Junior welterweight contenders Oscar Duarte and Kenneth Sims Jnr will meet in an important bout on August 2 in Chicago.
Sims gets to fight in front of his hometown fans at the Union 1 Arena on DAZN and the 22-2-1 (8 KOs) technician Sims faces the 29-2-1 (23 KOs) Duarte.
Heavy-handed Duarte started boxing at 11 after friends invited him to spar, and he became a decorated amateur, claiming regional and national titles.
https://www.boxingscene.com/talk-shows/boxingscene-today-foster-vs-fulton
Duarte, trained by Robert Garcia, turned over in 2013, and 10 years on lost the biggest fight of his life when stopped by Ryan Garcia in eight rounds in Texas.
He has won his last three, stopping Jojo Diaz and Miguel Madueno and outscoring Batyr Akhmedov.
He became the first man to stop both Diaz and Madueno.
The fight had originally been scheduled for last November in Riyadh, only for Sims to suffer a knee injury in training.
Sims was an excellent amateur and a former Team USA member who lost by just a point in the final of the Olympic trials to Jose Ramirez in 2012. Still, he travelled the world in the unpaid ranks, to Ukraine, Ireland, Chile and Puerto Rico, and he boxed at the world championships in Kazakhstan in 2013, turning pro a year later.
He lost two eight-rounders and drew a third but has since won his last nine.
“I feel very happy and motivated to be the main event on August 2nd against Sims Jnr, an opponent I had previously scheduled to fight, but due to fate, the fight was postponed,” said Duarte. “I want to take this opportunity to thank Oscar de la Hoya, Eric Gómez, and the entire Golden Boy team for their trust. We are going all out, going for that win to get closer to a world championship.”
Sims countered: “This fight is long overdue and I’m ready to put on a show and leave with the victory. I’m fully healthy now and ready to put on a stellar performance for my fans in Chicago. It’s a dream come true to headline in my hometown, the greatest city in the world.”
Golden Boy Promotions boss Oscar De La Hoya said: “There is nowhere to run and hide for Duarte and Sims in this super lightweight fight that has been brewing over the past year. With all the animosity between the two, I can assure that fireworks will explode in this summer firecracker.”
..both have seen better days..prograis should win this...if he struggles or even loses, then he needs to think about retirement
