The January 25 edition of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra will feature former Junior Middleweight titlist Sergiy “The Razor” Dzinziruk (36-1-1, 24 KOs) and Brian “The Warrior” Vera (21-6, 12 KOs) in the 12-round main event. Friday’s show will air live at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2 HD, and will be available online through WatchESPN.com and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app. The card will also air live on ESPN Deportes+, the new digital extension of ESPN Deportes and ESPN3, and will air tape delayed on ESPN Deportes at 10:30 p.m. The card from Verona, N.Y., is promoted by Banner Promotions.
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will be ringside at Turning Stone Casino describing the action for ESPN2 HD, while studio host Todd Grisham will present all the latest news and boxing highlights. Alex Pombo and Delvin Rodriguez will call the fights for ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates (Friday Night Fights) with Leopoldo Gonzalez and Pablo Viruega in the studio. Bi-lingual reporter Bernardo Osuna will present live interviews and reports for both shows.
Main Event:
The Ukraine’s Dzinziruk is coming off a September draw to Jonathan Gonzalez. Manager Harry Kazandjian said of Friday’s fight, “Sergiy’s got to win this fight. Brian Vera is a tough guy, but Sergiy needs to beat him and look good. He’s got to win convincingly.”
Vera, a native of Texas and participant in the third season of The Contender, is coming off one of his best wins, a 12-round majority decision win over former Junior Middleweight titlist Sergio Mora.
“I think Dzinziruk is good, he’s technical,” Vera said. “I think my style is perfect for him. I’ll put a lot of pressure on him and I don’t think he likes that. I think he likes to dictate the fight and kind of control things. But somebody that’s going to stay on top of him and put a lot of pressure on him, is going to throw him off his game a little bit. I’m going to be the bigger, stronger guy, and am going to impose my will on him and take it from him.”
Co-Feature:
Friday’s co-feature will pit undefeated Junior Welterweight Tony “Lightning” Luis (15-0, 7 KOs) of Ontario, against Texas’ Jose “El Loco” Hernandez (13-6-1, 5 KOs) in a 10-round bout. Luis will look to build momentum after a first-round knockout win over Andres Ledesma, while Hernandez will look to rebound from a 10-round majority decision loss to Robert Osiobe.
Follow ESPN’s Friday Night Fights on Twitter @ESPNFNF or like it on Facebook. Follow ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates on Twitter @ESPNBoxeo
