Notebook: Sims looks to put on show for hometown fans vs. Duarte
Canizales slugs way to 108 belt; Queensberry signs 175 contenders; Sandoval upsets Teraji for unified 112 title; Vargas salvages draw; Qawi, Elbaum, Brooks tribute; Libya card; Quick hits; Show & tell
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When junior welterweight contender Kenneth Sims Jr. signed with Golden Boy Promotions 15 months ago one thing he very much wanted was a commitment from promoter Oscar De La Hoya to organize a fight for him in his hometown of Chicago.
A pro since 2014, Simms had never fought at home before. The closest he had come were bouts about an hour away in Gary and Hammond, Indiana.
In his first fight after signing with Golden Boy, Simms boxed in Las Vegas on the Vergil Ortiz Jr.-Serhii Bohachuk last August. In his second bout of the deal he fought in Anaheim, California, on the Oscar Duarte-Miguel Madueno undercard in February.
Now going into his third fight of the deal, Golden Boy has honored its promise to Sims to bring him home and he could not be more thrilled.
Sims will fight Duarte in a WBA 140-pound title eliminator in the main event of Golden Boy’s card on Saturday (DAZN, 8 p.m. ET) at Credit Union 1 Arena. The card will be Golden Boy’s first in Chicago, a dramatically underserved boxing city, in more than 10 years.
“This was one of my top three goals — to be the best, to make money to take care of my family, and to fight at home and bring a big fight home to Chicago,” Sims said this week. “It’s a dream come true. I am ready to put on a show for my city.”
Sims (22-2-1, 8 KOs), 31, and Duarte (29-2-1, 23 KOs), 29, of Mexico, were originally scheduled to meet in the title eliminator in November on the “Latino Night” card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but Sims suffered a knee injury in training and withdrew.