Tampa, FL (April 1, 2023) – Connor “The Kid” Coyle will defend his NABA middleweight championship against Fernando Ezequiel Farias Saturday, April 29 at the Hilton Carillon in St. Petersburg, FL.
Representing Derry, Northern Ireland, Coyle’s a perfect 18-0 with 8 wins by knckout. He won the NABA title last May and successfully defended his belt by scoring a 7th round stoppage of Sladan Janjanin this past December. Ranked #4 by the World Boxing Association (WBA), Coyle has world title aspirations but must first take care of business on April 29.
Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Farias’ professional ledger is 10-2-2 with 4 wins by KO. Farias stopped previously unbeaten Aldo Javier Villalba while also battling Timur Kerefov and Yamaguchi Falcao.
The ten round Coyle-Farias bout headlines Reyes Fire Fist Boxing’s “Fire on the Bay.” Tickets are on sale at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fire-on-the-bay-tickets-556587025777. Doors open at 6 pm and the opening bell is scheduled for 7 pm. The card will also be broadcast live on Reyesboxingtv.com.
In the co-main event, junior welterweights Joseph Fernandez of St. Petersburg, FL and Taunton, MA’s Marqus Bates will meet for the vacant NABA title. The winner of the ten round contest between Fernandez, 15-5-3 (5 KO’s), and Bates, 11-5 (8 KO’s), will move up the ranks significantly.
Lightweight contender Willian “Babyface” Silva of Brazil meets veteran Diego Gonzalo Luque in an eight round affair. Silva, 29-4 (17 KO’s), viciously stopped Carlos Gaston Suarez last October in Lowell, MA. Luque, who hails from Argentina, faced a number of top fighters including Jack Catterall, Mikael Zewski, Ghislain Maduma, Diego Ramirez, Mark Davis, and Brandun Lee among others.
Rugged welterweight Rodrigo Coria, 10-5 (2 KO’s), challenges 34 fight veteran and fellow Argentine Marcelo Fabian Bzowski in a six rounder. On January 14, Coria nearly upset unbeaten and highly touted Brian Norman Jr.
Hard hitting junior middleweight Khiry “TNT” Todd of Lynn, MA will share the squared circle with veteran Sergio Samuel Castellano over six rounds. Todd, 11-1 (9 KO’s), knocked out his last four opponents including three in the opening round.
Light heavyweight knockout artist Imran Haddabah, 8-0 (6 KO’s), will battle an opponent to be named. The popular St. Petersburg native is slated to fight in his first eight rounder.
Unbeaten lightweight prospect Gabriel Morales, 6-0 (3 KO’s), junior middleweight Luke Iannuccilli, 5-0 (2 KO’s) and junior welterweight Harry “The Hitman” Gigliotti, 9-4 (3 KO’s) will all face opponents to be announced.
Rounding out the card is a four round light heavyweight tilt between Clearwater, FL’s Mike Misa, 3-0 (2 KO’s), against 1-0 Russ Kimber of Massachusetts.
“I’m very pleased with how this card has come together,” said Mike Reyes of Reyes Fire Fist Boxing Promotions. “Connor has some big things in place if everything goes as planned against Farias on the 29th and whoever wins the Fernandez-Bates contest will have a huge opportunity in the near future. We’re also bringing in some of our young fighters from the New England region and are matching them against very experienced opponents, so this has all the makings of a very solid card.”