Professional boxing and hip-hop will collide in front of a worldwide audience Friday night at Foxwoods Resort Casino andtwo of Connecticut’s rising stars will be looking to steal the show. Undefeated New London female bantamweight Shelito Vincent (7-0) and New Haven welterweight Jimmy Williams (1-0, 1 KO) will be featured tonight on the undercard of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights at the MGM Grand Theater. The show will also feature a live performance by 50 Cent, co-promoter of the event.
Vincent, who now lives and trains in Providence, R.I., is aiming for her second win of 2013 when she faces Mikayla Nebel (0-3) in a six-round bout. For Nebel, an Ohio native, this is another in a long line of tough fights since she turned pro last March; she’s gone the distance with Nydia Feliciano, whom Vincent beat in January, New York fan-favorite Heather Hardy and Jennifer Santiago. Her previous three opponents have a combined record of 11-4-3.
“She’s a nice little fighter,” said Vincent, who out-worked Feliciano in a unanimous-decision win in January for her seventh win. “She’s got a nice right hand, but I move my head, and a lot of other girls don’t, so I’m not worried about it.”
Vincent is dedicating the fight to her friend and fellow fighter Noemi Bosques, whose mother is in critical condition due to illness. Bosques is set to face New York’s Vanessa Greco in a four-round bantamweight bout March 15th in Providence.
“I’m taking it out on her,” Vincent said of Nebel. “I feel bad for her.”
After debuting in front of a national-television audience on NBC Sports Network’s Fight Night with a fourth-round knockout win over Noel Garcia on Jan. 19, Williams – a former college football player at Southern Connecticut State University – will return tonight against 26-year-old Ray Younger (0-1) of Georgia.
“I’ve been training hard, so I expect to win,” Williams said. “I feel good. This is the second step in becoming a champion.”
The main event of Friday’s card features the 12-round International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight title bout between Australian champion Billy Dib (35-1, 21 KOs) and Russian challenger Evgeny Gradovich (15-0, 8 KOs). Cleveland’s Willie Nelson (19-1-1, 11 KOs) will defend his North American Boxing Federation (NABF) light middleweight title against Michael Medina (26-3-2, 19 KOs) of Los Angeles in the 10-round co-feature. The live broadcast on ESPN2 begins at 9 p.m. ET.
Tickets priced at $40.00, $75.00, $100.00 and $200.00 can be purchased online at www.foxwoods.com, at the MGM Grand Theater box office or by calling 800-200-2282.
