Three undefeated boxers to fight in Wichita on Friday night
Boxing is back in Wichita.
For the second time in less than three months, the Kansas Star Casino south of Wichita will host a live boxing event at 10 p.m. Friday. This one will include three undefeated fighters.
ShoBox The New Generation is a competition series part of Showtime that allows promising boxers to become contenders, which makes the Wichita event critical to the development of the boxers’ careers, analyst Steve Farhood said.
Here is the card:
Welterweight bout — 10 Rounds
Shohjahon Ergashev (16-0, 15 knockouts) of Fergana, Uzbekistan vs. Mykal Fox (19-0, five KOs) of Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Super bantamweight bout - 10 Rounds
Jesse Hernandez (12-1, seven KOs) of Fort Worth, Texas vs. Thomas Ward (25-0, four KOs) of West Rainton, County Durham, England
Farhood said these bouts should be entertaining because they offer a clash in styles.
Fox will come in at 6 feet, 4 inches tall and 142 pounds against Ergashev, who will give up 6 inches in height. In the other bout, Hernandez will be the taller fighter and will come out as the aggressor, Farhood said, against a boxer the community isn’t too familiar with in Ward.
The Wichita-based event bodes well for the city, commentator Barry Tompkins said. The boxing community has been paying attention to Wichita’s Nico Hernandez, who won bronze at the 2016 Olympics.
Hernandez’s emergence helped bring the biggest fighting event in the city’s history: the Nov. 18 event featured winners Claressa Shields, Jarrell Miller, Brandon Rios and Hernandez himself.
About a month later, the UFC announced its first event in Wichita that will feature heavyweight title contender Derrick Lewis at INTRUST Bank Arena on March 9.
Tompkins said Hernandez had an impact on what patrons will see Friday night.
“We’re like the circus,” Tompkins said. “We go all over the country. We got out of a meeting 10 minutes ago where we talked about how we love being in places like this. We love being in places where at least for tomorrow night, it’s the only show in town.”
Tompkins has been a commentator for many sports, including college football and basketball. Farhood has been around combat sports for decades. They both said they enjoy boxing because of its niche feel but said it offers an atmosphere few other events can.
“For people who are only used to watching boxing on television, it’s a very different kind of experience live,” Farhood said. “It’s much more personal. You hear the punches. You feel the punches. It’s a great event to be at.”