Following three fights involving boxers on the fringe, mainstream fighters take to the ring tonight in the fifth Wray and Nephew Contender boxing series to heighten the entertainment when Tsetsi ‘Lights Out’ Davis faces off with Barbadian Christopher ‘Shaka’ Henry at the Chinese Benevolent Association Auditorium.

Davis was last year’s runner-up to winner Sakima Mullings.

The three-fight card opens with two amateur bouts beginning at 8:30 pm. Following this there will be a brief interlude of entertainment to be followed by the evening’s main event starting at approximately 9:45 pm.

Henry is a late replacement for Guyanese boxer Jermin King, who was scheduled to open the 2015 staging against Davis four weeks ago.

The late recruitment of Henry is seen as a desperate bid by the promoters to sure up the lack of competitive efforts in the start-up phase of the contest.

This clash between Davis and Henry promises to compensate for the competitive edge that was probably sadly lacking in the first three fights.

Trading punches with Davis so early in the preliminaries, this represents a tough call for the 42-year-old Bajan fighter, who won through to the second preliminary round of the contest with a victory over Glenroy ‘Bumpy’ Beckford in last year’s calling.

It was the second fight in last year’s quarter-finals and at the end of the six-round contest Henry, who seemed to have had an edge in winning the bout, suffered a reversal of fortunes.

Two judges scored the bout a draw at 57-57. But based on those scores, however, and the 58-56 by the other judge, the decision would have been a majority draw. Be that as it may, since there must be a winner in the Contender series for a boxer to advance to the next round, according to the rules of the contest, the two judges who scored the fight a draw were required to nominate a winner. They both named Beckford.

A subsequent protest against the decision was lodged with the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control (JBBC) by Henry’s connections. Following a review the decision was reversed as video footage showed that Henry had scored a knockdown in the third round against Beckford which was not ruled as a knockdown by the referee.

Henry subsequently went on to contest the quarter-final round of the Contender series against Donovan ‘Police’ Campbell.

At this stage last season it was a much easier opponent whom Henry faced, but not having the facility of the six-week preparatory training, speculation is that he may fall short of his best. But being the consummate professional that he is, Henry would not take on an opponent of the calibre of Davis had he not been in good mental and competitive fighting shape.

Davis, on the other hand, is raring to go, even though this is a tougher assignment than was his proposed opening-round tangle with King. Unlike Henry, Davis will benefit hugely from the six-week drills and an explosive fourth preliminary fight is on the cards from the man who wants to make it to the Contender final for the third year in succession.