Unbeaten light heavyweight Sean Hemphill will face gatekeeper Elie Augustama Friday night, manager Adam Glenn told BoxingScene Wednesday night.
The six-round bout will take place at the Avanti Palms Resort in Orlando, Florida and will take place on the Christy Martin Promotions card that will stream live on BXNG TV ($14.99, 6 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. PT).
Hemphill (10-0, 6 knockouts), who resides in New Orleans, Louisiana, last fought on December 19, stopping Bernard Thomas in round 4. In his previous fight four weeks prior to the Thomas fight, Hemphill defeated Gonzalo Andreasen of Argentina by unanimous decision.
The 25-year-old fought four times in 2020.
Glenn believes Hemphill is ready for a step-up in opposition later this year, but first must get by Augustama.
“Elie is a tough veteran,” Glenn told BoxingScene over the phone. “He’s tall and rangy and gives Sean a different look. Augustama is a good-seasoned veteran who has been in the ring with a lot of great prospects and contenders, and has never bee stopped. He's a great measuring stick to see how Sean has incorporated all the things he's been working on, and it'll be a solid test of his progression. Sean was an elite amateur and member of Team USA, who has been building and developing the right way as a pro.”
Augustama (6-14, 3 KOs), who is originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti and now resides in Miami, Florida, lost to unbeaten super middleweight Carlos Gongora in his last bout on January 31 of last year. Augustama has faced several unbeaten prospects, losing to the likes of Hakim Lopez, Sonny Duversonne, and Carlos Monroe. Augustama’s most-notable opponent was against J’Leon Love in January 2012, which he lost by unanimous decision.
Also on the Christy Martin Promotions card, welterweight prospect Shinard Bunch will square off against journeyman Ariel Vasquez in an eight-round bout.
Friday will mark Bunch’s (12-1 1 NC, 11 KOs) third bout of this year. Bunch, who resides in Trenton, New Jersey, knocked out Charlie Dubray in the opening round of his last bout on January 30. Two weeks before the knockout win over Dubray, Bunch knocked out Dieumerci Nzau in round 3.
Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Bunch fought five times in 2020, winning all those bouts by knockout.
Vasquez (14-28-3, 9 KOs), who resides in Managua, Nicaragua, was knocked out by then-unbeaten Christopher McCoy in his last bout on August 22. The 33-year-old has lost 12 of his last 14 bouts.
Unbeaten cruiserweight Richard Rivera (18-0, 13 KOs) of Hartford, Connecticut will face Mexico City’s Ulises Jimenez (24-26-1, 16 KOs) in a six-round bout.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.
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