LEWISTON – Even as an up-and-comer on a small professional fight card in a small Maine city, Damien Rapley is starting to turn some heads.

Rapley knocked Devin Womack to the ground twice in the first 45 seconds of the fight and finished him off with a series of blows to the head at 1:02, sending Veskobic to his elbows and knees one last time.

“I caught him with a solid right hand to the temple,” said Rapley. “I saw that if I went to the body and brought his hands down that I would have an open right hand, and I hit him and he dropped his hands.”

Rapley drew top billing on a five-fight professional boxing card at the Multi-Purpose Center on Saturday night that also featured a six-bout amateur undercard.

Even though his fight lasted just less than a half of a round, Rapley was satisfied with his professional debut.

“Of course I am satisfied,” said Rapley. “My strategy was to go out and jump on him to see what he had.”

His opponent, from Philadelphia left the ring in a daze after Rapley landed a series of punches that staggered the 203-pound fighter.

“Sometimes you’re able to land the right punches in the right combinations,” said Rapley. “It was just too much for him, I guess.”

In the first heavyweight fight of a professional card, Scott Frost of Mechanic Falls fought in his second professional fight, and demolished Dan Veskobic of Lowell, Mass., dropping him at 2:47 of the second round for his second knockout in as many fights.

“I landed better shots in the first round than I did in the second,” said Frost, who won in less than one round in his first fight.

“He was tough out there, but I heard him grunt after one good body shot, and I knew I had him. He didn’t go down easy, though.”

A tough series of body shots and one final left jab to the head proved to be the coup de gras in the second as the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

With the late start, results of the three other professional fights were unavailable at press time.

In the amateur undercard preceding the professional fights, two local boxers received loud applause and drew the majority of the support from the nearly packed gymnasium, but neither local fighter won the hearts of the judges.

Making her boxing debut, 16-year-old Lindsey Kyajohnian – formerly of Lewiston and now of Turner – stayed with Chantel Martinez for the better part of the first round, but started to wilt in round two. Martinez landed several punches to the head as the second round came to a close, prompting two standing eight counts and eventually the end of the fight.

“I still don’t think the fight should have been stopped,” said Kyajohnian. “I don’t think I was that hurt. I didn’t feel it at all. Even on the first standing eight count, I wasn’t bad at all, but I guess they had their reasons.”

The experience hasn’t soured the sophomore at Leavitt High School, though, and she expects to be back in the ring soon.

“Oh, I’ll go again,” said Kyajohnian. “I’ll go back to the gym (she trains at Gamache’s Boxing Club) and work on some stuff and get back in there and try it again. I am a little disappointed, but it’s OK.”

In the fifth amateur fight, Duriel Shanks of Lewiston went toe to toe with John Perez of Haverhill, Mass., and even bloodied his nose in the third and final round, but still lost the decision on points.

The bout with the loudest cheers in the amateur portion of the card came early, when Caitlin Garcia of Lawrence, Mass., and Berta Pappas of Haverhill, Mass., squared off in the center of the ring. The two women traded punch after punch, landing several each for two straight rounds. In the third, both tired slightly, but neither backed away. The decision went to Garcia.

Other winners in the amateur portion of the card were Jayme Dennis of Waterville, Melissa Roberts of Manchester, Conn., and Derek Silvera of Beverley, Mass.

jpelletier