What to Know
- San Diego’s Chaldean cousins Julius Ballo and Jonny Mansour hope to become the first world champions of Chaldean heritage.
- Their next step on the journey comes Saturday, August 29, with support from Detroit’s large Chaldean population on a Salita Promotions card.
- The main event features an American heavyweight showdown between Brandon Moore and Bryant Jennings, with the card streaming live on the Wynn Records Network starting at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Undefeated rising prospects and former amateur standouts Julius “JuJu” Ballo and Jonny Mansour will realize a long-held dream this Saturday as they prepare for their appearance on the upcoming Salita Promotions card at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.
Fighting out of San Diego, cousins Ballo and Mansour will represent both Detroit and San Diego County’s significant Chaldean and Middle Eastern communities in their Detroit debuts, headlined by a heavyweight showdown between world-ranked contender Brandon Moore and former world title challenger Bryant Jennings.
The event is co-promoted by Ballo and Mansour’s G2G Promotions in association with Wynn Records. Tickets are on sale now at 313Presents.com and Ticketmaster.com. The card will stream live on the Wynn Records Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Boxing Competition and Culture
Boxing is widely considered one of the most deeply tribal sports in human history: a one-on-one competition reduced to elemental form, where participants represent an entire community, nation, or culture and build on natural rivalries.
Historic matchups and legendary fights involving American, Latino, European, or Asian champions give fans the opportunity to express and celebrate their heritage. The ring puts positive ethnic pride and cultural identity on display.
Ballo appears in the co-main event, facing 19-year-old Julian Gomez-Clement (2-1, 2 KOs). The undefeated 3-0 super featherweight prospect Ballo is signed with Top Rank, but with his promoters’ blessing has pursued independent opportunities with his cousin Mansour, like the one with Dmitriy Salita.
Putting On A Show For the Chaldean Community
The cousins hope to build from their first success staging a card in April at their regional Frontwave Arena in Oceanside in north San Diego County, drawing an impressive 5,000-plus fans to a club-level event, primarily from San Diego’s large 150,000-strong Chaldean community.
Ballo says they hope for similar enthusiasm in another market with the country’s largest Chaldean-American population estimated at 200,000, the largest outside the Middle East, as they work to become the first world champions of Chaldean heritage.
They’re off to a good start, making the cover of the August issue of Chaldean News, a 20-year-old monthly news publication covering the Chaldean community in and beyond the metropolitan Detroit area.
Mansour (7-0, 2 KOs) is fighting at lightweight and is a self-promoting free agent. He has built his career on a strong social media presence and sheer hustle. He brings a business strategist’s approach to boxing and a strong mindset he credits for making this card happen.
“I wrote a letter to myself two-and-a-half years ago saying that my goal was to fight in San Diego and then in Detroit, and here we are making it a reality,” said Mansour. ”Detroit is home to the biggest Iraqi community in the country, and it’s always been my dream to fight here.
“I went to Claressa’s (Shields) fight in February, and that really inspired me to fight in Detroit. I see what Salita Promotions is building here in Detroit, and I wanted to be part of it. I’m all about bringing the community together, and that’s what this event will do.”
It’s been the case for his entire career to date. On Saturday, Mansour will face Richard Segura (7-0-1, 2 KOs), also traveling from Southern California’s Moreno Valley. Mansour says Segura will only enjoy his undefeated record a few more days.
Speaking with Ballo in an interview for NY Fights, he is eager to get in the ring. “I look forward to putting on a show for them. I’ll be the co-main event for this one in Detroit, so I’m excited to do it again and give them an even better performance.”
Full interview with Julius Ballo
Big Learning Curve for Ballo
Ballo has just completed his first year as a professional at age 23, and said he’s learned a lot both inside and outside the ring. But it boils down to this: “Staying focused no matter what’s going on outside,” said Ballo. “In the amateurs, I competed at the national level and the international level, but there were never that many people in attendance. So having that many people in attendance (in Oceanside), I think I performed well, and I look forward to doing it with 10,000, 15,000, and plus.
“We got to focus on what the goal is right now; go out there and handle business and put on a show for my great people again. And I look forward to giving them reason to celebrate. You know that’s what makes me most happy. You know, giving them happiness. You know when I win, we all win. So I look forward to doing that again come August 29.”
After this weekend’s card, Ballo will return to the Top Rank family and hopes to stay busy on his promoter’s cards over the next year with greater exposure now that it has joined the DAZN Boxing platform.
“I look forward to doing that,” said Ballo. “Then my goal is to get better and better every fight. I would like to I believe this is my last six round fight. I’ll be going eight rounds after this, so I look forward to building my ranking up and having the world championship coming soon.”
Both Ballo and Mansour credit the enormous support of their family, their home gym at Bomber Squad Academy in the eastern San Diego County community of El Cajon opened by Ballo’s father, and their team led by head trainer Berlin Kearney.
“We’ve got a great environment there. Everybody there is ready to progress and ready to get better,” said Ballo, including their aspiring pros as well as members of the community who simply come to get a challenging workout. Joining Ballo and Mansour on the card from Bomb Squad is highly regarded young prospect Richard Fernandez of San Antonio, the 23-year-old undefeated super bantamweight known as “Bombita.”
Ballo said having a great team to keep your head straight is the difference maker. “When your battery’s getting low, they help bring it back up. It plays a big part.”
“Shout out to all my Middle Eastern and Arab people. August 29 is for them!” promised Ballo.
Heavyweights Moore and Jennings Hope To Advance
In the evening’s main event, 32-year-old heavyweight Brandon Moore (19-1, 10 KOs) meets 41-year-old former world title challenger Bryant Jennings of Philadelphia (27-4, 15 KOs) in a bout scheduled for ten rounds. Moore’s only loss came to U.S. Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. Since then, he has put together a five-fight win streak. Moore hopes for an impressive win against a former world title challenger in Jennings to elevate his position in the rankings.
Jennings, who challenged Wladimir Klitschko for the heavyweight championship in 2015 and lost by decision, comes in Saturday on his own three-fight winning streak as he attempts to generate a late-career comeback.
Both men are fortunate that the American heavyweight picture currently lacks top talent, with eyes on younger prospects for the future. The crossroads contest offers Moore a platform to show his abilities, while giving Jennings an opportunity to pull off an upset that would re-establish his standing in the division.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
