ESPN’s Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra will feature two top contenders – former Junior Welterweight titlist Kendall “Rated R” Holt (27-5, 15 KOs) and Junior Welterweight Tim “The Pitbull” Coleman (19-2-1, 5 KOs) in the 10-round main event on March 16. Friday’s show will air at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2 HD, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN3 from Cabazon, Calif. The card is presented by Gary Shaw Productions.
ESPN2 studio host Bernardo Osuna,filling in for Joe Tessitore,will make his ringside debut on ESPN2 HD and ESPN3, with Teddy Atlas at the Morongo Resort Casino.
Holt vs. Coleman Video Fight Preview
“I’m very excited to sit alongside Teddy Atlas and call the Friday Night Fights action near my home in California.” Osuna said. “Calling fights is what I love to do the most, so filling in for Joe Tessitore is a great opportunity to get ringside. Once again, I’ve got big shoes to fill, so I can only be myself, share my passion, and hope that our viewers enjoy what promises to be a solid card. Former titlist Kendall Holt can’t afford another defeat and Tim Coleman needs to rebound from his KO loss against Vernon Paris on Friday Night Fights, to show that he’s a worthy contender. I guess that we’ve all got a lot to prove on Friday Night Fights.”
Todd Grisham, currently an anchor for ESPNEWS’ Highlight Express, MMA Live and SportsCenter, will fill in as Friday Night Fight’s studio host. Prior to joining ESPN, Grisham served as WWE backstage interviewer, play-by-play commentator and occasional ring announcer. Grisham will discuss this Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day fight between Ring Magazine’s Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez and Matthew Macklin. Atlas will also discuss last week’s Featherweight title rematch between Juan Manuel Lopez and Orlando Salido.
On ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates (Friday Night Fights), Robert Sierra and Delvin Rodriguez will call the fights with Leopoldo Gonzalez and Lindsay Casinelli in the studio.
Main Event:
New Jersey’s Holt who defeated former lightweight titlist Julio Diaz on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights last May, will have boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. in his corner this Friday. “It should make for interesting TV,” Holt, said. “With Roy being in my corner, I know there will be a lot of eyes on the fight. Besides that, I think people are interested to see how I come back against Tim Coleman.”
Holt, who’s managed by NFL running back Brandon Jacobs enters Friday’s fight with experience having fought current and former titlists Julio Diaz, Timothy Bradley Jr., Ricardo Torres, Isaac Hlatshwayo, and David Diaz. Holt said of Friday’s fight “I’m going to take advantage of this opportunity that’s been given to me, fighting on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. I know Coleman is coming with his A-game, so this will be an entertaining fight for everyone watching. I feel like my back is against the wall and I need to leave everything in the ring. Come fight night I’m going for broke”
Las Vegas’ Coleman will look to rebound after a seventh-round knockout loss to Vernon Paris.
“I’ve seen Kendall fight a couple times in New Jersey,” Coleman said. “Kendall’s a good fighter. I think Kendall is dangerous with a left hook, but he’s lacking in heart. I’m just going to go in there and outbox him. I feel like I’m a better all-around fighter than Kendall is.”
Co-Feature:
Friday’s co-feature will pit Featherweights Abraham “Chamaco” Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) against Gabriel “The Ghost” Tolmajyan (11-1-1, 3 KOs). California’s Lopez is coming off a fourth-round knockout win over Gerardo Espinoza, while Tolmajyan of California is coming off an eight-round split decision against previously undefeated Daulis Prescott.
