Eric Priest focused on ‘step up fight’ against Tyler Howard despite distraction of L.A. fires

Eric Priest is raring to go against Tyler Howard on Thursday night, despite so recently having to evacuate his home while the Los Angeles fires raged.

Their middleweight contest headlines Golden Boy’s Fight Night at the Commerce Casino, in Commerce, California. The 10-round main event will be telecast on DAZN, and is also available on Golden Boy Boxing’s YouTube page.

Priest, 26, saw first hand the devastation of the recent fires in Los Angeles. He trains at Brickhouse Boxing in the heart of L.A. In fact, the day of his weigh-in, the Hughes Fire emerged, which caused a road closure of I-5 on the grapevine. While most of the United States froze, L.A. burned.

Priest is fighting on the first Golden Boy card of 2025, and he is excited to be a part of a show that holds significant meaning to his new hometown.

“It’s a privilege to give back to the firefighters, the first responders and the heroes of Los Angeles that have been fighting this fire head on,” he said. “I got buddies who are firefighters. I got a buddy who’s a firefighter that’s going to be at this fight. It’s truly a great thing that they’re doing.”

Priest also noted that making adjustments and overcoming difficulties have been themes of the build-up to Thursday;s fight.

“I just overcame so much adversity,” Priest said. “Internal things that are going on with my coach and with his health and the fires in L.A. – I had to evacuate my home two weeks ago as I was cutting weight.”

The newest fire sets a timely tone for the City of Angels. Just when it felt as thought the fires had passed, a bigger one emerged. Nothing about this camp has been easy, but Priest has taken each change in stride.

“I am just making things happen,” Priest said. “Unexpected things happened that you don’t see coming.”

Julian Chua is Priest’s lead trainer, although a boxing coach known only by his nickname, “Yogy,” has also helped.

Howard, 33, from Houston, holds a record of 20-2 (11 KOs), and is looking to ruin Priest’s ascent. He suffered a unanimous decision defeat by Troy Isley in November, but Priest believes that Howard is a formidable adversary and that is why he expects to progress after this fight.

“I expect to show the world who Eric Priest is,” Priest said. “Everything I’ve been working for my entire life. I know this is a step-up fight. I know Tyler is a good fighter. He’s a strong fighter. We’re not overlooking him. We’re not overlooking anybody. I never have; I never will. I come prepared to fight. I come prepared to do the things that I’ve worked on in camp with my team, and put on a great show. If the knockout comes, it comes. I’m focused on whooping ass.”