Rondale Hubbert, Philip Adyaka, Terrence Walker Represent MN in Florida Tonight
Three Minnesota boxers are set to compete tonight in Miami, Florida at “Fight Night XIII” presented by M&R Boxing Promotions. Rondale Hubbert (13-17-2) of Minneapolis, MN , Philip Adyaka (7-14) of Saint Paul, MN, and Terrence Walker (1-0) of Minneapolis, MN are all in tough against undefeated fighters and tell MinnesotaBoxing.com that they plan to bring home upset victories. You can catch the action live at 7:30 PM CST on the Stellar Streaming TV App for $4.99.
Philip “The Hunter” Adyaka has the highest profile fight of the three as he battles Frank Diaz (7-0) of Hialeah, Florida for the vacant American Boxing Federation Atlantic Super Feather Title.
Adyaka was a well known amateur boxer in his native Uganda before coming to the US and eventually settling in Minnesota. He has battled most of Minnesota’s smaller weight fighters as well as prospects from around the Nation throughout his professional career.
“The Hunter” Adyaka says that he has been hitting the gym before and after work to prepare while splitting time at Fighting Chance Boxing club in Mnpls and Lifetime Fitness. The Ugandan born decorated amateur boxer has been out of the ring for three years. The Twin Cities southpaw says that he has been planting the seeds in the time off to someday begin his own promotional company back home in Uganda. Adyaka told MinnesotaBoxing.com that he is stepping back in the ring to pull off an upset. His opponent Diaz is a local Florida favorite and also a southpaw.
“My opponent is tough and comes from a great camp” says Adyaka. “He is the promoter’s boy but I am here to change things upside down. This fight is not about the money but to lift myself up like my brother Caleb Truax did when he traveled to the UK and upset his opponent. This fight is about me going to put on a great show and show my skills. It will also help me build good connections with other promoters to work together with when I build my boxing promotion in Africa. God has blessed me with good connections. I did not make my boxing dreams come true (after turning professional) and dealt with people who were not loyal along the way. People who did not want to help me out. Nothing came easy for me in the ring but it will be easy for me when I am promoting shows in Uganda because I have great promoters at my back.”
– Philip Adyaka
“I am expecting to do a great job in the ring and to use my skills learned as an amateur to make the fight great for the crowd to watch.”
Rondale “Give Em Hell” Hubbert continues his go around with prospects as he takes on another undefeated up and comer in Nikolay Shvab (6-0) of Kazakhstan in a lightweight bout. Hubbert is coming off of an exciting 6 round decision loss last May to Roy Jones Jr. prospect Fernando Bunch. Despite coming up short on the scorecards, Hubbert was right in the mix for every moment of the fight and looks to ride the momentum into tonight.
“I felt great” said Hubbert when asked to recap the fight against Fernando Bunch. “My movement and confidence and conditioning was on point. I think after I felt his power and he felt mine, I started looking for a big shot. I could tell he didn’t like getting hit by me and he reacted to my punches so I thought I would catch him and hurt him and try to go for the finish. I was happy with my performance.”
-Rondale Hubbert
“I took this fight on short notice, two weeks because my birthday is this Sunday and also my sisters gender reveal but after looking him up, I thought it was a good fight for me style wise. Since I didn’t allow myself to get out of shape, I felt like I could surprise him. He’s kind of stiff and not too slick. He is heavy handed though. I just feel like my style could give him some problems.
“I know Philip but not Terrance personally. I have seen him fight a couple times though and it will be nice to have some familiar faces out there along with Starr Roberts who is with me. As always I just want to thank everyone who still folows and supports my career. It’s been a long ride and it’s not over yet.”
31 year old heavyweight Terrence Walker is set to take on Istvan Bernath (3-0) of Budapest, Hungary in another featured bout of the night. Walker’s amateur career spanned 13 years with highlights including being a 2X USA State champion, 3X Golden Glove Regional champion, and 3X Upper Midwest Golden Gloves champion. Walker has lost a lot of weight recently and says he didn’t really set out to do so. He says the weight and all around physical conditioning came after he decided to take his training to the next level of seriousness. Walker says his goal is to fight at cruiserweight where he feels he’s best at. Walker prepares for fights full time at Wurk Gym in Minnetonka, MN with trainer Daleco James. Photo’s on social media showed Walker working with “MN Ice” Joey Abell a few times during camp along with other local heavyweights. Walker is coming off a 2nd round victory in his pro debut last year in Iowa.
Bernath is a Hungarian National champion who has competed and win at the World Series of Boxing. Walker will use his speed and skills to try neutralizing a 20 pound weight advantage his opponent has heading into the four round heavyweight bout.
“I don’t know too much about him (Bernath). I know he’s big and I know he’s strong. He’s got two arms like me, two legs like me so I’m just going to go in there and do my best!”
“Training camp has gone very well. Being a heavyweight is hard to get sparring. Joey Abell has always been somebody who’s been willing to work with me and I want to thank him for that. With him being a little older than me, I think he sees the drive and is willing to work with me. I really appreciate the opportunity to work with a fighter like him. He always has like three or four other heavyweights.”
“I feel like I am in the best shape of my life. I’ve been training three times a day. I’m loving it! I’m looking to stay busy the rest of the year and that starts with a good performance against Bernath.”