BOXING: JOEY ABELL PLANS TO ICE COFFIE ON FOX TONIGHT

“Minnesota Ice” Joey Abell (35-10, 33 KO’s) of Coon Rapids, MN is seeking another spectacular win tonight on PBC Fox as he meets former Marine turned boxing prospect Michael Coffie (10-0, 7 KO’s). The clash is the opener of TGB Promotions and PBC’s heavyweight tripleheader. Abell vs. Coffie will go live at 7PM Central time on Fox. Abell knocked out Wes Nofire (then 19-0) in his first PBC fight at the Black Bear Casino in 2016 and says he is no stranger to being the “opponent” despite winning by a landslide in terms of experience.

“There are a lot of heavyweights on this card. They haven’t informed me of any future plans with me. I would assume that it would be a rematch with the guy I’m going to be fighting because they don’t have me here to win” said Abell when asked if he could be facing a heavyweight on the show if he is victorious against Coffie. “They assume they’ll beat me due to the lack of training time and move their guy forward. All I know is that I’m looking forward to the fight and then getting home safe to my kids. “

The 34 year-old Coffie did not have a large number of amateur fights but had success in New York before turning pro. Coffie scored a career best win this past August on Fox against Luis Pena (6-0) which was the same card that Minneapolis star Jamal James defeated Thomas Dulorme on. Abell expects a chess match but knows anything can happen with the power the two bring to the ring. The 39 year-old Abell took this fight on relatively short notice but believes his experience in the ring and sparring against the best heavyweights boxing has to offer throughout the years will be the difference maker.

“I took this fight because of the inexperience of the guy I’ll be fighting. He’s a big, tough dude and he’s accomplished things in boxing but he only has 10 professional fights. I’m aging fast and can’t turn down opportunities like this.”
“With the time that I had which was about four weeks, I have been training like never before. I feel like a proper camp is more like sixteen weeks so I had to cram sixteen weeks into four. I’ve been working with the Warner brothers (Colton and Hunter) and also with Terrence Walker and Donovan Dennis a couple of times for this fight.”
“I feel like it’s going to be a strategic fight. He’s a smart fighter and he slowly moves forward consistently. He’s bigger then I am so we’ll both have to choose our shots wisely.”

Former title challenger Luis Ortiz will face Alexander Flores in the main event.