Less than a year after making his comeback to boxing, Zahir Raheem (34-4-0, 21 KOs) will make his return to National TV this Friday when he takes on Bayan Jargal (17-4-3, 11 KOs) in the co-televised feature of Battle at the Boat 94 presented by ESPN2's Friday Night Fights at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, WA. Headlining the six bout card will be Juan Antonio Rodriguez (25-4-0, 23 KOs) taking on Dominican fighter, Yenifel Vicente (25-1-2, 17 KOs), in an eight round super featherweight bout.
A limited amount of tickets are still available for Battle at the Boat 94, scheduled for Friday, January 10th, and can be purchased at the Emerald Queen Casino box office and online through Ticketmaster. Prices start at $35. Fans are encouraged to arrive at the showroom early as the televised features will start at 6 PM. Doors open at 5 PM.
Since making his first appearance with Halquist Productions last March, Raheem has rolled through the opponents put in front of him going 3-0 with three knockouts; none of them lasting longer than four rounds. On Friday, Raheem will attempt to preserve the momentum in his scheduled ten round bout with Jargal, who most recently was setback on a Friday Night Fights card against Chris Howard. Training out of his "King Raheem's Boxing and Cross Training Gym" in his current hometown of Stone Mountain, Georgia, Raheem is ready to prove that he belongs among the elite in boxing's super lightweight division.
"We're really excited to feature Zahir back on a national stage," said promoter, Brian Halquist. "When he steps into the ring Friday night, he'll let his gloves do all the talking."
Since joining the Halquist Productions team a year ago, Raheem has seen his stock rise to be currently ranked #3 in the NABA, #4 in the NABO, and #7 in the USBA. A solid victory in front of a live national audience this Friday could set up a very appealing 2014 for the Philadelphia native whose fans all around the world believe he has what it takes to become a world champion.
The main event of the night figures to be a crowd pleaser with the hard hitting Juan Antonio Rodriguez matched up with the very aggressive Yenifel Vicente who replaced Arash Usmanee earlier this week after Usmanee sustained an ankle injury while sparring over the weekend. Rodriguez had a very successful 2013 going 3-0 with three knockouts while Vicente also went undefeated in 2013 with two early stoppage victories while winning the WBC FECARBOX super bantamweight title in June against Jorge Diaz.
A press conference open to the media will take place on Thursday at 5 PM prior to the fighter weigh ins at the Emerald Queen Hotel and Casino in Fife.