(DEC 29) Up-and-coming heavyweight prospect JD “The Natural” Chapman, 19-0 (17 KOs), will return to action on February 4 at the Pope County Fairgrounds in Russellville, AR.
The hard punching 22-year-old Chapman will face 19-9 (15 KOs) fellow Arkansas native Marvin Hill over 12 rounds for the NABC and Arkansas State Heavyweight Championships.
Chapman is coming off his first nationally televised PPV performance, a 12-round decision over formerly undefeated Edward Gutierrez, in which he was forced to go the distance for just the second time in his career. While trainer and former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer called the victory “an important part of his development that proved a lot about his stamina and toughness,” against Hill, both fighter and trainer will be looking for a return to the “vulgar displays of power” that marked his previous performances.
“I want a knockout,” says Chapman, who is currently in training in Florida. “Gutierrez was a good learning experience for me, but my fans don’t come to watch me learn; they come to watch me take people’s heads off. Plus, we live in the same town, so everybody has been talking about us fighting since I turned pro. He thinks he’s better than I am and I think I’m better than he is, so before I can prove I’m the best in the world, I got to prove I’m the best in my hometown. I’m not looking past Marvin Hill but I am looking to bigger things after I take care of this local problem.”