ProBox Promotions raise the bar once again after a series of outstanding and competitive showings at their own venue in Plant City, Florida. This time, they travel to Washington with a world title offering – certainly a major move for the promotion.
The underrated Washington WBA World Super-Featherweight champion Lamont Roach (24-1-1) will be making the maiden defence of his super strap against New York based Irishman ‘Fearless’ Feargal McCrory (16-0) in an engaging and extremely close bout.
Having only lost once – in his first attempt at capturing world honours against Jamel Herring (24-5) – Roach has steadily been increasing the level of competition since, winning his belt in a split-decision against dangerous Dominican Hector Luis Garcia (16-2).
Meanwhile, McCrory has earned his shot the hard way; first claiming the Boxing Union Of Ireland Irish Lightweight title, before moving down and taking the WBA Inter-Continental Super-Featherweight title in his previous showing.
The gentle pace of McCrory matches that of Roach, leading one to wonder if McCrory is currently ready to leap up to world honours; although he will be sure to make it competitive and interesting throughout.
The co-main event promises to be a titanic tear-up as Guatemalan strongman Lester Martinez (17-0) looks to keep the knockouts coming against top super-middleweight Carlos Gongora (22-2) in a decisive battle to see if Martinez can inch into the highest echelons of a bustling division.
Having made an impact with his recent second round knockout of Ruben Angulo (13-9-2) and winning the WBC Latino Super-Middleweight title in the process, Martinez has been blessed with momentum; momentum that he will seek to continue against Gongora, who is a known and successful operator.
Martinez will position himself amongst the likes of Lerrone Richards (18-1) and Christian Mbilli (27-0) if he can get through the skillful Ecuadorian.
Hailing from Surrey, Alex Dilmaghani (20-2-1) will be travelling to the United States with one goal: claiming a win over Rene Tellez Giron (19-3). The British super-featherweight has served his time with tours of Mexico and Canada boosting his experience coming into this bout, one he can confidently win.
However, that is not to underestimate Giron, who appears to be quite the livewire, having spent 2023 building his way up to earning the WBC FECARBOX Super-Featherweight title.
The night will also bring action courtesy of the women’s divisions as bantamweight Rianna Rios (7-0) looks to challenge the more experienced Spanish world-title challenger Mary Romero (10-5). Rios has a high amateur pedigree, having boxed globally and winning numerous USA Golden Gloves championships before turning to the professional ranks.
A win over Romero, who has operated on the European level for quite some time, could catapult Rios into the heights of the division; after all, Romero has only faltered when challenging the elite of the division, such as Ellie Scotney (9-0) and Dina Thorslund (22-0), both women’s pound-for-pound greats.
All of this and more will make up the foundations of a brilliant outing for the promotion, one that will be offering world-title challenges, top contendership and inspiring bouts throughout.
