Home Amateur & Olympic Mike Oliver vs. Cornelius Lock & return of undefeated Shelito Vincent Nov...

Mike Oliver vs. Cornelius Lock & return of undefeated Shelito Vincent Nov 2

Former world champion Mike Oliver (26-5, 8 KOs) of Hartford and undefeated female bantamweight Shelito Vincent (9-0) of New London will star in “The Connecticut Classic,” presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013 at the Fox Theater.

Oliver, who recently captured the North American Boxing Association (NABA) featherweight title, will face another tough test next weekend when he battles Philadelphia’s Cornelius Lock (21-6-1, 13 KOs) in the eight-round main event, while Vincent will put her unbeaten record on the line in the six-round co-feature against undefeated Canadian prospect Alisah McPhee (2-0) of British Columbia.

Both Oliver and Lock are coming off wins; Lock, a former North American Boxing Organization (NABO) featherweight champion, ended a three-year layoff with back-to-back wins in January and May, the latter by unanimous decision against Lonnie Smith in Detroit, while Oliver captured the NABA belt in September with a win over Eric Hunter via disqualification. The diminutive southpaw Oliver now has two titles on his resume; he won International Boxing Organization (IBO) world super bantamweight championship in 2007.

McPhee, a full-time elementary school teacher in British Columbia, will make her United States debut next weekend against Vincent. Undefeated as an amateur, McPhee made her debut in December against former Canadian National Team member and two-time bronze medalist Jaime Ward and beat her by split decision in a five-round bout. This will be Vincent’s first fight since May when she beat Angel Gladney by unanimous decision to capture the vacant Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) International title.

The undercard of “The Connecticut Classic” also features a four-round welterweight bout between Jimmy Williams (4-0-1, 2 KOs) of New Haven and veteran Evincii Dixon (2-2-1, 1 KO) of Lancaster, Pa., and a highly-anticipated four-round intra-state showdown between light middleweights Joe Wilson Jr. (1-0) of Hartford and New Haven’s Christian Lao (4-2, 2 KOs). Female flyweight Marcia Agripino (1-0) will make her Foxwoods debut against former New York State Champion Michelle Cook of Massena.

The amateur portion of “The Connecticut Classic” is loaded with bouts featuring several of New England’s top-ranked lightweights and middleweights, including light heavyweight Elvis Figueroa of New Haven’s Boxing In Faith Gym facing Bobby Harris Jr., of Worcester, Mass., the son of former Worcester heavyweight Bobby Harris.

Middleweight Godfrey Campbell of New Haven’s Elephant In The Room Boxing Club will battle Jonathan Figueroa from Coondog Boxing in Meriden, Conn., and middleweight Deydrei Montalvo of the Montalvo Boxing Association in Stamford, Conn., facing Mohammad Allen of Martinez Boxing in New Britain, Conn.

In the lightweight division, William Foster (BIF) will face Worcester’s Jermaine Ortiz; Victor DeJesus (Martinez Boxing) will take on Roberto Vega of Whaling City Boxing in New London; and Izaih Melendez of Sweet Science Boxing of East Hartford, Conn., will battle Edgar Figueroa of Hartford’s Bright Futures Youth Center. All amateur bouts are open division bouts with three-minute rounds, with the exception of the Montalvo-Allen bout, which is a novice bout at two minutes per round. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

“The Connecticut Classic” features five professional bouts and six additional amateur bouts. Tickets are priced at $30.00, $50.00 and $100.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesboxing.com or www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Fox Theater box office.