TACOMA, Wash. – Andre Keys will look to win his 12th consecutive fight when he returns to the ring in January, but to accomplish that he will have to defeat his toughest opponent to date in former world title contender Dannie Williams. Keys and Williams will main event Battle at the Boat 125 as Brian Halquist Productions will kick off its 2020 Battle at the Boat boxing series with a special Friday night edition on Friday, Jan. 17 at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash. Event will start at 8 pm with doors opening at 7 pm.
Keys, a native of Tacoma, brings a 12-1 record into the 10-round welterweight bout, while Williams, who fights out of Saint Louis, is 23-3.
“This is an excellent main event to kickoff the New Year with,” said promoter Brian Halquist. “Andre has been climbing the rankings and is coming off his biggest win to date. He really looked razor sharp the last time out and a victory over Williams would be a huge step towards getting him closer to a world ranking.”
Tickets are on sale now and available through the EQC box office and all Ticketmaster Outlets. Preliminary bouts will start at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m.
The six-bout card will also feature a 6-round semi-main event between Antonio Neal and Niko McFarland in the light welterweight division. Additional undercards bouts include a heavy weight contest between undefeated Nick Mills and Michael Johnson and a fight between Jose Cervantes and Cody Brown.
Keys, a former national amateur championand multiple-time Tacoma Golden Gloves champion, is coming off an impressive10-round victory on Nov. 9 when he handed Manuel Monteiro just his second loss.
The win improved Keys’ all-time record at the Emerald Queen Casino to 6-1. He has not lost a fight in nearly four years.
Standing in his way of his 12th straight triumph will his toughest test to date in Williams, who is coming off a win over Ronald Rivas.
Williams opened his career 12-0 with one of his earliest victories coming at the Emerald Queen Casino. He suffered his first loss to Eloy Perez by unanimous decision in a bout for the vacant World Boxing Council United States featherweight title in September of 2009 at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Williams responded to that loss by winning his next nine fights. Highlighting that winning streak was a win over Manual Leyva by KO in a contest for the interim World Boxing Council Continental Americas lightweight championship.
His two other career set backs occurred in title fights. He lost to Henry Lundy in a fight on ESPN for the NABF lightweight title in 2012 and to John Molina Jr. in a bout for the World Boxing Organization NABO lightweight title in the main event of ESPN’s Night Fights in 2013.
Additional bouts at Battle at the Boat 125 include a 170-pound fight between Juan Jackson and Joe Aguilar and a 136-pound contest between Louis De Alba and Marco Garcia.
Battle at the Boat 125 is brought to you by Brian Halquist Productions. For more information, please visit the Battle at the Boat Facebook page and www.halquistproductions.com
Battle at the Boat 125 Card
Friday, Jan.17, 202010 Round Main Event – Welterweight
Andre Keys (12-1) vs. DannieWilliams (23-3)
6 Round Semi-Main Event – Welterweight
145-pounds: Antonio Neal(5-12) vs. Niko McFarland (4-5-2)
4 Round Undercard Bouts
170-pounds: Juan Jackson (2-2) vs. Joe Aguilar (0-0)
136-pounds: Louis De Alba (0-3) vs. Marco Garcia (0-0-1)
144-pounds: Jose Cervantes (1-0) vs. Cody Brown (1-0)
Heavyweights: Nick Mills (2-0) vs. Michael Johnson (0-0)
ABOUT BRIAN HALQUIST
Brian Halquist Productions is the Northwest premiere fight promotion company creator of the famed “Battle at the Boat” boxing series promoting more than 23 years and over 125 fights at the Emerald Queen Casino. BHP has also built the largest professional MMA series on the USA’s west coast with “Cage Sport MMA” nearing more than 60 fights. Brian Halquist Productions has promoted events for ESPN, ShowTime and HBO and featured on Showtime’s historic boxing event in St Lucia, West Indies. Brian Halquist Productions has been promoting fights and concerts for over 35 years in the Pacific Northwest.