Before ESPN2 Friday Night Fights’ live audience witnesses the WBC Continental Americas Lightweight Championship battle between Karl “Dynamite” Dargan (17-0, 9 KOs) and Tony “The Lightning” Luis (18-2, 7 KOs), they will be treated to a stacked undercard that includes Shane Mosley, Jr. (2-1, 2 KOs), Cuban Sullivan Barrera (14-0, 9 KOs) and local prospects.
The undefeated Barrera is taking on veteran Jeff Lacy (27-5, 18 KOs) for eight rounds of action in the light heavyweight division. Barrera had a stellar 2014 with four wins and three knockouts. In his last fight on the Kovalev-Hopkins undercard, he stopped Rowland Bryant in the fourth round. Lacy also defeated his last opponent, Timothy Hall, Jr.
Middleweight Mosley, Jr., of Pomona, CA, is taking on Rafael Machado for four rounds of action. Mosley has been training in Foxwoods with his father, Sugar Shane Mosley, as part of the reality television series Knockout. The 24-year old Mosley suffered his first career loss in his last fight against Marchristopher Adkins. Machado is still looking for his first career win.
In another eight rounder heavyweights Keith “Machine Gun” Tapia (12-0, 7 KOs) of Santurce, Puerto Rico and Jesse Oltmanns (10-4, 7 KOs) of Bartonsville, PA will square off. The undefeated Tapia is coming off an eight round unanimous decision victory over Paul Jennette in June of last year. Oltmanns is looking to snap a three fight losing streak. In his last fight he was stopped by Matt Godfrey in the fifth round.
Light heavyweights Larry Pryor (9-8, 5 KOs) of Washington, DC and Charles Foster (6-0, 3 KOs) of New Haven, Connecticut will face off for six rounds. Pryor has won his last two fights in a row after suffering a six-round unanimous decision loss to Barrera at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA in April. In his last fight, he defeated Rayco Saunders via a six-round unanimous decision. The undefeated Foster knocked out Robert Jackson in the first round on the undercard of the Mchunu-Wilson card at Foxwoods in September.
Local favorite Cassius Chaney of New London, Connecticut will make his professional debut in a four-round heavyweight match-up with Antonio Assermelly (0-2) of Vesterly, Rhode Island. Assermelly is still looking for his first professional victory.
Finally, undefeated Philadelphian big man Khalib “Big Foot” Whitmore (6-0, 5 KOs) will square off against Carlos Reyes of (6-5-1, 4 KOs) of Kuarny, Arizona for four rounds of cruiserweight action. Whitmore has knocked out his last five opponents in a row. Most recently he stopped Lamont Capers in the fourth round at Sands in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania back in August of 2014. The southpaw, Reyes, is coming off a second-round stoppage of Mike Bissett last month in St. Petersburg, Fl.
