Connor Coyle Will Face Toughest Test on Roy Jones Card
By Francisco Salazar
Middleweight prospect Connor Coyle will face the toughest test on paper tonight when he squares off against Travis Scott at the Coliseum in Saint Petersburg, Florida.
The fight will headline a Roy Jones Jr. Promotions card. Three fights will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass (6 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. PT).
Coyle (8-0, 3 knockouts) hails from Northern Ireland, but has fought all but two of his fights in the Tampa-Saint Petersburg area.
In his last bout on June 16, which also took place in Saint Petersburg, the 28-year-old Coyle broke down veteran Danny Pastrana before stopping him in the sixth round.
Coyle had to grind out a close unanimous decision over Calvin Metcalf in a battle of unbeaten fighters in his previous fight in November of 2017.
Scott (19-4, 5 KOs) was unbeaten in his 18 bouts as pro, but has struggled in recent bouts. In his last bout on July 14, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana resident was stopped for 2016 U.S. Olympian Charles Conwell in the second round.
The 38-year-old Scott has lost four of his last five bouts.
In the co-feature, Mark Reyes and Rodrigo Tatijewski will square off in a clash between unbeaten junior middleweights over six rounds.
The 22-year-old Reyes (8-0, 6 KOs), who resides in Tampa, has stopped four of his last five opponents. Tatijewski (8-0, 7 KOs) has knocked out his last six opponents and will be fighting for the first time out of Brazil.
In the opening bout, former lightweight contender William Silva will face Juan Ramon Solis in a 10 round junior welterweight bout.
Silva (26-2, 15 KOs), who is originally from Brazil and now resides in nearby Plant City, stopped Jose Forero in his last bout on Oct. 6. He was stopped in round five in his previous fight by unbeaten Teofimo Lopez on July 14.
Solis (25-13, 9 KOs) resides in Buenos Aires and has lost his last four bouts.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
