Boxing News Boxing News
By Josh Stewart
One year ago, Derric Rossy said he relished the challenge of becoming a heavyweight contender while helping turn Long Island into a major hub for the sweet science.
Well, ESPN2 is on its way to Suffolk County, a clear indication that Rossy and his camp are doing pretty well on both fronts.
Rossy (15-0, 9 KOs), the New York State Heavyweight Champion, will take on Philadelphia’s “Fast” Eddie Chambers (27-0, 15 KOs) for the vacant United States Boxing Association Heavyweight Title on Feb. 9. The bout—which will take place in the 1,500-capacity Brookhaven Gymnasium on Suffolk County Community College’s Ammerman campus in Selden—will be the feature attraction on a live broadcast of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights.
“It’s been a wild ride,” says Rossy, a 1997 graduate of Patchogue-Medford High School, about the dual objectives. “That was our goal from the beginning: making the steps, going in the right direction and staying home in Long Island. Because this is where my fan base is, this is where I was born, this is where I’m comfortable. To have it come home is the biggest thing.”
Rossy’s promoter, Sal Musumeci of Final Forum Boxing, negotiated to bring the fight to SCCC, and Rossy is pleased to be on familiar turf for undoubtedly the biggest test of his career. Chambers is ranked No. 14 in the world by the International Boxing Federation, so a victory by Rossy would put him in the pecking order for a world title shot against current IBF champ Wladimir Klitschko.
“There is only one most recognized athlete, and that is the heavyweight champion of the world, which is where we’re going with Derric Rossy, and we’ll make everybody on Long Island very proud that he’s from our area, and he will be known worldwide,” Musumeci says.
Chambers fights around 215 pounds and has gone the more conventional route of boxing success, starting at a young age and competing professionally since 2000. That’s in stark contrast to the 245-poundish Rossy, who took up the sport less than four years ago following his career as a defensive lineman at Boston College.
But Joe Tessitore, the blow-by-blow announcer for Friday Night Fights, praises Rossy for his willingness to actually learn how to box, as opposed to other gridiron types who have stumbled their way into the ring, citing the likes of Ed “Too Tall” Jones and Mark Gastineau.
Tessitore adds that the victor could be on their way to a title shot quicker than he thinks. “The winner of this fight may get a chance sooner because they might be perceived as a lack of a threat,” Tessitore explains. “There are two types of title fights: staying busy against a non-mandatory guy, or a big-money fight where either guy [presumably] can win.
“If these guys are perceived by Klitschko as a lack of a threat, he may think, “If I can convince a TV network do this fight, I can make money and get a break,’” Tessitore says.
Of course, you can ask Mike Tyson (Buster Douglas) and Lennox Lewis (Hasim Rahman) how a perceived cupcake bout can turn into disaster.
Regardless, Rossy-Chambers is obviously a fight with implications, which is why Friday Night Fights and its crew of 35 (including producer Rob Beiner of Great Neck) will be in attendance.
The goal of Musumeci and Suffolk County officials is for this not to be a one-time appearance. “It’s always good to go back to a location that shows it has the infrastructure and facilities, but also has a passion and affiliation with boxing and will come out to support a local guy,” says Doug Loughrey, an ESPN program manager for Friday Night Fights.
To show Suffolk’s support, County Executive Steve Levy on Jan. 26 presented Rossy with a proclamation backing him on his efforts to win the USBA belt. At the press conference, Levy talked of his hopes that this will be the first of several major cards. With the county planning an 8,000-seat sports and entertainment facility in Yaphank, just as Rossy’s career is starting to peak, Levy is thinking big.
“We’re a huge area,” the county executive says of Suffolk. “We’re bigger than 12 states, and we deserve to have a setting for [this fight] and one day to host a world championship right here in Suffolk County.”
Courtesy www.longislandpress.com
