Fight Night won't clash with Contender - Bomber

Jamaica Boxing Board of Control President Stephen 'Bomber' Jones has said that tonight was chosen as the time for the "Fight Night in the City" event, although the Contender Series is under way, because the association wants to get its boxers in shape for next month's AIBA World Championship qualifiers.

The night will feature four amateur bouts on the undercard, each with Jamaicans facing Panamanians and two professional bouts as the main event. Jones said facing Panama will give the association the opportunity to see where it matches up against other nations with a creditable reputation for developing boxers.

First-world countries

"The concern would be 'where are we, really as an amateur and a national programme when we do match up against Panama,' Jones said. "If we stand in there toe to toe and do well against them (Panama), then that means we are very close to being where first-world countries are, in terms of boxing on an Olympic or World Championship level. So the timing for that, would be the reason for us having Panama now."

Jones said this will not be a one off event, as more fight nights will take place throughout the course of the year. This, he said, will also give Jamaica's lesser known professional fighters a chance to showcase themselves. However, he added that the occasion is not meant to cause an undo clash with the Contender Series, but rather to complement it.

"I want to have as much activity on all levels, so that those who don't know the boxers now, by the end of the year, they will know a Kestna Davis (who is set to face Anthony Osbourne in the main event) because it's not about one fight. One fight a year doesn't help a professional boxer in terms of getting to that next level."