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| UNCASVILLE, CT – On Saturday, February 15, Ricky de los Santos (12-1, 3 KOs) defends his WBC US Silver Featherweight Title against unbeaten New England Super Featherweight & Lightweight Champion “King” Kevin Walsh (15-0, 8 KOs). The pair collide on CES Boxing’s massive ‘Love & War’ card taking place at Mohegan Sun Arena and broadcast live globally on DAZN. Tickets on sale now at CESFights.com, TicketMaster or the Mohegan Sun Arena box office. At first glance, the fighters have much in common: they have emerged as the top 2 featherweights in the northeast US, each coming off the biggest win of their respective careers last year at Mohegan Sun Arena. De los Santos won the WBC title against Nathan Martinez via unanimous decision in February, while Walsh dispatched of Irvin Gonzalez in 4 rounds to pick up the New England Super Featherweight title in November. They also proudly represent the fighting New England cities of Brockton, MA (Walsh) and Pawtucket, RI (de los Santos). The pugilists recently sat down with The Final Bell podcast to discuss a showdown that many believe will steal the show on Saturday night. They showed mutual respect and acknowledged the other’s strengths, but with emotions running high, they also traded a few barbs. “He’s a tough fighter,” said Walsh when assessing de los Santos. “He’s fast, he’s got skills and good footwork. I’m looking forward to the challenge. These are the moments I live for.” Walsh had a late start in boxing. The 32-year-old turned pro in 2021 and reeled off 15 victories in only 4 years. 2024 was his best year to date, as the Brockton native fought 5 times and won 2 titles. With each outing, Walsh steadily increased his level of opposition and showed marked improvement, something that’s not lost on de los Santos. “I know Kevin’s coming to fight,” said the Pawtucket resident. “I know he’s a tough kid, I know he works hard. We all know that because we see he’s on social media showing it. He’s got a great team behind him. Respect to CES and the Cappiello’s for moving him the way they did. Anybody can tell you that they moved him right and now we’re here. At this point in my career, I’m game. I wanted a fight like this.” In de los Santos, Walsh will be facing a slick boxer who feels that he is at the top of his game. The half Puerto Rican, half Dominican fighter turned pro in 2017 and won his first 10 bouts before being upset by Yeison Vargas in 2022. De los Santos regrouped since the loss, knocking out Jeno Tonte in 2 rounds in October 2023 and following that up with his title winning effort over Martinez 4 months later. Unfortunately for the 35-year-old, he hurt his hand in that fight and has not been able to capitalize on his biggest win until now. “I hurt my hand in the third or fourth round,” explains de los Santos of his inactivity. “I was able to fight through it and get the victory, but when I took tests after the fight, I was told to take off at least 6 months. I tried to get on the last CES card, but it didn’t work out, so they made this fight happen.” The fight between the New England rivals has significant ramifications. De los Santos is ranked 15 with the NABF, while Walsh is ranked 18. This fight represents the biggest test of each man’s career, with everything to gain from an impressive win on DAZN and much to lose if they stumble. “In this part of my career, I can’t afford any more losses,” confesses de los Santos. “I took one – it ain’t happening again. We learned from that, so I’m coming prepared, I’m working.” When considering what the key difference is between them, de los Santos feels that he knows what to expect from Walsh after a sparring session that took place a while back. “In the most humblest way, I just think I’m levels above him,” says de los Santos flatly. “We’ve shared the ring before with me playing at 50%, 60% just to get the work in. I think that my all-around game is better. It’s not so much my game plan as it’s him having to adjust to what I got going on. If need be, I could do anything. I’ve been in there with everybody, so there’s nothing that he does that haven’t seen.” While Walsh admits that de los Santos may have gotten the best of the 4 round sparring session, he believes that it is irrelevant to what will happen on Saturday night. “It was 1 or 2 years ago,” says Walsh of the sparring sessions. “We’ve been in the ring together and he might have got the best of me that day, but that’s just sparring. This is a lot different. These are 8 oz gloves, and I’ve got some lethal hands, so I feel like my power is gonna be the difference in this fight. My speed’s gonna be the difference, my overall conditioning. I’m ready for war.” In fact, when visualizing the outcome of this fight, Walsh sees it ending in emphatic fashion. “The KO’s coming, 100%,” says Walsh. “Respect to Ricky de los Santos and his team for accepting the fight because he knows I’m ready for war. I know Ricky’s tough, but I’m another animal. I’m another beast and I’m looking forward to proving that because I know a lot of people are sleeping on me and probably thinking that Ricky’s got this, but I’m really looking forward to proving all the haters and the doubters wrong. I’ve got these lethal weapons right here with me, so I’m coming.” And with that, the war of words was ignited. “He’s in for a beating,” countered de los Santos. “I’m gonna do him filthy. I’m gonna do him dirty, I promise you. Whatever he wants to do, I’ll dog walk this dude. He knows that. I’m telling you right now. I promise you he’s no king in that ring. That night, you’ll be the queen in that ring. In your world, you could be a king. It’s cool, but in that ring, nah.” There’s only one way to find out who the king of the featherweights is, and that’s in the ring on February 15. Be sure to catch ‘Love and War’ live from Mohegan Sun Arena or on DAZN. With 3 title fights and several of the best contenders and prospects in competitive fights, it’s an event you won’t want to miss. For more information about CES and its events, follow CES Boxing on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @CESBOXING. INFORMATION ABOUT CES BOXING CES Boxing is one of the top promotions on the East Coast. Founded in 1992 by Jimmy Burchfield Sr., CES Boxing has promoted many world class fighters, including Jamaine Ortiz, Juiseppe Cusumano, Hank Lundy, Vinny Paz, Peter Manfredo, Mariusz Wach, Jason Estrada, Matt Godfrey, Chad Dawson and Ray Oliveira. CES Boxing has promoted such super fights as “The Thriller on Triller: Tyson v Jones Jr.”, “Mayweather vs. Gotti III” and “The Contender: Manfredo v Pemberton”. ABOUT MOHEGAN SUN ARENA Mohegan Sun Arena finished 2021 with its first “#1 Indoor Arena” ranking for its capacity in the world according to Pollstar and VenuesNow, ranked among the top 10 venues in the U.S. regardless of size based on ticket sales, and was named “2021 Innovator of the Year” by Celebrity Access for its ViacomCBS residency. In recent years, the “Most Beloved Venue in America” has also been the “#1 Casino Venue in the World,” “#1 Social Media Venue in the World” and a seven – time national award – winner for “Arena of the Year.” For more information on concerts and other great events, visit Mohegan Sun. For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711. |
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