Tsetsi aims to make it 'lights out' for Planter in Contender Series

Two veterans of the 'Wray & Nephew Contender' series, Tsetsi 'Lights Out' Davis, and Ricardo Planter, will clash tonight in what promises to be a hard-fought quarter-final contest over six rounds at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium on Old Hope Road in St Andrew.

This should definitely be one of the best fights of the series and promises a lot of action from two crowd-pleasers.

Action starts at 8:30 p.m. with two amateur bouts. The main event will be at 9:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on TVJ.

Davis, who is a two-time finalist, stated before the start of the competition that no one could stop him from winning the Contender Middleweight 2015 title this year.

"2015 is going to be the year for everyone to remember where I am coming from and to see where I am now," said Davis. "The crowd is used to me and everybody wants to see Tsetsi in that ring beat Planter and everybody that come after him."

He then showed that he was serious by defeating Christopher 'Shaka' Henry from Barbados in impressive fashion.

Davis showed a good balance between attack and defence to dominate that fight, and after an action-packed third round - in which he rocked Henry with some heavy punches - the Barbadian did not answer the bell for round four.

Henry stated after the fight, that he was simply outclassed and praised Davis for his performance.

The Lights Out man told The Gleaner this week that he has worked even harder for this quarter-final bout, as he cannot afford a setback now.

"Winning the Contender title is my goal, and I have to be ready. I am putting in the hard work and I am sure that it will pay off," he stated.

He goes into the fight with a 13-4 record, which includes a points victory over Planter in the 2012 Contender series.

busy fighter

Planter, who has a 6-7 record, is a busy fighter and uses a mixture of good hand speed and fast footwork to score his points. He reached the quarter-finals with a technical decision over Anthony Osbourne on April 29 and says that he has every intention to make it to the semi-finals.

It will not be an easy task, however, as a fit Davis will pose numerous problems.

Planter says that he has been paying a lot of attention to his fitness training and made it clear that he is going to try to wear Davis down. One aim for him tonight, he said, is to start off quickly and not give away the early rounds.

Davis, he also noted, is a quick starter.

"The fights are usually very close. Davis is a quick starter, and I am always the one that has to close the game. This time, I am not going to allow him to get the first two rounds, I am going to make sure that after I am done with him, he is tired after the first two, three rounds, and this is my focus for Wednesday," Planter pointed out.