The next wave of standout New England boxers, headed by undefeated prospects Ryan "Polish Prince" Kielczweski (15-0, 3 KOs) and Luis "KO King" Rosa Jr. (12-0, 6 KOs), will showcase their talents on March 1, on the undercard of the ESPN Friday Night Fights event, airing live from the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
The ESPN Friday Night Fights card, co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment and 50 Cent's SMS Promotions, will air live at 9 p.m. ET. The 12-round main event features International Boxing Federation (IBF) Featherweight Champion Billy "The Kid" Dib (35-1-0-1NC, 21 KOs), who is promoted by 50 Cent, defending his title against undefeated Russian challenger and IBF No. 11-rated Evgeny Gradovich (15-0, 8 KOs).
In the 10-round ESPN FNF co-feature, North American Boxing Federation (NABF) super welterweight champion Willie "The Great" Nelson (19-1-1, 11 KOs) makes his first title defense against Michael "El Magnifico" Medina (26-3-2, 19 KOs). The Nelson-Medina fight is being promoted in association with Rumble Time Promotions.
Kielczweski, fighting out of Quincy (Mass.), and New Haven's (Conn.) Rosa are both scheduled to fight in eight-round fights against opponents to be determined. They are following in the footsteps of another New Englander and DiBella stable-mate, Edwin "La Bomba" Rodriguez, of Worcester (Mass.), one of the top super middleweights in the world.In fact, they've fought on several cards headlined by "La Bomba" and each hope that another impressive performance will help to elevate them to heights reached by Rodriguez, now a championship-caliber, top-rated contender.
The angelic-looking Kielczweski has a crowd-pleasing style and proudly wears his red-and-white Polish colors in the ring for his growing legion of fans. The flashy 23-year-old junior lightweight has boxed since the age of six. He accumulated an amateur record of 118-26, highlighted by his runner-up finish in the 2008 National Golden Gloves Tournament. A merchandiser for Polar Beverages, as well as a carpenter, Ryan trains at the Cyr-Farrell Boxing Gym in Quincy.
The 21-year-old Rosa is trained by his father Luis Rosa Sr., in New Haven, alongside current world light heavyweight champion "Bad" Chad Dawson. A 2007 National PAL Tournament amateur champion, "KO King" also won a silver medal at the Ringside World Championships and was a member of the 2009-2010 US Boxing Team. The compact, well-rounded super bantamweight is a consummate boxer.
Another popular New Englander on the March 1 card in a female six-round match is New London's (Conn.) unbeaten Shelly "Shelito's Way" Vincent (7-0), who is trained by Peter Manfredo Sr. in Rhode Island. The popular junior featherweight is coming off of her best performance, a win by six-round decision over Nydia Feliciano in January.
A former Southern Connecticut State College football player, junior middleweight Jimmy Williams (1-0, 1 KO), is also slated to fight in a four-round bout. The New Jersey transplant lives in New Haven.
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