Highly touted and undefeated junior welterweight prospect Issouf Kinda makes his ESPN Friday Night Fights debut this week in the ten round co-main event against battle tested Chris Howard from the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. Featured in the main event, world ranked junior middleweight Delvin Rodriguez will make his 16th appearance on the series, clashing with former world title challenger Freddy Hernandez.
Sporting a record of 16-0-0 with six knockouts, the 25-year-old Kinda is a native of the West African country of Burkina Faso where he excelled as an amateur prior to moving to the United States.
Now living in Bronx, New York, Kinda has received raves for his world-class boxing skills, continuously impressing fans in the New York City area.
Kinda kicked off his 2013 campaign in impressive fashion, stopping well-regarded Phoenix, Arizona prospect Javier Loya on FEBRUARY 23 at The Paramount in Huntington, New York.
‘Kinda has continued to improve with every outing and the timing is perfect for him to fight for the first time on ESPN Friday Night Fights” said DeGuardia. “Knowing first hand what ESPN can do a for a fighter’s career such as Delvin ‘s, it’s exciting to have Issouf make his network debut, however Howard is a very confident tough prospect who also is looking to make the most of this opportunity.”
The 24-year-old Howard, 15-2-1 (7KO’s), returns to the ring following a third round stoppage over tough veteran Bayan Jargal on FEBRUARY 15 which was also broadcast on ESPN Friday Night Fights from the Mohegan Sun.
“Howard really impressed that night. Jargal had been known to have a steel chin and had been in with a lot of tough guys and had never been stopped until Howard became the first to do so.”
“These are two exciting fights for those in attendance at the Mohegan Sun and boxing fans watching on the telecast on ESPN2,” continued DeGuardia.
Advance tickets priced at $95, $45 and $30(plus a $5.00 surcharge fee), and can be purchased through Ticketmaster, (www.Ticketmaster.com, phone 800-745-3000), or through Star Boxing, (www.StarBoxing.com, phone 718-823-2000) or at the Mohegan Sun box office. Doors on the evening of the event will open at 6:30 p.m. ET with the first bell at 7:30 p.m. ET.
