The Budding Philadelphia Boxing Scene: Its Champions and Standout Contenders
The city lit up red in October and November for the Phillies, green in January and February for the Eagles, and blue and gold for whatever weekend the Union played in the MLS Cup.
We may be the only city to go to three major championships within 100 days. Unfortunately, we are actually the only city to lose three major championships in that short of a time span.
Regardless, it’s been great being a Philly sports fan as of late.
But this is a boxing article. Perhaps it’s because of our fascination with our core four TEAMS that the budding boxing scene, emerging from one of the greatest fight cities in the world, doesn’t receive the attention it deserves.
I mean, we got CHAMPS here right now!
So let’s talk about these CHAMPIONS and contenders, and who rep their roots proudly.
Top Row (left to right): Stephen “Cool Boy Steph” Fulton, Jaron “Boots” Ennis, Tevin Farmer
Bottom Row (left to right): Sonny “The Bronco” Conto, Rasheen Brown, Danny “Swift” Garcia
Jaron “Boots” Ennis
lightweight (30-0) 27 KO’s
Boots Ennis is one of the sport’s brightest rising stars and is ready to take on the current champions in Jerrold Spence or Terrence Crawford. It’s just a matter of whether they’ll take the fight or not. If they don’t, who could blame them? Boots is one of the most dynamic punchers and most athletic performers in boxing. Dude looks like he could step in at safety for the Eagles tomorrow and at point for the Sixers the next day.
In his most recent fight, Ennis earned a unanimous decision win in which his opponent ran the entire fight, made it to the last round, and may have managed to steal a round in the process. Whenever a UD Win is considered a step back because you’r the opponent wasn’t knocked out, you know you’re on the right track. All this and he’s still only 25 years old.
Stephen “Cool Boy Steph” Fulton
Super Bantamweight (21-0) 8 KO’s
The current WBC & WBO World Super Bantamweight champion is Stephen “Cool Boy Steph” Fulton. In the last 5 years, he has 9 wins—all by KO or unanimous decision besides one fight. Fulton is on a tear towards becoming a top 5 pound-for-pound boxer in the world and is already being cited as by some of his contemporaries. His pull counter is second to none and he’s shown an ability to hunt and kill with the same skill level as he has baiting opponents into his rapid return fire. Like Ennis and every great fighter, Fulton is calling out his competition and fighting the best of the best in pursuit of a unified title and top P4P ranking.
Danny “Swift” Garcia
Super Welterweight (37-3) 21 Ko’s
Born and raised in North Philly, Danny Garcia was the most well-known Philly boxer, prior to the rise of Boots. He has fought in multiple weight classes and held titles in all three: Welterweight, Super Welterweight, and Super Light Welterweight. After a five year run as a champion in one class or another, he lost in 2020 to current champ, Errol Spence, in one of the most anticipated fights of that year. Garcia is still a top 10 contender and will be a force to be reckoned with till the day he hangs the gloves up.
Tevin Farmer
Super Featherweight (30-5-1) 6 KO’s
You can see the passion in his response to the results—his many wins and title defenses, and his very few losses.
He’s not known for his knockout power but the southpaw’s savvy approach to boxing is what has garnered him 30 wins in his career and the IBF World Super Featherweight title. Prior to his last fight, Farmer hadn’t lost in nearly a decade.
His next fight is scheduled for Feb 25th against Mickey Bey. Unfortunately, we may never see that fight against Gervonta Davis the world was waiting on.
Sonny “The Bronco” Conto
Heavyweight (11-0) 9 KO’s
As the youngest, and far and away the biggest of these boxers, the South Philly native has begun to make a name for himself in the city with great promotion and a ton of hype around him. He even had Tyson Fury walk out with him at his last bout that ended after the first round, when his opponent refused the second bell. Needless to say, none of that hype comes without talent and knockout power that’s generating highlight after highlight. You can expect big things from Sonny “The Bronco” Conto as he continues to rise throughin the Heavyweight rankings.
Skip to 3:50 in the video below to see the knockout
Rasheen “Jr” Brown
Featherweight (11-1) 7 KO’s
The 24 year-old Featherweight is the least well-known of the bunch, but, like Conto, has tremendous potential at a young age. Brown has a few full fights on video that show an unteachable quickness, awareness, and athletic flair in the ring. A few of the videos are from 10 years ago, as a youngster fighting at James Shuler Memorial Gym in West Philly. In the video below, you’ll see an over-the-top left come down on his opponent in the second round that wobbles his legs and drops him to end the fight very early.
