Get ready to rumble in the Motor City. Detroit's very own Wayne State Fieldhouse, typically the stomping ground for Wayne State athletics and the Detroit Pistons' G-League team, the Motor City Cruise, is set to transform into a battleground for the inaugural 'Big Time Boxing USA' event on Feb. 20, in what's expected to be a high-octane showcase of local and national pugilistic talent.
According to Salita Promotions, the series starter, tipped to go live on DAZN, promises to bring the heat with Michigan's Ardreal Holmes Jr. toeing the line against fellow state native Marlon Harrington for the USBA super welterweight title. Eager fans can already snap up their tickets for the chance to see them duke it out in a 10-round main event. Lest we forget, Holmes is coming off a technical decision win over Wendy Toussaint back in June, grabbing the vacated USBA belt in process, reported The Detroit News.
Meanwhile, Salita Promotions is not pulling any punches with its partnership with DAZN. They're clearly looking to pack a wallop and reach an audience well beyond just the confines of Detroit. These aren't just any fight nights; they're a calculated push to rekindle Detroit's storied boxing legacy. "I'm very excited about the partnership with DAZN and the ability to promote our fighters to a worldwide audience," Dmitry Salita, president of Salita Promotions, told Yardbarker.
But it's not just the main event that's set to capture the spotlight. The evening's co-main event sees undefeated USBA light heavyweight champ Ali Izmailov stepping into the squared circle against Britton Norwood. And keep an eye out for the up and comers—Joshua Pagan, US National Amateur Champion, and Da’Velle Smith, a Dearborn native with a spotless record, both stepping into the ring for a taste of victory. Alfie Sharman, DAZN's VP, was all praise for the arrangement, saying, "Together we can create something very special with these shows," as reported by Yardbarker.
Even amid the buzz of this series launch, Salita's ambitions seem to further stretch, potentially including more events at other premier venues around Detroit. This vision is part of a larger fight to bring boxing back to prominence in the U.S., a battle being waged on the heels of high-profile bouts happening on foreign soil, from Saudi Arabia to the U.K. and Mexico. Salita's looking to score a knockout by bringing attention back to American rings, and Detroit might just be the right corner to start swinging from.
The initiative might ring a bell for some, as recent high-profile fights and lucrative offers in sports have made headlines, with Saudi Arabia actively vying to reshape its global image through powerhouse investments in sporting events—a strategy Salita appears to view as a positive shift for the boxing world. "What Saudi Arabia has done... is enable different promoters that would not normally work together to work together and to make it the biggest and the best fights and drive the sport forward," Salita remarked in a statement obtained by VenuesNow.
