Showtime Boxing: Mike Oliver Puts USBA 122 Lb Title On Line Against Gary Stark Jr

Derek Ennis to Put Undefeated Record on Line Against Allen Conyers in Co-Feature At Buffalo Run Casino, Miami, Oklahoma, Friday, Feb. 16, at 11 p.m. ET /PT

Looking for a real fight? “ShoBox: The New Generation” will present yet another showdown when Mike “Machine Gun’’ Oliver (17-0, seven KOs) defends his United States Boxing Association (USBA) junior featherweight title against Gary “Kid” Stark Jr. (18-0, eight KOs) in the main event Friday, Feb. 16, on Showtime (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).

The co-feature will pit unbeaten Derek “Pooh’’ Ennis (10-0-1, seven KOs ) against Allen “The Dream Shatterer’’ Conyers (10-2, eight KOs ) in an eight-round junior middleweight scrap. The excellent DiBella Entertainment doubleheader will originate from the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, OK.

“Oliver against Stark Jr. is exactly the type of fight that has given “ShoBox’ its reputation,” said “ShoBox” color commentator Steve Farhood. “The fighters have a lot of similarities; unbeaten records, strong amateur backgrounds and excellent boxing skills. Also, both are junior featherweights hailing from the Northeast, which means moving them has been extremely difficult. In that sense, they’re perfect for each other. This is the right fight at the right time for both Oliver and Stark Jr.

“Stark Jr. is a boxer who doesn’t need much convincing to become a brawler. He has faced better opposition than Oliver, but Oliver’s hand speed is superior. Then again, if you haven’t seen Oliver, trust me on this one: his hand speed is superior to just about any fighter you can name.

“This should be a fast-paced 12-rounder, competitive throughout. The winner is likely to emerge as a top-15 contender.”

In typical “ShoBox” fashion, the excellent 12-round match between Stark Jr. and southpaw Oliver will represent the sternest challenge of each prospect’s career. Both young men, known more for their boxing skills and talent than raw punching power, will make their Showtime debuts.

“I have wanted to step up, so this will be a good fight for me,” said Oliver, 27, of Hartford, CT, who captured the USBA belt in his last start by easily and impressively outpointing Adam Carrera across 12 rounds on Oct, 28, 2006, in Uncasville, CT.

“People seem to think I am just a boxer,’’ Oliver continued. “But, I am not one-dimensional. I don’t always do the same thing. I do a lot of switching up in the ring. I do not just box. I can bring the pressure if I need to. You get into the first round, see how it feels and take it from there.”

Stark Jr. disagrees. “Oliver is going to rely on his speed a lot and try to box, but speed only gets you so far,” said Stark, 27, who was born and raised in Brooklyn and now fights out of Staten Island, NY. “Oliver and I were in the amateurs together, so I know he has good skills. But, the guys I have fought are way tougher.”

“You have got to have heart and a will to win. I train too hard to lose. I don’t care how many times you hit me, I am not losing.”

Oliver was a top amateur before turning pro in September 2001. He won his initial six starts through May 2003, but ran afoul of the law and did nine months in jail. However, he has been a model citizen since and has won 11 in a row since resuming his career in April 2005. He fought six times in 2006.

In a dominant performance, Oliver ousted Carrera by the scores 120-108, 118-110 and 116-112.

“I was prepared for 12 rounds,” said the five-foot-six-inch Oliver, who is trained by John Scully. “It was speed and power, whatever I could use. I know the body shots affected Carrera a lot. I outworked and outboxed him. I thought the referee was going to stop the fight a few times, but Carrera was a tough guy.”

The five-foot-five-inch Stark Jr. was born into a boxing family and is co-managed and co-trained by his father, Gary Stark Sr., who was an amateur boxer from 1978-88.

Like Oliver, the younger Stark Jr. also was an excellent amateur and brought home many trophies. A three-time Golden Gloves champion once ranked fifth in the country by USA Boxing, Stark Jr. turned pro in May 2002. Also, Oliver will represent the sixth lefty Stark Jr. has faced in his career.

In his last outing, Stark Jr. won the vacant New York State 122-pound title by scoring a lopsided 10-round decision over southpaw Vernie Torres on Dec. 14, 2006, in New York . Stark cut Torres over his left eye in the first and bloodied his nose in the seventh en route to winning by 100-89 on all the cards.

The five-foot-eight-inch, 26-year-old Ennis, of Philadelphia, is the son of former prizefighter Derek “Bozie” Ennis. This will be the crowd-pleasing, hard-punching Ennis’ first start since he registered a fourth-round TKO over Richard Hall on April 21, 2006, in Mt. Pleasant, SC.

“I’m ready to get it on,” said Ennis, who is trained by his father. “I had a lot of hard training. It’s time to get it over with (and fight). I just let the fight come to me.”

Ennis, who turned pro in August 2002 after a brief amateur career, boxed to a six-round draw against southpaw Maxwell Taylor in his outing before last on March 9, 2006. Ennis scored a knockdown in the third, but went down twice himself in the fourth.

“The only round Taylor won was the round he dropped me in,” the switch-hitting Ennis said. “(But) this was a good fight for my career.”

Conyers, of Bronx, NY, is the New York State welterweight champion. He captured the crown with a first-round TKO over six-foot-two southpaw Russell Jordan on Nov. 3, 2006.

The bout represented the second straight first-round TKO for the five-foot-11 inch, 30-year-old Conyers, and will be his fourth start since returning to the ring in February 2006 after an 18-month layoff.

An aggressive, offensive-minded sort, Conyers turned pro in January 2002, is managed by Gil Reyes and trained by Luis Olmo.

“For this fight, I’ve been working with Luis Collazo and Travis Simms, so I will be ready,” said Conyers, who will step up a notch in weight. “The only thing I know about Ennis is his record and that he is shorter than me. I will probably just feel him out in the first round and see what type of fighter he is.”

Nick Charles and Farhood will call the action from ringside. The executive producer of “ShoBox” is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing.