All roads lead to Las Vegas on Dec. 16, as the professional boxing duo of John Jackson and Samuel Rogers prepare to fight at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in bouts scheduled for the World Boxing Council’s 49th Annual World Convention.
The V.I. boxers will be releasing the details of the fight card at a public press conference to be held at 12 p.m. Friday at Yacht Haven Grande, but reports have already been circulating about the possibility of Jackson fighting for a junior championship title. In a recent interview, Rogers didn’t release any names, but said that he has already been studying his opponent and is ready to take him on come next month.
“It’s going to be a real big opportunity for me because it’s the 49th WBC Convention and a whole bunch of past champions are going to be there watching in the crowd, so I feel that I have something to prove, and I feel that I’m going to showcase my talent,” said the 29 year old Rogers, who boasts a 10-0 record with 5 knockouts.
“We’ve been down here in the gym, getting sharp and looking good,” Rogers added. “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime coming up for us in Las Vegas, and I’m going to show them, every single second, what I’ve been working for. I’m going to be a world champion one of these days, so I’m going to Vegas, I’m taking no prisoners and I am coming back with a win for the Virgin Islands.”
Rogers and Jackson have intensified their regular training routine in preparation for the Las Vegas debut, doubling up on everything from running in the mornings to sparring at night.
“We’re ready, we’re in shape,” Jackson said Monday night at the boxers’ gym in Paul M. Pearson Gardens. “We’ve been working around the clock – when the roosters crow, I’m up, but it’s all worth it if I bring a win home to the Virgin Islands.”
Jackson, whose record is 11-0 with 10 knockouts, said Monday morning that he hit the road at 6 a.m., running a few miles before coming back to the gym to do his core exercises. Back at Pearson Gardens at 5 p.m., Jackson and Rogers picked up with the bags, and danced around the ring for hours, perfecting their technique.
“This is something truly tremendous for us,” their coach Julian “The Hawk” Jackson said as he watched the workout. “There’s something happening here in the Virgin Islands, this is history in the making. All we need now is for the public, our people, to come out and support us, get behind us. And with that support, I believe things are going to fall in to place. We believe in who we are and we need our community to do that, too.”
The public is invited to attend Friday’s press conference, which will be held in the center courtyard at Yacht Haven Grande next to Fat Turtle.
