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& Photos by John DiSanto |
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On Saturday night, Philly super middleweight contender Jesse Hart, 23-1, 19 KOs, will fight in his hometown for the first time since his unsuccessful but impressive attempt to wrest the WBO world 168-pound championship from Gilberto Ramirez last September. Hart’s homecoming comes against Laurel, Maryland’s Demond Nicholson, 18-2-1, 17 KOs, in the biggest boxing show to hit the City of Brotherly Love in quite some time. The nine-bout card promoted by Top Rank and Peltz Boxing at the Liacouras Center on Temple University’s North Philly campus, features a WBO world junior featherweight title bout between champ Jesse Magdaleno of Las Vegas and Isaac Dogboe of Ghana, as well as an all-Philly heavyweight showdown for the PA state championship between North Philly’s Bryant Jennings and Tacony’s Joey Dawejko. Jesse Hart fights in between these two bouts. The trio of fights will be broadcast live on ESPN. The last time Hart fought here in 2016, he won a harder-than-expected heart-stopper against Dashon Johnson in South Philly. Although the lively brawl won “Philly Fight of the Year” honors, Hart drew some criticism from fans and his legendary father, former middleweight monster Eugene “Cyclone” Hart, for his reckless performance. As Jesse approached Saturday’s meeting with Nicholson, he appeared to be in phenomenal physical condition – lean and cut, more so than ever before. However, three additional topics besides Nicholson, seemed to be on his mind as well - his title fight with Ramirez, that brawl with Johnson, and keeping his family legacy in good standing.
HOW ARE YOU FEELING
ABOUT THIS FIGHT? DID YOU WORK ON
ANYTHING NEW FOR THIS FIGHT? DO YOU THINK THAT
FIGHT HURT YOU IN ANY WAY?
WHAT DID YOUR TITLE
FIGHT PROVE ABOUT YOU? DO YOU THINK YOUR
STOCK WENT UP EVEN THOUGH YOU LOST? HOW IMPORTANT IS
THAT RESPECT?
DO YOU LIKE THAT
YOU’RE FIGHTING AT HOME AGAIN? THIS IS THE BIGGEST
SHOW IN QUITE A WHILE HERE HOW DO YOU EXPECT
THE FIGHT TO GO?
CARTO'S CAREER ALSO
TIED TO FAMILY LEGACY Carto has become a wildly popular rising prospect in Philadelphia after less than two years in the professional ranks. He’s already been headliner at a number of local boxing events, and was added to this giant show to spotlight his talent and to capitalize on his ability to sell tickets. “It’s exciting to be fighting on a card this big,” Carto said. “I’m excited to be fighting with other great fighters.”
Carto comes from a fighting family. His brother is his manager and was an outstanding amateur boxer himself. Their grandfather, Frankie Carto was a world-rated lightweight during the 1940s. Frankie, who passed away in 2005, fought world class boxers like Lulu Constantino, Chalky Wright, Phil Terranova, and Eddie Giosa. In addition, Christian’s uncle Nunzio Carto was also an excellent boxer. Uncle Nunz won three consecutive Philly Diamond Belt titles as an amateur before going on to a 27-2, 13 KOs, career as a pro in the 1940s. The youngest Carto boxer extends the family name into the modern era of the sport. “It’s cool to carry on my family’s legacy,” Carto said. “It’s a good feeling. My Pop told me about it when I first started boxing, but I didn’t really think about it too much. He’d tell me that my Grandpop was ranked #10 in the world. It was tough being rated then because there wasn’t as many weight divisions. They were fighting twice a month. That’s crazy. I never really thought about it much, but I am part of it.” Like Jesse Hart, Christian Carto has the chance to take his family name further than ever before. |
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