By Luis A. Cortes III
This Friday night from the Liacouras Center on the campus of
Temple University marks the return of big-time boxing to the city of Brotherly
Love. Last April, Top Rank Promotions
and ESPN put on a big show at Liacouras Center that featured plenty of hometown
fighters in key matchups. This year,
while there have already been some compelling local shows that have all had
great attendance, it’s time for Matchroom Boxing USA and DAZN to host a show in
the city. The upstart streaming application that has taken the boxing world by
storm, will broadcast their first show from Philadelphia on St. Patrick’s Day
weekend. Granted the St. Patrick’s Day Parade
has come and went in the city, this Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day, which means
that the city will be a buzz with plenty of festivities for Philly to indulge
in. A Friday night at the fights is the
perfect way to kick things off.
Since signing a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing USA,
IBF Junior Lightweight Champion Tevin Farmer (28-4-1)(6 KO’s)(1 NC) has gotten
what he has asked for, an active schedule.
Eddie Hearn has made good on his promise to Farmer that if he did sign
with Matchroom, barring any injuries, he would constantly get him fights. Which means that when he defends his
championship in the main event on Friday night, it will be his fourth fight in
seven months and his third title defense.
What makes this title defense interesting for Farmer is not only will he
be fighting for the first time as champion in his hometown, he will be facing
the tough and rugged challenge of undefeated Irishman Jono Carroll (16-0)(3
KO’s). On a weekend like the one
approaching, it’s the perfect sell for a main event. Hometown champion versus the tough challenge
of a native Irishman during the city’s celebration of the latter’s heritage.
This is a huge fight for Farmer, even though it may seem
that Carroll may not have the same experience to really test Farmer. Carroll is in fact a durable fighter that has
had to fight his way from the bottom to reach this opportunity. Both fighters have exchanged barbs over
social media, calling each other everything in the book. Farmer has stated his pleasure with fighting
under the Matchroom banner and has also let it be known that after this fight
he would love the chance to unify the division titles in a fight against the
WBA champion Gervonta Davis. This is the
fight that most hardcore fight fans have been asking for a couple of years
already from a stylistic standpoint would be fun to witness. Although the future looks bright for Farmer
with a victory on Friday night, nothing by any means is guaranteed in terms of
a victory. Carroll for his part is planning
to spoil those future plans as well as reach a point in his career that he has
admitted only he dreamed could happen.
In the co-main event, WBA and IBF unified featherweight queen
Katie Taylor (12-0)(5 KO’s), looks to add the WBO title to her growing
collection when she battles Brazilian Rose Volante (14-0)(8 KO's). Taylor, an Olympic Champion from the 2012
London Games, is quickly working her way up the pound-for-pound rankings in
women’s boxing. She already retains
celebrity status in her native Ireland, and having fought already in Boston and
New York, adding Philadelphia to her resume will continue to add to her rising
popularity. If she were to get by
Volante, she already has stated that she would love to battle Amanda Serrano, a
fellow pound-for-pound ranked fighter in a super fight. Taylor is open to fighting the best in the
world and along with Carroll, her fellow countrymen, adds yet another Celtic
flavor to the fight card.
On the undercard two matchups look to shine a spotlight on
the world of Philadelphia boxing.
Middleweights Gabriel Rosado (24-11-1)(14 KO’s) of Philadelphia and
Maciej Sulecki (27-1)(11 KO’s) will battle in a pivotal matchup for both
men. Earlier this week, Eddie Hearn went
on the record and stated that the winner of this matchup would be in line for a
world title shot against WBO Middleweight Champion Demetrius Andrade. That statement put an added incentive to the
already motivated mind of Rosado, who will be fighting in front of his hometown
crowd for the first time in several years.
During the pre-fight promotion, Rosado’s trainer Billy Briscoe stated that
he was indeed impressed with the skills of Sulecki and in no way was Rosado
going to take this fight with anything but a serious approach. This is a solid fight that should please both
the crowd in attendance and the fans watching at home.
Lightweight Hank Lundy (29-7-1)(14 KO’s) will take on his
fellow Philadelphian Avery Sparrow (9-1)(3 KO’s). Although both fighters are from Philadelphia,
believe me when I tell you there is no love lost between these two fighters. Both are no stranger to speaking their minds,
which was the case during the kick-off press conference. Lundy told TWI that he expects to capture his
30th victory of his veteran professional career and feels that a win on this
type of show and platform in his hometown could launch his career towards at
least one more run towards a world championship at lightweight. With a career that has seen Lundy face some
of the best fighters of the past generation at both lightweight and super
lightweight, it is this experience that he believes will be the difference
maker in the fight. Sparrow is looking
to use a victory of Lundy to jumpstart his career and put in on a path towards
championship glory. Sparrow is the younger
fighter, that has shown glimpses of raw natural talent that has made him a
fighter that not many lightweights want to risk their padded records
against. Both hometown fighters are
coming to fight, and it should be interesting while it lasts.
A pair of former Olympians round out the undercard. John Joe Nevin (10-0)(4 KO’s) is a thirty
year old super featherweight from Ireland.
He captured the Silver medal at the 2012 Olympic games in London. Over the past seven years, his career has not
taken off the way some of the other Olympians from that year have. But Neven, who has fought in Philadelphia
before, would like to use this chance to start being more active. Luke Campbell (19-2)(15 KO’s) is a
lightweight fighter from England, that won the Gold medal for his home country
during the 2012 games. Like his fellow
2012 Olympian, Nevin, Campbell is trying to gear his career towards the next
level that has so far eluded him in the professional ranks. Also, Raymond Ford an amateur standout from
across the river from Philadelphia, Camden, New Jersey will make his
professional debut.
Tickets for this great night at the fights in Philadelphia
are still available. You can purchase them by visiting liacourascenter.com. Of course, if you can’t make it out to the
fights, which I suggest you do, DAZN
will begin their broadcast at 7pm.
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