Joey Hernandez to headline pay-per-view in bout against Shakir Ashanti – Boxing News
Joey Hernandez, the current WBC United States (USNBC) light middleweight champion, will enter the ring to take on an easy opponent in the form of fellow countryman Shakir Ashanti, in a 10-round bout which will take place on April 14, 2012.
The ring for the event will be stretched at Miami Jai Alai Fronton situated in Miami, Florida, United States and the event is being promoted by Don King of Don King Productions.
The above duo will headline the night whereas the non-title eight-round bout between Bermane Stiverne and Willie Herring will co-headline the Saturday night event. Joey and Ashanti recently met at the pre-bout press conference and resolved to put forth the
boxing fans a clash that will be remembered for ages.
Joey, 27, has been in a total 22 bouts and boasts 20 wins and just one loss to Ed Paredes. He has collected 11 of his wins by knocking the opponents out cold. A glance at his resume shows that he is the better man in this bout since he possesses a clear
advantage over his aged opponent, Ashanti.
Also known as the ‘Twinkle Fingers’, the southpaw pugilist has collected wins over many respectable names such as Angel Hernandez, Saul Duran and became famous by putting forth a great two-bout showdown with Ed Paredes.
Though Joey collected his career’s only draw and loss decisions from the fists of Ed yet he was hailed for giving a quality tough time to a pugilist of Ed-calibre. From then onwards, Joey has take on men with great repo and hefty resume.
In his last bout with Elco Garcia, Joey successfully collected a unanimous decision in his favour to become the WBC United States (USNBC) light middleweight champion. His opponent, Ashanti, on the other hand, resides far too low in the world rankings and
possesses a resume tarnished by 12 losses.
Shakir, 43, also known as ‘The Assassin’, has been in a total 28 bouts and was able to collect just four of his total 16 wins by knockout. During the press conference, Ashanti commented, “I only know one way to approach anything I do. I work hard and give
it all I’ve got. I’m a former Marine and war veteran, so I come to fight. I was born in blood, pain and struggle. I am a warrior.”
At the same time, Joey who resides at a respectable position in the world rankings replied, “It’s great to be fighting in my hometown on Saturday. I like to put on a good show. You can’t get up and get a drink of water when I fight because you never know
what’s going to happen. I look forward to defeating Shakir Ashanti on Saturday and pleasing all my South Florida fans.”
The odds are undoubtedly in favour of Joey, who possesses a long list of advantages over the veteran Ashanti such as hometown, knockout proficiency, agility, footwork and above all the age factor.
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