Galway’s Thomas “The Kid” O’Toole, an undefeated light heavyweight [9-0, 6 KOs], squares off with once-beaten Russell Kimber [2-1, 1 KO] for the vacant Massachusetts state title at Quincy Youth Arena in Quincy, Mass., on May 11. The scheduled six-rounder is part of the “Rumble At The Rink” card presented by Granite Chin Promotions (GCP).
“What a compliment this fight is to our inaugural ‘Granite Chin Box Off’’,” said Chris Traietti, GCP president. “The plan with this show was to stack it with fighters people want to see, in fights people want to see them in, and [O’Toole vs Kimber] is the epitome of that.”
“Thomas has been a fixture the last few years in the local boxing scene, and he is taking on a guy in Kimber who is no slouch,” Traietti added. “Kimber is the type of guy that if you take him lightly you are in for a bad night.
"Thomas comes from a solid amateur background and a great gym, so I don’t think he is going to make that error. But everyone in the building would be foolish to sleep on Russell Kimber. This is going to be a great co-feature!”
Now fighting out of the Boston suburb of Braintree, O’Toole, who’s 26, has been based in Boston for the past year. He captured the USBF Atlantic light heavyweight title last August, also in Quincy on a GCP card, with a first round stoppage of Scott Lampert.
O’Toole is the 2019 Irish national amateur champion. He’s coming off a homecoming victory on March 16 when he won all eight rounds against Hussein Itaba [16-7-3, 11 KOs] at Galway’s Salthill Leisureland Complex.
“I want to add this Massachusetts title and keep pushing,” said the stylish 6-foot-three southpaw. “The plan is to have two big fights after this fight. He [Kimber] doesn’t have too many fights, but he has sparred with some of my mates. He’s pretty game and will fight coming forward, and that’s good for me.
“My fight in Galway was amazing, the best of my life, because it was my homecoming. But the Irish here have come out to support me and Boston is my second home. I had a great coach and good boxers in Galway, but I knew I needed to make a bit of a change. You can’t get good sparring there like I can here. So, I moved.”
O’Toole is grateful that he hooked up with his head trainer, Mark “Bazooka” DeLuca, a still professionally active middleweight with a 30-4 [18 KOs] ledger.
“I’m so happy I made the link with Mark,” said O’Toole. “I don’t think a lot of people know how good a coach he is. I have more of a pro style than I had before he started training me. He has shown me how to use range and stay composed. Mark has really developed me to control the ring and improve my ringmanship.”
Kimber, meanwhile, reckons O’Toole has bitten off more than he can chew.
“Fighting for the Massachusetts title is great. I don’t think he (O’Toole) fully understands what’s coming. I think a win will open up doors for me because I’ll be 3-1 and have a title. I’ve seen a few Granite Chin fighters with only six or seven fights getting the opportunity to fight at places like Madison Square Garden. I took this fight, and we’ll see what happens,” he noted.
Fighting out of Peabody, Mass., Kimber is from a martial arts lineage. His father, Dick, and uncle Tommy, were three and five-time world kickboxing champions, respectively. Kimber owns Kimber Fitness, which is soon relocating to nearby Salem from Peabody.
Kimber made his pro debut in 2017, earning a decision over Nathan Schulte, but he’s only fought twice since then, due to COVID-19 restrictions and bouts that failed to materialize.
Tickets for the “Rumble At The Rink” card are available at this website.
Doors open at 6 p.m. EST and the first bout is scheduled for 7 p.m.
