By Gary “Digital” Williams

There are matches listed for the Tricky Entertainment/DC Fight Night card on Saturday, December 1st at the new Entertainment and Sports Arena in Southeast Washington, DC. However, the big news concerns one bout that has been taken off the card.

Popular and undefeated DC boxer Dusty Hernandez Harrison is now off the card due to a forearm injury suffered in training. Harrison (30-0-1, 16 KO’s) was scheduled to take on James “Shotgun” Winchester of Reidsville, NC in a 10-round junior middleweight contest. The bout would have been the first for Harrison since September of 2016.

This means the main event on the card will now feature multi-time female world champion Tori “Sho Nuff” Nelson of Ashburn, VA, who will be in a 10-round contest against Sanna Turunen of Tuusula, Finland. This bout will be for Nelson’s UBF Middleweight title and will be the first time Nelson has competed in the Nation’s Capitol in her career.

Nelson (18-2-3, three KO’s) bounced back from her two losses to Christina Hammer and Claressa Shields to score a sixth-round TKO over Tiffany Woodard on August 4th in Sterling, VA. Nelson has won 11 world titles in her career. Turunen (4-1-1, one KO) makes her first trip to the United States after competing in her native Finland and in Paisley, England where she lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Hannah Rankin on June 16th for the WBC Silver Middleweight championship.

DC welterweight Kareem “Reemo” Martin will be on the card in a scheduled six-round contest against veteran Jose Arturo Esquivel of Ciudad Saucillo, Chihuahua, Mexico. Martin (10-2-1, three KO’s) bounced back from a loss last November to win a four-round majority decision over Kevin Womack, Jr. on June 30th at the Sphinx Club in DC.

Esquivel (10-8, two KO’s) faces a Beltway Boxer for the third time in his career. In his last bout, Esquivel suffered a first-round TKO at the hands of Antuanne Russell on August 4th in Uniondale, NY. Esquivel also lost an eight-round unanimous decision to Lamont Roach, Jr. in May of 2016 in Las Vegas, NV.

This card also marks the return of Oxon Hill, MD light heavyweight Alexander “The Great” Johnson who will take on “The Dynamic Warrior” Mengistu Zarzar of Brooklyn Park, MN by way of Liberia. in an eight-round bout. Johnson (16-4-1, seven KO’s) has not fought since August of 2016 when he battled Egor Mekhontsev to an eight-round majority draw in Tucson, AZ. Zarzar (6-5-1, two KO’s) makes his second trip to the Nation’s Capitol. On October 18th, Zarzar lost a six-round unanimous decision to Todd Unthank-May at the Mayflower Hotel. Johnson also suffered a loss to Unthank-May by six-round decision in March of 2016 at the DC Armory.

In a six-round bout, Greenbelt, MD cruiserweight “The Vanilla Gorilla” Sam Crossed will battle with Twon Smith of Oklahoma City, OK. Crossed (7-0, five KO’s) scored a brutal first-round knockout over Josh Jones in his last outing on June 16th in Laurel, MD. Smith (3-1, two KO’s) looks to bounce back from his first pro loss, a six-round unanimous decision defeat to Marcus Sanchez on March 16th in Oklahoma City.

DC super lightweight Antonio “Teflon” Magruder returns to action after a more than two-year absence when he faces Gabriel Gutierrez of El Paso, TX in a four-round contest. Magruder last fought in September of 2016 and scored a first-round TKO over Ronnie Watson at the Sphinx Club. Gutierrez (5-7, three KO’s) lost by second-round knockout to Jonathan Navarro on March 22nd in Indio, CA.

Silver Spring, MD heavyweight George Harris will take on Lamar Lewis of Arkansas in a four-rounder. Harris (1-0, one KO) made a successful pro debut on October 27th scoring a second-round TKO over Damion Reed in Fort Washington, MD. Lewis (0-3) lost by third-round TKO to Maurice Jones in his last bout on June 23rd in Augusta, GA.

Beltway Boxers Jordan “Shortdog” White (5-1, four KO’s, of Waldorf, MD) and Tyrell Boyd (pro debut, Baltimore, MD) are looking for opponents for this card.

Also on the card in a four-round bout will be light heavyweight Kiante Irving of Beaver Falls, PA who will take on George Sheppard of Virginia in a four-rounder. Irving is a 2018 National Golden Gloves champion who has scored first-round knockouts in his first two bouts. Sheppard (1-4-1) looks to bounce back from being knocked out in the first round by Joseph George on September 22nd in Fort Myers, FL.