BOXING: MARCH 9 GRAND CASINO BOXING UPDATE

Boxing is back at the Grand Casino in Hinckley, MN next Friday, March 9, 2018. Still battling for the Minnesota State super featherweight title will be Cleveland, Ohio’s Ramiro Hernandez (10-0) and Thief River Falls, Minnesota’s Nate Rubin (5-1-1). Both fighters confirm training camp has gone smooth and they are ready to battle in the night’s main event.

Robert “Bravo” Brant (22-1) returns home in the co-featured bout. He and Colby Courter (12-11) of Missouri meet in a middleweight contest. Courter is coming to pull off what would be a huge upset and Brant will try to punch himself into a WBA middleweight title fight with a victory.

Van Goodman (4-7-2) of Minneapolis, MN and Danyelle Williams (2-1) Owatonna, MN are still preparing for their 4 round heavyweight rematch. Goodman enters the ring ready after a great training camp that saw him shed 25 pounds. Williams has been sparring with Al Sands in Duluth.

The fight card has seen some changes since our last update. Sherman Oaks, California prospect Cem Kilic (9-0) has been added and will box Taronze Washington (17-25) of Dallas, Texas. The two meet in a six round middleweight bout. If Kilic wins, he’s likely to be cast on the recently announced return of “The Contender” boxing reality show.

Former Minnesota State super lightweight champion Rondale “Give Em Hell” Hubbert (10-5-1) of Minneapolis, MN will now meet Carlos Barbosa (2-3-1) of Moline, Illinois. Hubbert is looking to continue his comeback after being out of the ring for over two years. He lost a competitive decision to Deonte Wilson in Wisconsin last month. Barbosa was beaten by Minneapolis’ VeShawn Owens in Hinckley last November. Hubbert was originally set to face Chuka Willis but Willis was moved to be the opponent of Duluth’s Markus Morris. If things aligned, Hubbert and Morris were then going to meet in a future showdown. Morris, however, tore his MCL which put an end to that fight for now.

Marlin Sims of Minneapolis, MN will make his pro debut against Des Moines, Iowa’s Jeff Farmer (4-13) in a four round lightweight contest. Sims is trained by Uppercut’s Alfonso Vasquez and had 30-40 amateur bouts before his decision to turn pro. He has boxed at Nationals and won the WBC amateur tournament championship in Chicago. Farmer is a tough boxer who’s mixed it up with Minnesotan’s Richard Quitero and Ramiro Hernandez in Hinckley.

The opening bout is a four round jr. middleweight bout between Jake Henriksen (2-0) of Fargo, ND and  Chuka Willis (2-2) of Emporia, Kansas. Henriksen is originally from Glyndon, MN and began his combat career by winning his first amateur MMA bout. He was later drawn to boxing to compete and lose weight. Not only did he lose over 60 pounds, but his trainer Jesse Barbot says he fought and beat some of the best in the Upper Midwest. Henriksen is a leader at Barbot Boxing and wants to pursue boxing at the highest levels. Chuka “The Lion King” Willis is an accomplished mixed martial artist who began combat sports as a wrestler. Willis is from Nigeria but moved back to the US to reunite with his father. He has competed for some of the world’s top MMA organizations and sharpens his fists in the boxing ring.

Duluth cruiserweight Tony Palmisano was originally scheduled to face Darrius Flowers of Mason City, Iowa until Flowers fell out for personal reason’s. Flowers worked things out and was ready to return to the show but Palmisano had taken a job in that time that would not allow him to compete.

Boxrec.com currently has Mengistu Zarzar of Brooklyn Park, MN facing Darrius Flowers but that fight will not be happening. It’s possible that an eighth fight will be added but nothing is set at this time. Stay tuned for more updates.