The February 14 edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights will feature undefeated Junior Welterweight Chris Algieri (18-0, 8 KOs) and Emanuel “Tranzforma” Taylor (17-1, 12 KOs) in the 10-round main event. Check out the full rundown of this week’s Friday Night Fights right here.
Friday’s show, from the Paramount Theater in Huntington, N.Y., will air live at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and is promoted by Star Boxing.
Main Event:
Algieri, the hometown favorite from Huntington, scored a seventh-round TKO win over Wilfredo Acuna in his last outing.
“I think Emanuel Taylor is a good fighter. He’s a tough kid, he’s hungry, just like myself,” Algieri 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.”
Maryland’s Taylor has won his last three fights, including an eighth-round TKO win over Victor Cayo in his last fight.
“I’ve seen a couple of videos of Algieri. He’s in shape, throws a lot of punches and stays busy,” Taylor 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.”
Co-Feature:
Friday’s eight-round co-feature will pit Junior Welterweights Issouf “Volcano” Kinda (16-1, 6 KOs) against Jeremy “Hollywood” Bryan (16-3, 7 KOs). New York’s Kinda is looking to rebound from sixth-round technical decision loss to Chris Howard, while South Carolina’s Bryan will look to get back to his winning ways following a second-round TKO loss to Amir Imam.
Also on the undercard, two hot Huntington based prospects will see action in separate six round lightweight bouts.
Impressing with each appearance, Alan Gotay, 7-0-0 (3KO’s), will be looking to jumpstart his 2014 campaign facing off against tough Chicago based veteran Carl McNickles, 8-4-0 (6KO’s).
The 23-year-old Gotay stayed busy in 2013, winning all five of his starts, each of which took place in front of standing room only crowds at The Paramount.
Anthony Karperis, 5-2-0 (3KO’s), will look to stay in the win column challenging Calvin Smith, 2-6-0, of Prichard, Alabama.
Karperis returns to battle following a hard fought fifth round stoppage of Michael Doyle on November 22 at The Paramount.
The 23-year-old Smith also returns to The Paramount seeking victory after losing a very close majority decision to Alan Gotay on November 22.
Huntington junior middleweight Wendy Toussaint, 3-0-0, will look to stay undefeated; clashing with Mine Hill, New Jersey’s Anthony Gangemi, 4-1-0 (3KO’s) in a four round tilt.
Toussaint returns following a four round decision over Ahmed Tuba on November 22 at The Paramount. Gangemi had won his first four pro bouts prior to losing a six round decision to Justin Johnson on July 27, 2013.
Rounding out the undercard on the ESPN Friday Night Fights/Rockin’ Fights 12 card is a six round middleweight clash between Jason “Monstruo” Escalera, 13-1-1 (12KO’s) of Union City, New Jersey and Lekan Byfield, 4-5-2, of Atlanta, Georgia.
Escalera makes his first start since the initial loss of his career, an eighth round stoppage by world title challenger Edwin Rodriguez on September 29, 2012, in a bout telecast on HBO.
In 2013, “Road Warrior” Byfield took home two victories over highly regarded prospects, undefeated Isiah Seldon and Justin Verdin, both of which took place in the opponents hometown.
