Featherweight contender Bruce Carrington’s first big moment on ESPN came when he celebrated a knockout win by mimicking one of Mike Tyson’s iconic speeches. It’s no surprise he felt emotional meeting Tyson during fight week media obligations—a powerful moment for the two Brooklyn fighters sharing a fight card.
Carrington will open Friday’s card on the YouTube prelims, facing Dana Coolwell in an eight-round bout at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Though Tyson is one of Carrington’s inspirations, sharing an event with him once seemed a long shot—until the Tyson-Paul card made it happen. Tyson met Carrington in a backroom, and in a video posted by Top Rank on YouTube, Tyson, after a brief exchange, declared Carrington “the next champ.”
Carrington, grinning from ear to ear, reappeared on camera and said, “You heard it here first,” with his father, Bruce Carrington Snr, joining him on screen.
“It means the world to me,” Carrington said at the press conference. “By the time I started boxing, he was already retired, and I wasn’t even thinking about him coming back around and doing these types of events.”
Carrington is returning to the ring quickly after a hard-fought majority decision win over Sulaiman Segawa on September 27. The 27-year-old Brooklyn native holds an undefeated record of 13-0 (8 KOs).
Coolwell, 25, from Australia, enters with a record of 13-2 (8 KOs) and a six-fight win streak, with half of those wins by knockout.
“This is a moment I couldn’t have dreamed of or prepared for, but here we are,” Carrington said. “I’m just happy to be here. It’s time to put on a show.”
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