The February 15 edition of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra will feature undefeated Junior Middleweight George “Comanche Boy” Tahdooahnippah (31-0-1, 23 KOs) and former Junior Middleweight and Welterweight title challenger Delvin Rodriguez (26-6-3, 14 KOs) in the 10-round main event. Friday’s show from Uncasville, Conn., 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 will air tape delayed on ESPN Deportes at 10:30 p.m. The card is promoted by Star Boxing.
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will be ringside at Mohegan Sun Arena describing the action for ESPN2 HD. Studio host Todd Grisham (@GrishamESPN) will be on site presenting the latest boxing news and interview Kendall Holt (28-5, 16 KOs) to discuss Holt’s upcoming title fight with Junior Welterweight titlist Lamont Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KOs). That fight will be televised February 22, at 9 p.m. on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. Alex Pombo and Bernardo Osuna (@osunaespn) will be ringside calling this week’s fights for ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates (Friday Night Fights) with Leopoldo Gonzalez and Pablo Viruega in the studio. Osuna will also present live interviews and reports for both shows.
Main Event:
Connecticut’s Rodriguez, who also doubles as a boxing analyst for ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates, will look to rebound from a 12-round unanimous decision loss to Junior Middleweight titlist Austin Trout. Friday’s fight will mark Rodriguez’s 15th appearance on ESPN. His last fight on ESPN was a July 2011 draw with Pawel Wolak. That fight was named 2011 “Fight of the Year” by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).
Rodriguez said of Friday’s fight, “I know my opponent’s a guy who comes forward. He fought at Middleweight for most of his career, so we’ve been training with guys similar to his style. We always prepare hard, so I don’t think there will be any problem.”
Colorado’s Tahdooahnippah is looking to build momentum after a September third-round TKO win over Gundrick King. “I’ve seen Rodriguez fight a couple of times, on ESPN against Wolak, and against Trout,” he said. “I know he’s a warrior. He’s been in big fights. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity all my life. I’m bringing a lot of pride, motivation and drive.”
Co-Feature:
Friday’s 10-round co-feature will pit Lightweights Chris “Hurricane” Howard (14-2-1, 6 KOs) of Tennessee against Virginia’s “The Mongolian Mongoose” Bayan Jargal (17-3-3, 10 KOs). Jargal is coming off a first-round TKO win over former Featherweight titlist Erik Aiken, while Howard will look to rebound from a 10-round split decision loss to Marc Salser.
Follow ESPN’s Friday Night Fights on Twitter @ESPNFNF or like it on Facebook. Follow ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates on Twitter @ESPNBoxeo. Also score the fights round-by-round with the “Live Friday Night Fights Facebook Voting App,” an application on the ESPN FNF Facebook page that allows viewers to score the fight round-by-round.
