By Jake Donovan

Most of the B-side is still being put together for their first show, but the staff at Top Catz Boxing continues to live up to early promises of changing the perception of club shows in its corner of the world.

The upstart promotional outfit based out of North Carolina – aided by the services of Hall of Fame promoter Russell Peltz, who was brought on as an advisor and matchmaker - secured a tasty matchup for the co-main event for its inaugural show, which is set for February 4 in Wilson, North Carolina. Local middleweights Jamar Freeman and unbeaten Pablo Velez will collide in a scheduled six-round affair.

Typical club shows in the southeast will often feature regional boxers in gross mismatches. Instead, Velez and Freeman are matched tough against one another in a bout that speaks to the company’s Small Town, Big Dreams tagline.

“Pablo and Jamar is a dream fight (for our company),” notes Tony Meeks, president of Top Catz Boxing. “A hungry lion in Velez against a hungry and proven veteran in Freeman. This is the type of competition we set out to have on our cards. This is what Top Catz Boxing wants and strongly encourages.”

The rest of the show has yet to be formally announced, but for now is topped by Wilson’s own Austin Bryant (2-0, 1KO) in a four-round cruiserweight battle. Debuting super lightweight Anthony Sonnier faces Tavares Owens in a scheduled four-rounder, while unbeaten heavyweight Jo-El Caudle (5-0, 4KOs) from Raleigh, NC appears in a six-round versus a yet-to-be-revealed opponent, Raleigh’s Donnie Marshall (super welterweight, 1-0) and Durham’s Marklin Bailey (super lightweight, 2-0) are tentatively slated to appear in separate four-round bouts.

For now, the announced co-main event is enough to alert local sports fans that the mission remains to bring real fights to town.

Velez (7-0-1, 5KOs) – a 30-year old boxer from Durham – steps up in class as he puts his unbeaten mark on the line. The locally-based Boricua was held to a draw in his pro debut but has since won seven straight, including his last four by knockout, all of which have come in the Raleigh-Durham area.

Freeman (14-5-2, 7KOs) is far more celebrated, and perhaps the more proven commodity as his career risks have come at the expense of a less-than-attractive record. Still, it’s the battle scars he’s endured that has earned a reputation as a boxer who always comes to throw hands, having shared the ring with the likes of Julian “J-Rock” Williams, Caleb Plant, Sammy Vasquez Jr. and Samuel Rogers, all of whom were undefeated at the time of their respective bouts.

It was a slow 2016 campaign for the Connecticut-born, locally-based middleweight gatekeeper, who won his lone bout of the year which came in April. The 31-year old boxer now takes on his seventh career undefeated opponent, in lieu of a soft touch.

“Both men stepped up and really want this fight,” notes Meeks. “It is going to be terrific. We look forward to officially announcing our full and exciting card set for Feb 4 in Wilson, NC.  This is only the beginning!"

Twitter: @JakeNDaBox_v2