Bahamian professional boxers D’Angelo Swaby, Israel Johnson and Tyrone Oliver will be in action on Saturday night in the “Hot Blooded and Hot Tempered” show.
The event, which is being promoted by Hrizin Sports, will be fully streamed on a pay-per-view platform.
Swaby will be in the ring against Bahamian Renardo McKenzie. Johnson faces David Wallace and Oliver’s opponent is still being worked out.
The action will be streamed live on livesportscaster.com beginning at 3:30 p.m. with the undercard bouts. To stream the fight, viewers will have to pay $10.
Swaby, one of the organizers of the event, said when it comes to entertainment, it should be more than physical presence.
“The way the world is heading, it was an easy decision to say, ‘Listen, we need to get on this streaming game,’” he said.
“The idea really came about after the lockdowns first started in Nassau.”
He continued: “Seeing the world with companies like DAZN, Thriller, ESPN, they got on their game and they started streaming.
“Streaming allowed them to continue to make revenue even though they could not have people physically there.
“That was an avenue that has been tried and proven by them and it was something that I saw a need for in The Bahamas.”
It has been almost a year since Swaby, who fights in the heavyweight division, stepped into the ring.
He lost his last fight because of a technical knockout against Jeremiah Milton, which pushed Swaby’s record to one win and two losses.
Oliver, a welterweight fighter, was last in action in July. He fought against American Isaiah Flaherty. He lost that bout by knockout and has an identical record to Swaby.
Johnson’s last fight was as an amateur boxer back in 2016. Known to be in the light heavyweight division, he will look to put up a good fight against Wallace.
Swaby does not have that many bouts as a professional fighter but he has been around boxing for some time, and said he knows about the behind-the-scenes aspect of the sport. He acknowledged that it has been tiring wearing all those hats.
“Competition-wise for this particular show, for those who either haven’t seen boxing or haven’t seen it in a while or haven’t seen any of the guys on the show actually fight – they’re going to see a display of very high boxing IQ and skills,” he said.
“Although an exhibition is not for a win or lose outcome, the guys are still fighting.
“I believe when viewers watch this, first-time viewers of boxing will get a lot from it. People who have heard the names of the guys on this card but have never seen them will get a better appreciation for them. I believe the amount of work that these guys are going to do in the ring is going to have people wanting to see more of them. The whole goal is to take over the region.”
He added that the response has been great, especially from the committed local boxing fans. The advertising has gained traction on social media also, but he hopes that it translates to viewership on Saturday night. Swaby knows it is something new and will pick up as time goes on.
This is a two-and-a-half-year campaign to get Bahamian boxing to be number one in the Caribbean and Central America. They are focusing on the Commonwealth titles.
“The reason why we focus on the Commonwealth title so much is because only 54 countries can fight for those,” he said.
“Currently, there are only 16 weight divisions, and 15 of the 16 belts are owned by British citizens. The only reason why the 16th is vacant is because nobody has fought for it as yet. It’s a vacant title. With the British having all 15 of the 16 belts, out of 54 countries, it doesn’t directly correlate to lack of skill by the other countries.”
There will be more shows and Hrizin Sports wants to get more people engaged. They believe that using the livestream format is the best way to reach more audiences, not only in The Bahamas, but outside of The Bahamas.
The post Bahamian boxers in action Saturday appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/bahamian-boxers-in-action-saturday/
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