Press Release: Jerome Featherstone and Joey “Bazooka Joe” Veazey are amateur boxers who generate attention in the Baltimore area. Both have matches Saturday evening as part of Baltimore Boxing Promotions’ at the Myers Pavilion. Their journeys leading up to September 20th however are about as different as possible.

A late comer to the sweet science, Featherstone was an established athlete before putting on a pair of gloves. He was a superstar wrestler at Boys Latin High School and went on to make his mark as a 165 pounder for Oklahoma State University. In 2012, Featherstone walked into the Baltimore Boxing & Fitness Gym interested in learning the sport; he was a natural that quickly turned heads.

Fifteen months later, he won the Golden Gloves in the Washington, DC/Baltimore region and went on to compete in the national tournament against the best fighters in America. He’s won all but two of his fights and will have his final amateur bout Saturday evening against Francisco Bustos for the East Coast Middleweight Championship.

A high school junior, Veazey fought his first fight at seven and has been a success ever since. Humble and mature, an unusual combination even for top professional athletes, he’s a two-time regional titlist, one-time National Silver Gloves winner and 2009 Ringside World champion. This year, Veazey captured a silver medal at the Junior National Golden Gloves. He’s still a few years away from entering the pros but has the chance to win another title when he meets Keayen Coleman for the Maryland State Welterweight Championship.

“Jerome and Joey took very different paths into boxing,” said Smith, a former boxer that has promoted in the beltway region the last decade. “Joey grew up around the gym and has been fighting since he was very young. Jerome is a late bloomer in boxing who made up for lost time by being a fast learner with an excellent athletic background. Those in attendance Saturday night will get to see two of the best up and comers we've got.”

Smith is also proud of the kind of people his two featured fighters are.

“Jerome and Joey are champions in and out of the ring. They don’t bring an attitude or sense of entitlement with them regardless of their success. I’ve promoted many of their fights and both are class acts. To me, promoting a quality human being is just as important as the boxing aspect because the community rallies behind good people.”

The Baltimore show features ten additional matches. Also, Baltimore Boxing will honor Murray Smith, late father of promoter Jake Smith. During the evening, the “School of Hard Knocks” Award will be presented in Murray’s honor to Baltimore native and former IBF junior middleweight champion Vincent Pettway.

Tickets are on sale now by calling 410-375-9175.