Jonathan Maicelo to face Brandon Bennett tonight

Aug

Jonathan Maicelo (l) and Brandon Bennett. Photo Credit: Joe Tarlecky/King’s Promotions

Two fringe lightweight contenders have been knocking on the door of the division over the last couple of years. One hopes to burst through with a win tonight.

Jonathan Maicelo and Brandon Bennett square off in a 10-round bout at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The bout will headline a King’s Promotions card.

Both fighters accumulated unbeaten records before a loss set them back.

Maicelo (21-2, 12 KOs) won his first 19 bouts in a row before fighting hard-hitting Rustam Nugaev in April of 2013. While Maicelo gave a good account of himself early on, he was knocked out by Nugaev in the eighth round.

After winning back-to-back fights, he faced Darleys Perez on Jan. 9, losing a one-sided decision.

A loss would be a significant setback for Maicelo, which is why he is very motivated for this fight.

“Even though I lost to Perez, I took it as a big learning experience,” said Maicelo, who is originally from Peru and resides in North Bergen, NJ. “I learned a lot and it will show [on] Friday.

“Fighting a guy like Bennett are the fights that I want. I want to show that I can beat guys with good records. I imagine he feels the same way. I am sure he knows that I am no pushover and that he is in for a tough fight.”

Bennett (19-1, 8 KOs), who resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, had won his first 16 bouts before stepping up against junior lightweight contender Francisco Vargas in Aug. of 2013. Vargas was most in control during most of the fight, winning a one-sided, 10-round decision.

The southpaw Bennett has since won three bouts in a row. In his last bout on May 28, Bennett stopped Rondale Hubbert after the third round in Philadelphia.

Also fighting in 10-round bouts:

– Unbeaten lightweight and 2012 U.S. Olympian Jamel Herring will fight Ariel Vasquez of Nicaragua.

– Unbeaten lightweight and 2012 U.S. Olympic team alternate Robert Easter will face Osumanu Akaba of Ghana.

– Hard-hitting super middleweight Phillip Jackson Benson squares off against Jinner Guerrero of Ecuador.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since Oct. of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.