Photos: Jamel Herring Makes Weight, Set For First TV Main Event

By Jake Donovan

Jamel Herring and Luis Flores are officially set for their 10-round lightweight clash. Both fighters made weight for their main event, which tops the next edition of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Fox Sports 1, live from Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Herring (14-0, 8KOs) tipped the scales at a fighting ready 134.2 lbs., while Flores weighed in at 134.7 lbs. The bout marks the first televised main event for the unbeaten boxer from Long Island, who now lives in and trains out of Cincinnati.

“This is my first PBC card and to headline it is a great honor,” insists Herring, a 2012 U.S. Olympic boxer who previously served his country in the United States Marine Corps. “In the same sense, I look at the fight as just another fight and I am very focused for the task at hand.”

The 30-year old boxer, who turned pro just over three years ago, is coming off of a 10-round decision over Yakubu Amidu last October, which aired live on SHO Extreme. The bout came in supporting capacity on a lead-in telecast to a Showtime event topped by Herring’s stablemate, Adrien Broner in a 12th round stoppage of Khabib Allakhverdiev.

As is often the case in their respective training camps, Herring and Broner split their time between Cincinnati and Washington D.C. For Herring, the D.C. move marked the final week of training for his main event but will return to rejoin Broner, who will dig in for the next few weeks ahead of his April 1 super lightweight title defense versus Ashley Theophane.

Herring has title aspirations of his own, but for now has to worry about what’s in front of him. Flores (21-2, 17KOs) fights outside of Colombia for just the second time in his career, but his lone road trip was a big one. A March ’14 trek to Mexico led to a 1st round knockout of Miguel Berchelt, who has since rebounded and will challenge Roman Martinez for a super featherweight title next month.

Flores’ career remains a riddle, having dropped a 10-round decision to countryman Jose Luis Prieto, but since rebounding with a pair of wins over pedestrian opposition. Still, his physical attributes – namely his pure punching power – is enough to capture Herring’s undivided attention heading into fight night.

“Flores is a tall and rangy and has some knockouts. I am going to play it straight, maybe feel him out for a few rounds and work my gameplan,” Herring promises. “This is a good step (up) for me. I am looking for the fights against the Top 15 guys.

“I have the ability, the pedigree to compete with all of those contenders. First things first, I have to win on Tuesday and I want everyone to tune in to this great night of fights.”

Also on the telecast:

• Unbeaten welterweight Alex Martin (11-0, 5KOs) from Harvey, Ill. takes on Nicaragua’s Rossemberth Gomez (17-4-1, 13KOs) in a scheduled eight-round bout. Martin was 147.5 lbs., while Gomez checked in at 146.6 lbs.
• Raynell Williams – a 2008 U.S. Olympian from Cleveland, Ohio – faces Gabriel Tolmajyan (14-4-2, 3KOs), a southpaw from Glendale, Calif., in a lighweight bout also scheduled for eight rounds. Williams (10-0, 5KOs) - traditionally a super featherweight - weighed 133.1 lbs.; Tolamajyan was 138.5 lbs. No word on whether Tomajyan was over the limit; regardless, the bout remains on as scheduled.

FULL WEIGHTS
Jamel Herring, 134.2 lbs. vs. Luis Flores, 134.7 lbs. - 10 rds, lightweight
Raynell Williams, 133.1 lbs. vs. Gabriel Tolmajyan, 138.5 lbs. - 8 rds, lightweight
Alex Martin, 147.5 lbs. vs. Rossemberth Gomez, 146.6 lbs. - 8 rds, welterweight
Jamontay Clark, 149.3 lbs. vs. Elvin Perez, 149.8 lbs. - 6 rds, welterweight
David Gonzalez, 142.7 lbs. vs. Justin Johnson, 144.8 lbs. - 6 rds, welterweight
Victor Vasquez 135 lbs. vs. Carlos Rosario, 132.2 lbs. - rds, lightweight
Jordan White, 121 lbs. vs. Manuel Rubalcava, 119.3 lbs. - 4 rds, super bantamweight

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox