By Elisinio Castillo
Light heavyweight contender Jesse Hart believes that he will end the career of Sullivan Barrera, when the two boxers meet on June 15th - as part of the undercard to the Las Vegas debut of heavyweight Tyson Fury, who faces Tom Schwarz at the MGM Grand.
Barrera was scheduled to make his debut under Top Rank on June 8 against Michael Seals, and that fight would have been part of ESPN card in Reno, which features WBO featherweight champion Oscar Valdez in the main event.
But now the Cuban boxer has agreed to face Hart a week later.
Although the details of the deal have not been revealed, the fight against Hart (25-2, 21 KO) will certainly represent more money for Barrera.
Barrera (22-2, 14 KO) replaces the injured Eleider Alvarez, who withdrew from the contest with Hart a week ago.
Hart is moving up in weight, after suffering a decision loss to then WBO super middleweight champion Gilberto Ramirez. It was the second loss of Hart's career, with both coming to Ramirez, and both were highly competitive fights.
Hart views Barrera as damaged goods and feels the Cuban boxer took a beating last year from WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
"Thanks for taking the fight, but I’m gonna knock you out. There’s not gonna be a battle or back and forth. [Andre] Ward put a beating on you, Bivol put you in the coffin - now it’s time for me to close the casket and put the nail in it. You got heart, but no brains," Hart stated.
Barrera, who fought some of the very best in his division, is not that impressed by what Hart brings to the table. He says Hart was unable to finish off Ramirez, who injured his arm in the second round of their rematch.
"That's a lot of talk for someone who couldn't beat someone with one arm in his last fight for 10 rounds," Barrera said.
