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HomeNewsArchivesJulius Jackson Prepares for Birthday Bout in Argentina

Julius Jackson Prepares for Birthday Bout in Argentina

Julius Jackson with champion fighter Gennady Golovkin. Jackson trained with Golovkin for several weeks at Big Bear, Calif.About a year and a half ago, local boxing champ Julius Jackson was in Cordoba, Argentina, dominating in the ring against Nicolas Dario Lopez, who he dropped by technical knockout in the ninth round to pick up the vacant WBA Fedebol Super Welterweight title.

That burgundy and gold Fedebol belt was on full display at a press conference Friday on St. Thomas, as 340 Boxing officials announced that Jackson would return to Argentina Monday for a birthday bout to defend the title against seasoned fighter Crispulo Javier Andino (17-6-1, 3 KOs.)

“This young man is a very good opponent, and this is a good challenge for Julius at this point in his career,” 340 Boxing promoter Lesley Comissiong said at the press conference. Comissiong said Andino is coming in with a total of 24 fights and 104 rounds of boxing under his belt compared to Jackson’s 51 rounds, but Jackson is still undefeated after 17 fights and said Friday he plans to emerge from next week’s bout with that record still intact.

“Any fight we take on now can potentially take me to the next level, and every opponent can be seen as another opportunity to move up,” Jackson said Friday. “And I’m pretty sure that after I knock this guy out, we’ll have the chance to take on some of those bigger names, and I’m definitely excited for that chance.”

While Jackson has not had a bout since his first title fight in Argentina, he has kept sharp with sparring excursions, first to Spain to train with champ Sergio Martinez and most recently to California for a few weeks with Gennady Golovkin, the undefeated fighter who will defend his title at the end of July against Australia’s Daniel Geale in the big ring at Madison Square Garden.

“The camp in California was an amazing experience,” said Jackson’s father and trainer, three-time world boxing champion Julian “The Hawk” Jackson, at Friday’s press conference. “The air up there in Big Bear is very thin, due to the high altitude, so doing six rounds there is like doing 12 somewhere else. That’s why Golovkin trains there and Julius, who wanted to improve his strength and stamina, was able to go a full seven rounds and that really says a lot.”

The time off has also not hurt Jackson’s ratings, which 340 Boxing officials said Friday have kept other boxers at bay when it comes to booking fights. Jackson was twice expected to join his brother John and cousin Samuel Rogers on an HBO televised card, which fell through after the main events didn’t sign on, and since then, it has been hard to find quality fighters to take him on, according to 340 Boxing managing partner Jose Rosario.

Jackson, who will turn 27 on the day of his upcoming bout, has maintained high rankings with all four boxing councils despite the time off, Comissiong added.

“People are intimidated to take that type of risk,” she said.

The bout is the main event on a Boxeo Internacional fight card scheduled for Aug. 1 at Cordoba’s Union Electrica Stadium. Comissiong said the card is expected to be carried by TYC Sports, which is streamed online or can be purchased through Dish Network or Direct TV.

From left, USVI amateur boxers Jose Peguero, Tiffany Reddick and Clayton Laurent.Friday’s press conference also gave Rosario and Julian Jackson – both the top officials of the USVI’s Amateur Boxing Federation – the chance to announce new developments for amateur fighters Clayton Laurent Jr., Tiffany Reddick and Jose Peguero, who will soon head to Bogota, Columbia, to compete in qualifiers for the Central and Caribbean Games.

Laurent, a 24 year-old heavyweight hitter, placed fifth in the 2010 CAC games in Puerto Rico and said Friday that he is not only looking to qualify next but come back from the 2014 games in November with some “serious hardware.”

“I’m excited,” Laurent said Friday. “I haven’t fought in a while either, so I am excited to get back into the swing of things and show the Virgin Islands that I haven’t been sleeping. I’ve just been preparing for what’s next.”

Reddick, who turned heads after switching to boxing after a four-year basketball career at the University of the Virgin Islands, said she’s added pounds for the qualifier, going from a 155-pound welterweight to a 165-pound middleweight.

“I had to get a little stronger,” Reddick said. “Even though they look like girls in the ring, some of them hit like dudes.”

Peguero, who has already racked up two amateur belts, also said Friday that the group has been training hard, even sparring some days with the professionals in the ring.

“We’re ready to fight,” he said. “Anybody that we face, we’re ready to come right back at them.”

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