With just over six weeks until the fighters square off in front of thousands of Philadelphia fight fans, Matchroom USA gathered in the City of Brotherly Love on Tuesday afternoon to announce the March 15 card at the Liacouras Center. The action-packed evening will be headlined by IBF World Super Featherweight Titlist Tevin Farmer defending his belt in his hometown against undefeated Jono Carroll. The action-packed event will also feature IBF & WBA World Female Lightweight Titlist Katie Taylor in a unification bout against the WBO World Female Lightweight Titlist Rose Volante, Philly’s Gabriel Rosado will go up against Maciej Sulecki in a middleweight tilt, and two Philadelphia natives, Hank Lundy and Avery Sparrow, will face off in a lightweight bout in front of their hometown crowd. In anticipation, the fighters took the podium to discuss their upcoming training camp, preparation, and thoughts on the fights – which will be streamed exclusively on DAZN.
Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing
“We are delighted to be in the Liacouras Center on St. Patrick’s Day weekend, and live on DAZN. We are here for Philly’s very own Tevin Farmer to defend his title against Jono Carroll. Tevin is one of the most active fighters in the world right now and certainly the most active champion. In the co-main event is my favorite fighter in the sport today, full stop, and that’s Katie Taylor. It will be a great night of action. The United States, especially Philadelphia, should be excited about Tevin’s amazing story. It’s an amazing success story and we are happy that we can deliver it on DAZN so everyone can learn more about what a great champion Tevin Farmer is. DAZN is doing all of this as part of a subscription plan. These other guys are charging you $80 or $90 a month for these PPVs. We aren’t doing that. DAZN is doing big things. Andrade two weeks ago, Munguia last week. Canelo vs. Jacobs just announced. More exciting things coming soon. It is an exciting time and DAZN is at the forefront.”
Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment
“Tevin is the most active champion in the sport. You can fact check this, but seriously, when was the last time a champion fought four times in eight months? I don’t think it’s ever happened. The reason that is possible is because of Eddie Hearn, Matchroom and especially DAZN USA. They’ve all given Tevin a great platform to be an active champion, which is exactly what Tevin told me he wanted to be before signing this co-promotional contract. He is a true Philly fighter and that will show on March 15.”
Tevin Farmer
“Thank you to Philadelphia for coming out. Thanks to Eddie Hearn, Lou DiBella and DAZN for making this. First, Jono, that’s not a Philly beard, bro. Second, you got this fight because I chose you. Nothing else. I just beat your cousin, now I am going to beat you. I am tired of beating your family. Listen, all that sad story about what you have done, you aren’t going to convince Philly. They are with me. I am going to beat you up real bad, right in front of all of Philadelphia. You just got a draw, how did you get a draw? You looked past him, right? You got on Twitter and called me cocky. I’m not. How much you making for this fight? Oh. You don’t want to bet? Well, Philly, I am going to beat his ass anyway. And you know what, after I beat you, I am going to take you for cheesesteaks. Not Pat’s, Geno’s and all that either. I’m going to take you to the Papi spot. That’s the best spot.
“So listen, if you don’t know me, I am Tevin Farmer. I am a real Philly fighter. I came from nothing and I owe it all to my team. This year I am looking to fight four or five times, maybe six if I can. I want to go down as one of the best to ever do it and 2019 is going to be a huge year for me.”
Jono Carroll
“Thank you to Eddie, it’s been a pleasure. If it weren’t for Matchroom, I would’ve just gave up and walked away a long time ago. And now, fighting in America, this is a dream come true. I love Philly, I know you have heard me jawing with Tevin but I do love the city and all the fans. I don’t care what this little pea-brain says in the background. I have been an underdog in most of my fights but I keep winning and winning and winning. Come March 15, this kid Farmer won’t know what hits him. I am going to take his belt, easy work. I’ll take that home with me. If he beats me, you know what, I will take my hat off and tell him that he is a hell of a man. You know why? Because it is going to take a hell of a man to beat me.”
Katie Taylor
“Thank you so much, it is great to be in Philadelphia. It is a great fight city. I can’t wait to be one step closer to being undisputed champion. Thank you to DAZN. They are keeping fighters active and the best are fighting the best. That’s exactly what the sport needs.”
Gabriel Rosado
“It’s a great opportunity to be back home. It is exciting to be back. This is where it all started. (Avery) Sparrow and Hank (Lundy) can relate to that. This is where it started. I was coming up out here working a graveyard shift, busting my ass, working for $10 an hour. I haven’t fought in Philly since 2012. I believe this is the second half of my career. Everyone was surprised in my last fight, expecting a war, but I am getting wiser. I will put on a show on March 15. Congratulations to Tevin Farmer, we had conversations about all of this happening and I told him to keep doing what he was doing. Like, ‘Trust me, keep doing what you’re doing.’ And look where we are now. Looking forward to March 15.”
Hank Lundy
“Thanks to everyone involved for bringing this fight to Philly. You don’t want to miss none of this. None of it. This is going to be a great night of fights. If you fight Hank Lundy, you need to live a clean life. If not, it shows. And the thing you should know about Hank Lundy is I’m a dog. I come to fight and leave it all in the ring. No matter what.
“And yeah, I fought and lost to Crawford. He’s the pound-for-pound champion though and I went out there to try and knock him out. He got me first, it’s all good. But I’m a dog and that young pup is going to sleep. Avery is going to sleep that night.”
Avery Sparrow
“I am blessed for this opportunity to be here. Thanks to Eddie Hearn, DAZN and everyone else for being here. Thanks to Hank for taking the fight, it’s an honor. Come March 15, it’s all business. He had his title shot and now I am looking to get mine one day. I’ve been working for a long time, fighting in the amateurs a long time and now I am here to prove myself.”
