Irvington Boxers Will Get Chance To Shine At Prudential Center

IRVINGTON, NJ — Two of Irvington’s best professional boxers will get a chance to shine in their home stomping grounds when Jean Pierre Valencia and Ghandi Romain enter the ring at the Prudential Center in Essex County.

Valencia (3-0, 2 KOs) and Romain (6-1-1, 4 KOs) will be fighting in separate undercard bouts at the Newark arena on Saturday, Feb. 1. Learn more or purchase tickets here.

For Valencia, it will be a return to a venue he’s always dreamed of fighting at. He last appeared at Prudential Center in October, scoring a first-round knockout of Cody Jenkins. See Related: Irvington Boxer Scores Big Knockout At Prudential Center

The 25-year-old has remained busy since turning pro last June, winning a unanimous decision over DePriest Johnson in December. Now, Valencia is seeking to show the improvements he has made since turning pro following a standout amateur career, where he earned a bronze medal at the 2023 National Golden Gloves.

“I don’t feel like I’m the same boxer I was six months ago,” said Valencia, a native of Esmeraldas, Ecuador.

“I have improved a lot since I last fought at the Prudential Center,” Valencia commented. “Now I’m back to show more of myself.”

Valencia will be fighting Dmitry Noskov, 31, in a four-round junior middleweight bout. Noskov hails from Ufa, Russia, and is based in Brooklyn. The pugilist is a national silver medalist who holds a victory over former amateur world champion and Olympic bronze medalist, Gleb Bakshi.

‘THE BIGGEST STAGE YET’

Meanwhile, the upcoming fight will be a milestone for Romain, 27, who is making his first appearance at the Prudential Center.

Romain – a native of Port-au-Prince, Haiti – is looking for his second straight win since being held to a controversial draw against undefeated Nimal Farmer last October.

Romain won New Jersey Golden Gloves and Diamond Gloves titles in 2017, and is looking forward to taking the next big step in his career when he takes on Benjamin Lamptey (17-14-4, 13 KOs) in a six-round welterweight bout.

“I feel very grateful to be fighting at the Prudential Center,” he said. “It’s the biggest stage yet so I’m just looking to put on a spectacular performance in front of my hometown fans.”

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.