WILKES-BARRE — Kurt Scoby made his Northeast Pennsylvania debut a memorable one.

The Spring Brook Twp. resident bounced back from his second loss in 20 career fights with a first-round knockout of Cristian Perez of Mexico in front of 1,263 in the main event of St. Paddy’s Slugfest at the Keystone Grand Ballroom at Mohegan Pennsylvania on Saturday.

“It’s definitely amazing to get back in the winning column,” Scoby said. “I’m very happy just to be back. I’m just living my life right now. I’m enjoying my family time and I’m ready to go again.”

Scoby landed a good left hook to the body early in the first round. Later, with Perez against the ropes, Scoby connected with a left and a short right hook to the head that dropped his opponent. Perez could not beat the 10-count, giving Scoby a knockout victory at 1:44 of the first round.

“I try to just be there and be where my feet are,” Scoby said. “I see things before they even happen. I saw that he was ready to go so it’s time to go. And I saw my son over there and I was like ‘he’s seen enough; it’s time to go’.”

Tough fight

Thomas Blumenfeld entered Saturday with an 11-0 record but had to battle to earn victory number 12.

The native of Fleurimont, Quebec who now trains in Springfield, Massachusetts, overcame the first two knockdowns of his professional career to earn a unanimous decision victory over Willmank Brito of Mexico in an 8-round bout.

“That was my toughest fight to date,” Blumenfeld said. “I knew the guy was a veteran. His last fight was against one of my teammates, Armando Martinez Rabi, who is an amazing boxer. I knew what he was coming into the fight and he showed out and made it a tough fight.”

In a bout between southpaws, Blumenfeld had a solid opening round and landed a good uppercut and followed with a left hook. In the second round, Brito swung wildly and landed a right hook. He landed another big right hook that stunned Blumenfeld and followed it with a left that sent Blumenfeld to the canvas. Blumenfeld was able to get to his feet and continue and landed a good short left hook but, with his back against the ropes, Brito connected with an uppercut that dropped Blumenfeld to a knee.

“In the amateurs, I actually got dropped with a headbutt so I’ve had a similar experience but nothing quite like this,” Blumenfeld said. “It’s adversity and every fighter has to go through these types of things to get to the next level. It sucks to go through but it was early on and I showed out through the eight rounds that I was able to overcome that adversity and come out on top.”

Blumenfeld answered in the third round with two right hands and a left upstairs. In the second half of the fight, Blumenfeld started using his jab more and was able to land stinging shots that snapped Brito’s head back.

“Being a southpaw against another southpaw, the jab was very effective,” he said. “When I tried to open up more, he was unorthodox so I got caught with some shots. I just kind of went back to the jab, figured I’d stay with that and cruise to the victory but definitely a tough-fought win.”

First loss

Anthony Muta of Newfoundland suffered his first loss in his fourth professional fight, dropping a unanimous decision to Chicago Smith of Jacksonville, Florida, in a 4-round bout.

The pair traded heavy shots in the first round with Smith scoring with a right to the body and a straight left upstairs. Muta caught Smith with a couple of left hooks to the head later in the round.

Smith started the second round with a left-right combination and then a left hook as Muta’s right eye started to swell. Muta delivered a left hook but Smith caught him with a right upstairs and then an uppercut with Muta on the ropes.

Muta backed Smith into the ropes in the third round and landed a right hook to the body but Smith answered with a strong straight left. Smith then connected upstairs with Muta on the ropes.

In the final round, Smith went to the jab and then landed a straight left upstairs. Muta ducked under a punch and landed a right hook but Smith was able to counter with a left upstairs and a right to the body.

Results

Super welterweight: Chicago Smith def. Anthony Muta by unanimous decision.

Cruiserweight: Nicholas Jackson def. Jesse Oltmanns Jr. by unanimous decision.

Cruiserweight: Vladimir Dalton def. Shakeem Williams by split decision.

Super lightweight: Thomas Blumenfeld def. Willmank Brito by unanimous decision.

Super welterweight: Avious Griffin def. Jorge Rodriguez by KO at 2:58 of Round 6.

Super lightweight: Kurt Scoby def. Cristian Perez by KO at 1:44 of Round 1