Russell goes toe-to-toe with Hylton in search of semi-final berth in Contender Series
KEMAHL Russell, seen as a bright spark for local boxing, will go in search of a semi-final spot in the 2015 Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum Contender Boxing Series against Kevin Hylton at the Chinese Benevolent Association Auditorium tonight.
The exit of Derick ‘Dangerous’ Richmond from the Contender Series following his TKO capitulation to Richard ‘Frog’ Holmes on last, has resulted in the last vestiges of Team Caribbean influence in the series eliminated.
This, therefore, means only Jamaican boxers will once again hunt the major prize of $2 million and the title of Jamaica’s Ultimate Middleweight Contender.
With this sort of payday beckoning, both Russell and Hylton are keyed for a keen battle and therefore expected to go full steam ahead in search of a semi-final berth.
Russell at age 26 stands at 5’11” and is undefeated in his four career fights, while Hylton at age 34 stands at 5’6″ with a ring record of 10 fights, including six wins and four defeats.
The night’s three-card fight includes two amateur bouts that will get underway at 8:30 pm with the main event scheduled to begin at approximately 9:45 pm.
In-between the normally entertaining amateur bouts and the main event, there will be an interlude of activities that the major sponsors J Wray & Nephew, through its White Overproof White Rum brand, will put on to entertain the normally full house with a diversified floor show spiced by a few giveaways.
Russell scored a third-round knockout over 40-year-old Trinidadian Kevin Placide in the opening fight of the season. Since then, the promising fighter has been showing steady improvement in his training build-up.
Placide looked over-matched against Russell, who could not really show much of his boxing skills as an upcoming fighter in the professional ranks after completing a very successful amateur build-up.
Russell, however, will have a much tougher opponent in Hylton. Hylton scored his sixth career win over Team Caribbean’s Edmund DeClou and did it with a majority decision to advance to this stage of the Wray & Nephew Contender Series. But he will have to be at his very best tonight to advance.
