Keith Hunter and Sanjarbek Rakhmanov have some unfinished business.
Hunter, a junior welterweight prospect, defeated Rakhmanov by a split decision in a spirited eight-round fight in February of last year, Hunter putting Rakhmanov down in Round 2 and controlling the early rounds only to see the Uzbek rally later in the bout.
Hunter (11-0, 7 KOs) outpointed Rakhmanov (12-2-1, 6 KOs) 77-74, 76-75 and 75-76, which was hardly a conclusive result.
They pick up where they left at a contracted weight of 143 pounds tonight in Las Vegas on Showtime.
“I think I convincingly beat him the first time,” said Hunter, who weighed in at 141½. “It’s good that I’m getting him a second time because I’m going to show that it’s not even going to be close. I could see how some people thought it was a close fight the first time, but it won’t be close this time. He got some clean shots on me, but he never hurt me. I dropped him early. If I didn’t do that, it could have been a different story.
“I’m going to get him out of there. I think it’s going to be an exciting fight. I had unleaded gas the last time around, but I now have premium gas in the tank.”
The Las Vegas-based Rakhmanov, who weighed 143, is as confident as Hunter.
“I’ve been wanting this rematch forever,” he said. “I one hundred percent feel that I won that fight. I was dominating for five or six rounds. I’m so happy that this will be a 10-round fight. The more rounds I have, the better my chance. We had him last time, and I let him off the hook. That was a mistake and I won’t let him off the hook this time.
“I was waiting too much in the first few rounds. I started too slow. This time, I will start fast. I give him respect for taking the rematch. I’m very motivated. I want to avenge the loss. I want to make everybody know that the judges made a mistake the first time. There is a lot on the line and this win will open many doors for me.”
In the ShoBox co-main event, 2016 Olympian and junior welterweight prospect Richardson Hitchins (10-0, 5 KOs) faces Nick DeLomba (16-2, 5 KOs) in a 10-round bout. And Las Vegas native Kevin Newman II (11-1-1, 6 KOs) fights Albania’s Genc Pllana (7-1-1, 4 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight matchup to open the telecast.