On Thursday, November 1, 2018, Fight Night DC returns to the Washington Hilton in Washington DC for its annual charity event featuring an entertaining night of fights.
According to the Fight Night DC website, the late Joseph E. Robert Jr. started Fight Night nearly 30 years ago as an opportunity to bring his friends and colleagues together for a fun night to support a great cause–improving the lives of at-risk children throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
After featuring a full slate of MMA action in 2017, this years Fight Night event will return to boxing and showcase a stellar fight card with amateurs Joel Tchantchuing and Keon Burroughs opening things up, Jessica Camara battling Jenna Johlin Thompson and once-beaten Super Lightweight contender, Sonny Fredrickson (19-1, 13 KOs) taking on Manuel Mendez (16-2-3, 11 KOs) in the main event for the vacant USBA Super Lightweight title .
Round By Round Boxing caught up with Fredrickson to discuss his upcoming fight against Mendez as well as recent changes in his career. Fredrickson divulged that although he is no longer signed with Roc Nation Sports, a close connection between his current manager and Roc Nation Sports’ former matchmaker opened up the door to showcase at Fight Night.
“Eric Bottjer is the matchmaker for Fight Night DC and he’s friends with my manager,” said Fredrickson. “Eric used to be my matchmaker when I was with Roc Nation Sports so he offered us this fight opportunity.”
In Mendez, the 24-year-old Fredrickson will face an experienced opponent who has fought solid opposition, many of which were on Thompson Boxing Promotions fight cards, which are known for hosting quality matchups.
Fredrickson hopes to rely on his strengths on November 1, which include his six-inch reach advantage and quality jab. As the Fight Night event shifts back to boxing in 2018, Fredrickson also looks forward to putting on a crowd-pleasing performance for spectators who are used to plenty of action.
“Yeah, honestly I just want to control the fight with my distance,” said Fredrickson. “I think I can stop the guy, he’s been stopped twice. I think I can make it entertaining and everyone’s going to enjoy the fight.”
Fredrickson is only two fights removed from his highest profile fight against Shohjahon Ergashev on Showtime, a fight which Fredrickson lost by third-round stoppage. Since then, Fredrickson returned to the ring in September to score a stoppage victory in Mexico and he looks to continue to apply what he learned against Ergashev on November 1.
“I learned more off that fight compared to a lot of other fights,” said Fredrickson. “One thing is not letting my weight get so high and having to cut weight. The whole weight cut for that fight was terrible. I felt horrible that whole fight. It wasn’t just a good camp at all.”
Having said that, Fredrickson said that he’s feeling good fighting at Super Lightweight.
“I used to walk around in the 160’s, but now I walk around at no more than 150,” said Fredrickson. “I just left the gym at 146, so now my weight is a whole lot more comfortable. I feel strong.”
The Toledo native also stated that his lengthy training camp will surely have him prepared for Mendez on November 1.
“Before the fight in Mexico I had about a seven week camp,” said Frederickson. “[After that] we took off three days and then came back [the next] Wednesday and started sparring so it’s been a pretty long camp.”
With a solid victory on November 1, Fredrickson hopes to put himself back into position to fight on television, potentially with a new promotional outfit.
“I just gotta go in there and get this W and after that explore my options with other promoters,” said Fredrickson. “If another opportunity comes up to fight on someone else’s card I will do it. I’m going to look for an opportunity to get on TV again.”
Round By Round Boxing will have live results of all the Fight Night DC boxing action on November 1. Download the RBRBoxing app on iOS or Android for more breaking news and fight results.
More About Fight Night DC
Since the first event in 1990, Fight Night has generated more than $65 million; fueling Fight For Children’s work to improve the lives of children throughout our region.
Funds raised from Fight Night 2018 will support Fight For Children’s mission to foster the physical, social-emotional, and academic development of current and aspiring student athletes by supporting quality youth sports programming in high-need communities throughout Washington, DC.
The silent auction at Fight Night features more than 100 exciting packages, with an abundance of sports memorabilia, local specialties, unique items and travel packages.
Header photo by Stephanie Trapp/Showtime
