Derek Ennis Tunes up for takeoff!

photo by Tony Gargano www.pixgargano.com

On January 15, 2010, USBA Jr. Middleweight champion, Derek "Pooh" Ennis (19-2-1, 12ko's) of Germantown will sharpen up before the first mandatory defense of his title when he takes on fading vet Edwin Vasquez (22-14-2, 8ko's) at the Arena for a scheduled 8 rounder. Ennis is said to have changed his training ways and appears to again be in tip top shape. This is a retry of a scheduled 2007 match where Ennis failed to make weight, sparking off a debate on his dedication to the sport. All of that seems to be put to bed now, as he weighed a career low 151 lbs in his last match, when he turned in the Philly 2009 Fight of the Year in a 12 round win over Eromosele Albert at The Blue Horizon. With Ennis on point and Vasquez being a loser of his last 5, don't bet on this going the distance.  Ennis is tentatively scheduled to defend his USBA belt in April in Atlantic City. Win that, and you are ranked in the top 5 of the IBF Pooh!

The undercard will feature undefeated North East Philly prospect Tony "Boom Boom" Ferrante (8-0, 4ko's) taking on Andre Hemphill (8-13-2, 5ko's) in a 6 rounder. Ferrante seems to be on a quest to clean out the local Light Heavyweights around town. Hemphill has lost four of his last five but is known to be a spoiler when fighting in this area, most recently blasting out Richard Stewart in 3 rounds. We will see if he can pull the rug out this time around... The Boxing Barber Victor Vasquez (10-3, 5ko's) and Gustavo Dailey (4-7, 1ko) square off for a potential 6 round riot. Also scheduled for action are Coy Evans and  Big Poppa Speller