Reyes Boxing Inc., the steadily rising six-year-old promotional company, is bringing boxing to the big room at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts on Sept. 14th. “We’ve already done Maine, New Hampshire and the Boston area and so we are now heading on to Springfield,” said Reyes Boxing's president Michael Reyes. Tickets can be purchased here.  "We have plans to get to Connecticut and Rhode Island. It’s a New England series, so we plan to hit every New England state.  Springfield is literally just over the border from Connecticut so it could be just a matter of time before Reyes Boxing is doing shows at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, two of the biggest casinos in the country. 

 

Reyes, a former officer with the United States Marine Corps., is pleased with how far his company has come in a short amount of time. “We’ve learned. We’ve built. We’ve had some really quality fights with some really quality guys. A lot of my guys have fought on Showtime, ESPN and DAZN.”  He added, “So, as far as a six-year-old company, we’ve done a lot and we’ve been to a lot of places, especially in the last three years. We’re happy with our growth. We’re happy to see where we’re going.” 

 

Reyes is also a former amateur fighter and loved boxing since his early years, "I didn't know that there was a calling when I was kid to be a boxing promoter. But now that I'm here, I love it. I'm addicted and I'm all in."

 

Next Saturday's show, entitled “Down and Dirty XI,” marks the first time boxing is taking place in the Arena at the Mass Mutual Center, which is located across the street from MGM Springfield and just a few blocks away from I-91. Headlining the twelve-bout card will be Springfield’s own Anthony Velazquez in a junior middleweight contest against France’s Florent Dervis (10-1). Beloved by the Puerto Rican community in his hometown, Velazquez looks to gain wider support with and each and every victory. His record currently stands at 14-0-1. Velazquez is on a two-fight win streak since an April 2023 draw with Rashid Stevens at Mohegan Sun, on a card that was promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s CES Boxing. His two victories since that draw have been by knockout, eliminating the suspense of scorecards. 

 

“This is the first time boxing’s taking place in the Mass Mutual stadium, which they call the Arena,” said Reyes. “I think this is going to be the best show Massachusetts has all year long. I think the talent pool is deep with guys we have fighting and I’m excited. I’m excited to be in the Arena. I’m excited to bring big-time boxing out to western Massachusetts and push further down.” If Reyes pushes down beyond Connecticut, New York City promoters may have some competition.