Conway headlines “Winter Mayhem,” which will be streamed live on www.facebooklive.com para $19.99 (at Cut ‘N’ Run Productions’ page), versus cross-state rival Avery Sparrow (10-3, 3 KOs), de Filadelfia, in the 12-round main event for the vacant International Boxing Association (IBA) Campeonato de peso súper pluma, at the Pittsburgh Shrine Center in Cheswick, Pensilvania.
While boxing in Pittsburgh will never be as popular as it once was during the glory years when local heroes Harry Greb (1913-26), Billy Conn 1934-48), and Charlie Burley (1936-50) were household names at the junction of 3 rivers, Conway hopes to make the sweet science more relevant than it has been there in many years.
“Fighting for a world title is a dream come true for me, especially bringing a title back to Pittsburgh,” said Conway, who has never been stopped in 22 peleas como profesional. “Pittsburgh hasn’t been a big boxing town since Paul Spadafora (1995-2014) and Sammy Vasquez fought (2012-2017). I’d like to help bring boxing back here to that level.
“I’m really hoping to win the IBA World title to get my name out there so that this kid from Pittsburgh gets more recognition and title fight opportunities. I want to continue the rich Pittsburgh boxing tradition. It’ll start when I bring the IBA title to Pittsburgh. Hay muchos talentosos, young fighters in Pittsburgh. We just need to fight and (promotor) Derek Gionta is doing that for me and other fighters. He’s really helping us.”
The 26-year-old Conway is fully prepared to face Sparrow, who’s notable victories have been against fellow Philly fighter 29-2-1 Hank Lundy (WMDEC10) y 19-1-1 José López (WUDEC10).
“He’s a tough fighter who uses his jab and is able to move and box,” Conway said about Sparrow. “I’ll try to nullify his left hand and do what I do.”
Conway, who has never been stopped in 22 pro fights to date, has successfully bounced back from back-to-back losses in Reno and Las Vegas on the ESPN+ platform to, respectivamente, a 10-1-1 Francisco Esparza (SDEC8) y 17-0 Gabriel Flores, Jr. (UDEC8).
“It wasn’t difficult,” Conway talked about coming back from two straight losses after winning his first 17 peleas como profesional. “I lost to a 17-0 guy in Las Vegas. I learned more from my two losses than I did in my 17 wins going into those fights. I’ve taken what I’ve learned from those fights and applied it to my last three fights (todas las ganancias). I’m hungrier!"
“Matt has done everything asked of him over the last year, ir 3-0),” Gionta remarked. “This is a big fight for the region. Having a cross-state rival from Philly in the main event is huge. Sparrow is a very good boxer and anyone that knows anything about boxing knows that and how good of a match-up this is.
“Putting a belt on the line in a 12-rounder is enough to intrigue casual fans aside from our loyal boxing followers. A win against Sparrow will do a lot for Conway. Most importantly, it’ll show how much he developed over the past year or so and will line him up for bigger challenges down the road.”
En el evento co estelar, Ryizeemmion ligero de Ohio "The Humble Beast" Ford (6-1, 4 KOs) faces an opponent to be determined in the 6-round co-featured event.
Popular Pittsburgh middleweight prospect Eric Lomax (4-0, 3 KOs) takes on Ohio’s Samuel Wildenhaus (4-1, 1 KO) en un 6 asaltos.
Scheduled to fight on the undercard in 4-round bouts are undefeated Portugal super featherweight Milton Jorge Andrade Jeremias (2-0, 2 KO) vs. David Boria (0-4), New York super featherweight Alexander Castellano (5-1, 2 KOs) vs. Shawn Rall (1-4, 1 KO), and New Jersey’s pro-debuting heavyweight Daniel Bean v. Joe Nunez (0-2).
Tarjeta está sujeto a cambio.
Available tickets are priced at $50.00 (asientos reservados, plus tables of 8 ($800) are available to purchase by calling 412.759.0407.
Las puertas abren a 6 p.m. ET with the first bout starting at 7 p.m. Y.
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