New Bedford Boxer Earns First Knockout at Cranston Stadium

Over the weekend, CES Boxing hosted the first outdoor boxing event in Rhode Island in over 60 years, and New Bedford native Wilson “Ill Will” Mascarenhas stole the show with a second-round TKO.

Mascarenhas spoke with Maddie and Gazelle this morning about his first professional knockout and what it felt like to represent the SouthCoast on UFC Fight Pass. Listen to the full conversation here:

I managed to get a front row seat to the action, participating as color commentator for six professional boxing fights at Cranston Stadium in Cranston, Rhode Island. When I saw a super lightweight from New Bedford on the card, I couldn’t help but root for the 26-year-old as he made his way to the ring.

“I feel good about it,” said Mascarenhas, as he reminisced on his fourth win as a professional. “We didn’t go in there looking for the TKO, you know, we were just doing this work, we were just ready to execute and win the fight.”

A unique aspect of Saturday’s fight card was fighting under the blistering heat, with temperatures reaching the high 90s.

“I think I was fighting the sun more than I was fighting my opponent,” Mascarenhas joked. “We had to make some adjustments, adapt to the sun, adapt to the weather, I had to get (my opponent) out of there because I was already done for.”

Mascarenhas certainly adapted, with no shortage of support from his fans in the stadium. Originally from Portugal, Mascarenhas moved to New Bedford when he was 12 with his Cape Verdean family and began boxing at 18. He’s extremely proud to represent the Whaling City, and he may have not been the main event, but the crowd was all about “Ill Will.”

“Every time I fight, there is no doubt in my mind that New Bedford shows out. It’s an amazing feeling to know that I got crazy amount of support and I just knew that they were going to be there, I just didn’t know it was going to be that crazy,” he said.

Just in case you were wondering, Mascarenhas would prefer to fight a dozen duck-sized horses rather than one horse-sized duck. Leave it up to Gazelle to ask the hard-hitting questions.

Wilson Mascarenhas improves his professional record to 4-1, and looks forward to getting back in the ring as soon as he can.