Junior welterweight Sonny Fredrickson was on the fast track to contender status until he ran into hard-hitting Shohjahon Ergashev.
Fredrickson will square off against Samuel Teah tonight at the Hilton Hotel in Washington D.C. The 10-round bout will headline a ‘Fight for Children’ charity fight card.
The 25-year-old Fredrickson (21-1, 14 knockouts) was considered a top prospect entering 2018, having won his first 18 fights as a pro. He squared off against Ergashev of Uzbekistan, a step-up in opposition, who battered him from the opening bell until the fight was stopped in round three.
Fredrickson has rebounded since the loss, winning his last three bouts. The Toledo, Ohio resident last fought on May 18, stopping former world junior lightweight title challenger Joseph Laryea in the opening round.
Promoter Lou DiBella believes Fredrickson can go up against any of the top fighters at 140 pounds, but will have his hands full against Teah tonight.
“Sonny is an extremely talented kid,” DiBella told The Ring Thursday evening. “He’s very athletic and he has a lot of intangibles to be both an attraction and a world champion. He faces a legit challenge in Teah and I’m looking forward to seeing how Sonny rises to the occasion.”
Fredrickson is currently ranked No. 8 by the IBF and No. 11 by the WBA.
Teah (15-3-1, 7 KOs), who is originally from the West Africa country of Liberia and now resides in Philadelphia, lost by unanimous decision to Tre’Sean Wiggins in his last bout on Feb. 23. The loss snapped a three-bout winning streak.
At Wednesday’s weigh-in, Fredrickson weighed in at 139.8 pounds. Teah weighed 139.4 pounds.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
