A year of delay, a dash of animosity, and 140 pounds of high-stakes ambition will converge when hometown stylist Kenneth “Bossman” Sims Jr. welcomes Mexican knockout artist Oscar Duarte to Union 1 Arena on August 2. The junior-welterweight crossroads bout headlines a DAZN card billed as a “summer firecracker,” and the ingredients promise genuine combustion.
For Sims (22-2-1, 8 KOs), the night is both homecoming and proving ground. The former Team USA standout has rattled off nine straight wins since early career stumbles and now gets the stage he craved before a freak knee injury scuttled the original Riyadh date last November. “Headlining in Chicago is the dream,” he said. “I’m healthy, I’m sharp, and I plan to put on a show that leaves no doubt who’s next in this division.”
Duarte (29-2-1, 23 KOs) arrives with heavier hands and a point to prove. Still stung by last year’s eighth-round stoppage to Ryan Garcia, the Robert Garcia-trained brawler has rebuilt momentum by becoming the first man to halt Jojo Diaz and Miguel Madueno before out-pointing Batyr Akhmedov. “We’re going all out,” Duarte promised. “This win brings me right back to the edge of a world-title shot.”
Watch Duarte vs. Madueno highlights: Watch
Stylistically it is silk versus sledgehammer: Sims’ south-paw angles and measured output against Duarte’s seek-and-destroy pressure. Golden Boy’s Oscar De La Hoya predicts the collision will light up the Lakefront: “There’s nowhere to run or hide - fireworks are guaranteed.”
A compelling co-feature of the event pits former two-time 140-lb titleholder Regis Prograis (29-3, 24 KOs) against ex-IBF featherweight champion Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr. (34-7, 15 KOs). Prograis will seek to halt a two-fight skid after consecutive points losses to Devin Haney and Jack Catterall, while Diaz aims to build on last month’s morale-boosting eight-round decision in Tijuana that snapped his own three-bout slump.
Further down the card, rising cruiserweight Tristan Kalkreuth (15-1, 10 KOs) meets slick Canadian southpaw Kareem Hackett (12-1, 6 KOs) in a ten-rounder, and U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards (3-0, 3 KOs) faces fellow heavyweight prospect Cayman Audie (4-1, 2 KOs) over six. The DAZN broadcast opener features Mexico City puncher Yair Gallardo (9-0, 8 KOs) in an eight-round light-heavyweight test against durable veteran Quinton Rankin (21-9-2, 16 KOs) of North Carolina.
Preliminary bouts will showcase unbeaten super-bantamweight Gael Cabrera (8-0, 5 KOs) versus an opponent to be confirmed, local heavyweight Deontae Pettigrew (15-0, 11 KOs) against Skylar Lacy (8-1-2, 6 KOs), and heavy-handed lightweight Mekhi Phillips (6-0, 6 KOs) in the evening’s curtain-raiser.
Fight card:
▪️Oscar Duarte vs. Kenneth Sims Jr., 12 rounds, super lightweight
▪️Regis Prograis vs. Joseph Diaz, 10 rounds, super lightweight
▪️Tristan Kalkreuth vs. Kareem Hackett, 10 rounds, cruiserweight
▪️Joshua Edwards vs. Cayman Audie, 6 rounds, heavyweight
▪️Yair Benjamin Gallardo-Lozano vs. Quinton Rankin, 8 rounds, light heavyweight
Prelims:
▪️Gael Cabrera vs. TBA, 8 rounds, super bantamweight
▪️Deontae Pettigrew vs. Skylar Lacy, 8 rounds, heavyweight
▪️Mehki Phillips vs. TBA, 6 rounds, lightweight
