Brinkley-Stevens on ESPN2 in Reno on January 29th

Sources close to the situation have informed 15rounds.com that former star of The Contender reality series Jesse Brinkley will take on once touted prospect Curtis Stevens on the January 29th edition of ESPN2 Friday Night Fights emanating from the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino in Reno, Nevada.

Brinkley (34-5, 22 KOs) of Yerington, Nevada has fought his way back into title contention since his last two appearances on ESPN2, an eighth-round decision defeat to Robin Reid in 2007 and a kayo loss to Joey Spina in 2006. In the nearly three years since the Reid defeat, Brinkley has won eight straight bouts while being moved intelligently by promoters Terry and Tommy Lane of Let’s Get It On Promotions. In his last time out, Brinkley, the IBF #6/WBC #7 ranked super middleweight, scored a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Mike Paschall in a ten-round light heavyweight bout.

Stevens (21-2, 15 KOs) of Brownsville, New York turned pro in 2004 and quickly made a splash as one half of the “Chin Checkers,” alongside fellow New York-based power-punching prospect Jaidon Codrington. Since a disappointing decision defeat to Andre Dirrell in a lackluster HBO-televised bout in June of 2007, Stevens has been quietly rebuilding himself towards contender status with the help of promoter Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing. Stevens, the IBF #10/WBC #13 ranked super middleweight, has strung together four straight wins since the Dirrell defeat, with three of them coming by way of knockout.

While the formalities are still being sorted out, the Brinkley-Stevens bout may qualify as an eliminator for the IBF #2 world ranking and may possibly be for the vacant NABF Super Middleweight title. Reigning IBF Super Middleweight Champion Lucian Bute takes on Librado Andrade in a rematch this Saturday. In any event, the January fight is yet another interesting bout involving the increasingly intriguing 168-pound weight class.

The televised co-feature and undercard are yet to be announced. Middleweight prospect Brandon Gonzales (8-0, 7 KOs) of Sacramento, California and locally-based Derek Hinkey (8-1, 7 KOs) and Tyler Hinkey (5-1-2, 4 KOs) both of Reno are safe bets to land spots somewhere on the card.

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com.