It took years for Casey Streeter to overcome excruciating physical pain from nearly losing a leg in a workplace accident and a disturbing childhood to win the New England Super Welterweight boxing championship and now as he prepares to defend his title for the third time, he’s resolute to remain a champion.
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| Boxer Casey Streeter, left, a Correctional Trade Instructor at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, will defend his New England Super Welterweight boxing title against Joe Farina of Massachusetts in March. Streeter beat Farina in November 2023 to win the title and has successfully defended it twice since then. PHOTO BY STEPHEN SHEA |
He was working for a tree removal company dragging logs with a log chain from a ditch. Streeter had wrapped one end of a chain around a tree trunk and was walking the other end of the chain up to the log truck’s grapple device from a ditch when a co-worker lost sight of him, and the grapple suddenly closed and clamped onto his right leg. At that instant his right femur and knee shattered, causing a compound fracture with a chunk of his leg also torn away by the grapple hook.
Blood poured from the wound and the grapple’s claw had just missed severing his femoral artery by a quarter inch. He stumbled into the ditch and thought of his wife Abby and his two children and wondered if he was going to die. His co-worker found him in the ditch and tried calling for help on his cell phone, but service wasn’t available there, so he ran to a nearby home and used their phone to summon help.
EMTs rushed Streeter to Maine Medical Center in Portland with his leg was so badly mangled that doctors didn’t know if they could save it. Fortunately, the orthopedic trauma surgeon on duty that day was a military veteran who had saved U.S. soldiers on the battlefield in Iraq. He assured Streeter that he could save his leg, and he led a team to carefully reconstruct it using more than 20 metal pins and rods.
Following surgery, Streeter developed a severe wound infection and then had to overcome post-traumatic stress disorder from the accident. He slowly began walking again with the aid of crutches and after months of challenging physical therapy, he finally felt that he had turned a corner. He was able to work at the Maine Correctional Center while believing that he might be able to box once again.
“I was left with scars, and lots of metal,” Streeter said. “The colder months are tough, but I am able to use my leg and don’t feel much of a difference in my lateral movement.”
He returned to training under Russo in 2019 and adopted the nickname of “The Comeback Kid.” Regaining his strength and prowess in the ring took time but Streeter was determined to fight again and on Nov. 11, 2023, he outlasted Joe Farina of Massachusetts in eight rounds at the Portland Expo to win the New England Super Welterweight title at 154 pounds.
Streeter successfully defended his championship twice in 2024, knocking out Jimmy Williams on June 15 at the Cross Insurance Arena just over 2 minutes into the first round. He then fought 8 tough rounds against Derrick Whitley on Nov. 9 at the Portland Expo in a back-and-forth thriller that ended in a draw with Streeter retaining his title.
His current record is 12-2-2 with 5 knockouts and he’s back in training getting ready to make a third title defense on March 22 at the Royale in Boston against a familiar opponent, Joe Farina. His first bout against Farina in Maine went the full eight rounds with Streeter’s strong combination punches attributed as the difference in the judge’s majority decision that night.
“He brings the pressure. He constantly comes forward. He’s a tough guy,” Streeter says of Farina. “He always comes ready, and this time he is coming for revenge. This time we will fight 10 rounds, instead of 8.”
From his home near the Raymond/Gray town line, Streeter has been training seven days a week and putting in up to two to three hours of a workout routine.
“I spar, do mitt work, work on strength and conditioning, and can run multiple miles in a week,” he said. “This is after I’ve already worked a shift at the Maine Corrections Center. I’m always consistently training, but when I’m in camp for a fight, I try to train every day.”
He said that his wife of 12 years, Abby, and his two children inspired him to recover from his injuries and to box again.
“My wife and kids are my biggest supporters,” Streeter said. “The kids have their own gloves. We do mitt work together and they love to come to the gym with me.” <
