Courtesy: ESPN
ESPN’s Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra and ESPN Deportes’ Noche de Combates presented by Corona Extra features a battle of the Junior Welterweights this week.
Undefeated Junior Welterweight Chris Algieri (18 – 0, 8 KOs) will face off against Emanuel “Tranzforma” Taylor (17 – 1, 12 KOs) in the night’s ten-round main event. The fight will be broadcast live from the Paramount Theater in Huntington, N.Y. at 9pm ET on ESPN2 and online at ESPN Deportes+ and WatchESPN. ESPN Deportes will air the fight in tape delay at 10:30pm ET. This week’s card is promoted by Star Boxing.
Algieri, a Huntington, N.Y. native is the hometown favorite. He comes into this week’s fight looking to add another notch to his “Win” column. He won his last fight with a seventh-round TKO over Wilfredo Acuna. He had nothing but good things to say of Taylor in a recent interview, and that he was looking forward to tomorrow’s fight because of how evenly matched the pair is. “I think Emanuel Taylor is a good fighter. He’s a tough kid, he’s hungry, just like myself,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a great night, especially for me. He’s (Taylor) a sharp guy, he’s a high-percentage puncher, but I’m a much busier fighter. It’s a good matchup, especially for the fans.”
Taylor comes into this week’s fight also looking to keep his winning ways going. He has won his last three fights. That streak includes an eighth-round TKO victory over Victor Cayo in his most recent fight. Where Algieri was complimentary of Taylor in his comments, Taylor was far more self-assured in his comments about this week’s bout. “I’ve seen a couple of videos of Algieri. He’s in shape, throws a lot of punches and stays busy,” he said. “This is a step-up fight for him and it’s not going to be good for him. Stay tuned to the fight. It’s going to be a real good show.”
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will be ringside with all the action live on ESPN2. Todd Grisham will join them live from the ESPN Studios with all of the latest boxing news and reports. Delvin Rodriguez and Pablo Viruega will have the call for ESPN ESPN Deportes and ESPN Deportes+. Leopoldo Gonzales and Claudia Trejos will be live in studio. Bernardo Osuna will have live interviews and reports for both networks.
Before the night’s big fight, fans will be treated to an eight-round co-feature that will pit another pair of Junior Welterweights against one another. Issouf “Volcano” Kinda (16 – 1, 6 KOs) will face Jeremy “Hollywood” Bryan in the fight in question. Both fighters come into this week’s fight very hungry for a win. Kinda suffered a sixth-round technical decision loss to Chris Howard in his most recent match. Bryan fell to Amir Imam in his most recent match courtesy of a second-round TKO.
Next week on Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra and Noche de Combates presented by Corona Extra, the Boxcino 2014 tournament kicks off. The tournament is sponsored by 1800 Tequila and presented by Banner Promotions. The Boxcino Tournament schedule is available below.
Upcoming Schedule:
| Date | Time (ET) | Main Event | Location | Networks |
| Fri, Feb. 21 | 9 p.m. | Boxcino 2014 Lightweight Quarterfinals: six-rounds each
Chris Rudd (12-1, 8 KOs) vs. Yakubu Amidu (22-4-1, 18 KOs) Petr Petrov (32-4-2, 15 KOs) vs. Fedor Papazov (14-0, 9 KOs) Miguel Gonzalez (22-3, 16 KOs) vs. Miguel Angel Mendoza (21-2-2, 21 KOs) Fernando Carcamo (15-5, 12 KOs) vs. Samuel Neequaye (21-0, 15 KOs) |
Edgewater Casino, Laughlin, NV | ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN |
| Fri, Feb 28 | 9 p.m. | Boxcino 2014 Middleweight Quarterfinals: six-rounds each
Donatas Bondorovas (18-4-1, 6 KOs) vs. Willie Monroe, Jr. (15-1, 6 KOs) Cerresso Fort (17-2-1, 11 KOs) vs. Vitalii Kopylenko (22-0, 12 KOs) Brandon Adams (12-0, 7 KOs) vs. Daniel Edouard (23-4-2, 12 KOs) Raymond Gatica (13-1, 7 KOs) vs. Sena Agbeko (15-0, 15 KOs) |
Harrah’s Horseshoe, Hammond, Ind. | ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN |
| Fri, Mar. 7 | 9 p.m. | Rustam Nugaev (26-6-1, 16 KOs) vs. Marvin Quintero (25-4, 21 KOs) — 10-rounds, Lightweights | Pala Casino, Pala, Calif. | ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN |
| Fri, Mar. 21 | 9 p.m. | Vanes Martirosyan (33-1-1, 21 KOs) vs. TBD — 10-rounds, Junior Middleweights | Morongo Casino, Cabazon, Calif. | ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN |
More information on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra and ESPN Deportes’ Noche de Combates presented by Corona Extra is available online at http://www.facebook.com/espn.fnf, http://twitter.com/ESPNFNF, http://twitter.com/espnboxeo, and http://twitter.com/espnboxing. To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.
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