by David P. Greisman 

Junior welterweight prospect Mike “Yes Indeed” Reed will take on Reyes Sanchez on the undercard of an April 8 show featuring junior-lightweight titleholder Vasyl Lomachenko against contender Jason Sosa in the main event.

The card will take place at the new MGM National Harbor casino located just outside of Washington, D.C.

Reed hails from Waldorf, Maryland, and has fought in and outside of D.C. on several occasions. But it has been about two years since he last got to perform in front of his local crowd. His eight appearances during that period have taken him to Las Vegas, New York, New Jersey, Nebraska and Pennsylvania, mostly on the undercards of shows put on by his promoter, Top Rank.

“I'm very excited to be fighting back at home,” Reed told BoxingScene.com. Not only am I fighting at home, but I'm fighting my first 10-rounder, and it's at an arena I look to make my home for years to come. There's nothing like fighting at home when your hometown family and friends show support.”

Reed, 24 years old, is 21-0 with 12 knockouts.

Sanchez, 31, is 26-9-2 with 15 KOs. While Sanchez topped Daniel Estrada in 2010, he lost decisions to Antonio DeMarco in 2011, Ricardo Alvarez and Roberto Ortiz in 2013, Dante Jordan in 2015, and Carlos Molina in 2016, and was stopped in three rounds by Juan Heraldez this past September. Sanchez has lost three in a row and five of his past seven.

“I know he's a solid opponent who is coming to win. He's lost his last couple of fights, but it's all come when stepping up against opposition,” Reed said. “Of course I consider myself to be a step up.”

To the prospect, this is part of the process — and the progress — toward greater things.

“A win will further my rankings and my exposure,” Reed said. “We plan on setting ourselves up for title contention this year and fighting for one in early 2018.”

Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com