Saturday night in Las Vegas is no doubt another chance for
the glamour division of the sport to bask in the spotlight of the sporting
world as Tyson Fury (27-0-1) (19 KO’s) defends his lineal championship against
German Tom Schwarz (24-0) (16 KO’s).
After the shocking results at Madison Square Garden that saw Andy Ruiz
win portions of the heavyweight crown by knocking out the unbeaten Anthony
Joshua, Saturday is a great chance for
Fury to solidify his claim as the “baddest” man on the planet (a moniker which
comes with being the best heavyweight in the world).
While Fury fights for the first time since his draw
against the other champion thought of as one of the best, Deontay Wilder, and
begins his partnership with promotional juggernaut Top Rank, the undercard features a co-main event that
easily is worthy of its own main event status when Philadelphia native Jesse
Hart (25-2) (21 KO’s) battles Sullivan Barrera (22-2) (14 KO’s) in a ten round
light heavyweight contest. Also, on the
undercard is heavyweight and Top Rank prospect South Philadelphia’s future real
life “Rocky” Sonny Conto (2-0) (2 KO’s).
Since his last fight, a second go around defeat at the hands of former
WBO super middleweight champion Gilberto Ramirez, Hart has continued to reinforce that it is
only a matter of time before he is known as a world champion. His quest for the super middleweight crown was
well documented by this writer prior to his first clash with Ramirez in the
fall of 2017. After the close defeat,
Hart regrouped with the knowledge that he was one point away from fulfilling
his dream. Three knockout victories and
a year later saw Hart back in the ring with Ramirez. It seemed entering the final rounds that Hart
would clear the Ramirez hurdle, but he was hurt by an injured Ramirez and the
result wound up being the same.
With the two Ramirez fights being the only blemishes on his
record, and Ramirez stating his desire to move up and join the talent loaded light
heavyweight division, it was thought by
many that Hart was poised to stick around the 168-pound super middleweight
division and not only finally win the vacated championship by Ramirez, but in doing so would set himself up for big
pay dates against some of the other talented champions and challengers in the
division.
It was a bit of a shock when he told The Weigh-In directly
that he was planning a move up to join the rest of the talent at 175-pounds in
the light heavyweight division. He
stated that he was planning on fighting a big name in his debut and had
targeted former world champion, Sergey Kovalev conqueror Eleider Alvarez. “That division is so full of talent and now
I’m going to add my name to the mix,” stated Hart. Kudos to Hart for making the decision to not
play it easy and defeat a lesser challenge to earn the championship he craves, and for chasing both greener pastures and tougher terrain at light heavyweight.
Enter Sullivan Barrera (22-2) (14 KO’s), himself a former
title challenger, who like Hart only has two losses. These defeats came at the hands of future Hall
of Famer Andre Ward and the current WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry
Bivol. At 37 years old, Barrera has been
less active than the 29-year-old Hart and struggled a bit during his last fight
back in November against the durable Sean Monaghan. Barrera seemed a bit off during the early
portions of the fight, maybe it was due to disinterest because just eight
months earlier he was stopped in twelve grueling rounds in his championship bid
against Bivol. Whatever it was, Barrera
handled himself like the true professional and wound
up battering Monaghan in route to the decision victory.
With Alvarez dropping out of the proposed fight with Hart,
Barrera was the name that filled in and allowed Hart to remain as the
co-feature on this big night in Vegas. Hart is never shy to speak
his mind and has traded barbs with Barrera over social media. Recently, he
informed the media on his thoughts regarding this fight in career terms and Barrera. “The 175-pound division is wide
open and I’m finally ready to win that world title. Sullivan Barrera is in my way, so I am going
to smash him,” stated Hart. Barrera is
indeed a seasoned veteran, but at the age of 37, the idea that a fighter can
get “old” overnight is always close by.
“After Saturday night we’re going to put him (Barrera) into retirement,
you’re not going to hear from him again,” said Hart.
Barrera puts all of that to the side and thinks its just
Hart trying to avoid dealing with nerves he may be facing since he is moving up
in weight. “Jesse Hart knows he’s never fought anyone like me, he is
scared. He is coming up from 168, but
the punching power at 175 is not the same.
I am a different level than what he’s used to. It’s going to be a long night for him,”
remarked Barrera.
ESPN analysts, former world champions, and future Hall of
Famers Timothy Bradley and Andre Ward also had interesting takes on this
fight. “I think it’s a good move for
Jesse. I thought that at 168 pounds he
may have been zapping some of his strength to make the weight. He is a big strong guy, so 175 may just be
the better fit for him,” stated Bradley.
“This is going to be a good fight and is a good way to lead into the
Fury fight. Barrera is a seasoned
fighter that is technically sound,” replied Ward. Both agreed that the winner of the fight
aligns himself for bigger fights and bigger purses against the rest of the
division that is rich with talent. With
the champions (Kovalev, Bivol, Beterbiev, and Gvozdyk), seemingly on a
collusion course to unify their titles.
If Hart can get by Barrera (who is ranked #7 in the division) he will
stake his claim for a shot at one of those champions in the future.
Also, on this loaded undercard is the aforementioned
heavyweight prospect Sonny Conto. With
just two fights as a professional, Conto is indeed at the prospect stage of his
career. He has the amateur pedigree that
included being crowned a National Golden Gloves champion. His stock was high enough that Top Rank
signed him right away. With both of his
wins coming at home in Philadelphia in front of an adoring crowd (and Conto
already has a nice size fan base at home to build off), it made sense for Top Rank to have him
continue his nurturing process by taking part in a big fight week in Sin City
featuring a current heavyweight champion.
Conto was flown out to Vegas where he spent time training
and sparring with Fury as well as Joseph Parker, the only man to beat Andy
Ruiz. As Conto progresses inside of the
ring, it will be a bit of time before we see the 23-year-old in a meaningful fight. Especially a fight that begins
the test to see just how far he truly can go.
Full of talent, Conto continues to progress that talent and
build the foundation to handle big fight weeks and fight nights when his name
will be the one in the lights. “Sparring
with a champion is great work for a young fighter. You don’t want to be just a sparring partner
though,” stated Ward. Bradley also
agreed with Ward, “Terrance Crawford spent time with me in camp before anyone
knew his name. I think for him it was
just as good outside of the ring as it was in terms of the work that we gave
each other. He got to see how I handled
myself as a champion and the way I dealt with my family.” So just what does Conto think about his time
sparring Fury, “It was awesome, a great experience, and priceless.”
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