always tried my best to do everything I could in my power for the state of Rhode Island,” Burchfield said. “I always had that in mind. If I wanted to bring a big fight, my first inclination would be, ‘I want to do it in Rhode Island.’ ”
Adapting to change
Like any other business, CES was forced to adapt throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It hosted a pair of promotions under an outdoor tent at the Crowne Plaza and staged an open-air card at Cranston Stadium. Burchfield previously relied on a fairly steady rotation of venues in the area — Twin River, Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun and others.
“It’s been one challenging effort to keep the program going,” Burchfield said. “But that’s what I’ve done my entire life. We have many people who count on us.
“We have our fighters, their families, their trainers, our fans — we keep the program going.”
Burchfield’s current top prospect is Worcester lightweight Jamaine Ortiz, who is booked against Jamel Herring on a May 21 card in Las Vegas. Preliminary conversations are underway for Ortiz to eventually headline at Polar Park, the stadium that opened last year to host the Triple-A affiliate for the Red Sox in Worcester. Ortiz is among the next generation of fighters who have entrusted the beginning stages of their careers to Burchfield.
“They’re putting their lives in my hands,” Burchfield said. “And that means an awful lot to me. They become part of my family.”
CES expanded to include mixed martial arts in 2010 and features a handful of longtime employees. One of Burchfield's three sons, Jimmy Jr., is a Providence lawyer who serves as chief legal counsel. Burchfield doesn’t see himself stepping aside any time soon — it's something that hasn’t been in his nature from the start.
“I could walk away tomorrow, but I can’t see myself as a person who’s going to have nothing to do all day,” Burchfield said. “I set my goals every day. Whether it be eight, nine, 10 things — I get them done.
“It’s sometimes very challenging. But that is how I live my life.”
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Jimmy Burchfield to be inducted into RI Heritage Hall of Fame
