North Providence's D'Errico defends Rough 'N' Rowdy women's lightweight boxing title

Fighting Malaysia “The Fighting Barbie” Mackey from Charlotte, N.C., the 2018 graduate of North Providence High received a pink championship belt for her stellar performance, as she was an unanimous-decision winner by three scores of 30-27.

The 19-year-old Mackey had been 4-0 with a Rough ‘N’ Rowdy victory on her resume, “but she was unorthodox,” D’Errico admitted last Friday afternoon. “She was trying to street-fight me, and I couldn’t put on a great performance and that was frustrating.”

“As a boxer, I’m going to win by points,” she continued. “I know how to box, but it’s not entertaining when someone’s doing that and you can’t really punch it out with them.”

Nevertheless, the Rough ‘N’ Rowdy victory was D’Errico’s third in the past six months. Two months earlier, D’Errico exchanged punches with one of the promotion’s most successful boxers, West Virginia native Karisa “Cherry Bomb” Lambert, for the women’s championship in the main event of Rough ‘N’ Rowdy 20, at the Charlestown Coliseum & Convention Center in Charlestown.

While Lambert’s supporters and most of the local fight fans weren’t too kind to D’Errico, she sent them home disappointed after that bout by coming away with an unanimous-decision triumph.

During her fight against Mackey, “I got a mixed (reaction from the fans), but I just tried to play into it,” D’Errico recalled. “After I won, I jumped on top of (coach) Joe Reverdes’ back and rode him around the ring, and I was screaming, ‘I love you, West Virginia!’ And the fans were screaming when I did that, so maybe I won over some more fans.”

D’Errico had also fought on the last two Rough ‘N’ Rowdy shows that came to Providence. Last Dec. 9, when the Amica Mutual Pavilion hosted Rough ‘N’ Rowdy 19, she posted a hard-fought split-decision victory over Heather “One Shot” McDonald, who hailed from Cumberland, Md.

And her first title came in her boxing debut when she topped Leanna “Bumblebee” Cruz of Allendale, Pa. via split decision at Rough ‘N’ Rowdy 10 on Nov. 20, 2019 at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

As for her latest victory, “it feels really good,” D’Errico said. “It took that one fight (last December) in Providence to show them that I’m back and hopefully I can keep stacking belts.”

D’Errico, who also won the Southern New England Golden Gloves’ Sub-Novice Division’s 132-pound championship in 2020 and Novice Division’s 125-pound title last year, plans to stay busy, not only with her training and her job as a personal trainer at Team Rockstar Sports in Warwick, but also in making a bigger name for herself.

Earlier this month, D’Errico signed a promotional contract with Vida Management, which is based out of the United Kingdom, “with the hopes of expanding my opportunities in both in the United States and abroad with influencer boxing platforms,” she reported on May 5 on her Facebook page.

“All they’re responsible for is getting me at least four fights a year,” she said last weekend, “but they’re also going to help me with branding and going more into social media. I’m not that great at it, but they’re going to help me with that. It really only helps me to sign with them. Hopefully, they will open up some more doors for me.”

As for her next Rough ‘N’ Rowdy appearance?

“They’re going to be in West Virginia again in August,” she said. “All the championship and main event fights are going to be five rounds instead of three, and I think I’m going to do better because I’m a slow starter and I’m always working on my cardio. I think a lot of people gas out early because they put their full throttle and punch it out for that whole first minute.”

“I might do the one in August, but if not, they’re definitely going to come back to Providence in November,” she added. “I’m really looking forward to that.”