09.02.04 – Boxing legend and former world welterweight and middleweight champion Tommy “The Hitman” Hearns and Hall of Fame trainer Emmanuel Steward will bring one of the hottest young prospects in women’s boxing to Merrillville to fight on the Feb. 13th St. Valentine’s Day Brawl, sponsored by ONE IN A MILLION, INC.
Hearns and Steward will be on hand at the official weigh-ins, to be held at 6 p.m. on Thur., Feb. 12th, at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza, and at ringside on fight night. Stewart said he and Hearns chose the Brawl card for Kara Ro, a Canadian super featherweight, because of the Merrillville-based boxing team’s growing reputation for competitive, fan-pleasing performances.
That is high praise from two of the biggest names in the sport of boxing, said Octavius James, CEO of ONE IN A MILLION INC., and adding Ro to the card gives fans more of the action-packed boxing they have come to expect from the
boxing team.
“It’s a great honor to have Manny and Tommy choose our show, and it says a lot about what we’re trying to do for boxing fans in Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland,” said James. “Kara Ro is a great young prospect, and she adds a lot of flavor to our card.”
The Feb. 13th card will feature eight bouts before what is on its way to being a sold out crowd at the Radisson. Marty Jakubowski, will be the main event for the card, taking on John Hoffmanof Minnesota and Mexico native Juan “The Mexican Connection” Aguilar, now fighting out of Whiting, will face Ron Clardy of Cincinnati and Gary’s own Jermaine White will make his professional debut against Indianapolis’ George Staton.
Steward is a regular commentator on HBO After Dark, considered by many to be the most popular boxing broadcast program in the nation, and continues to train boxers in Detroit’s Kronk Gym, a ficility he made famous developing champions like Hearns.
Steward managed and trained Hearns, who gained international attention and respect for his valiant battles with other legends, including “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler, “Sugar Ray” Leonard and Roberto Duran, between 1977 and 2000.
He also trained the recently retired Lennox Lewis, former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
For more information on the Feb. 13th St. Valentine’s Day Brawl, call ONE IN A MILLION INC. at 866-438-7372