Unbeaten Mykquan Williams returns Saturday

CES Boxing invades Hartford this weekend at the Convention Center, on Saturday with a full day of boxing that features the amateur Jimmy Burchfield Invitational Classic VIII at 2 pm followed by a pro card at 7.

East Hartford super lightweight Mykquan Williams (16-0-1, 7 KOs) makes his long-awaited homecoming in an eight-round showdown against New Jersey’s Tyrone Luckey (15-16-4, 11 KOs) and Springfield, MA, featherweight Joshua Orta (8-0, 4 KOs) puts his unbeaten record on the line against the dangerous Jayron Santiago (8-8-1, 5 KOs) of Bayamon, Puerto Rico in the six-round co-main event.

While Williams has fought at Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun Casino 12 times in his career, Saturday is his first in his hometown and his first overall since January of 2021. Luckey, a veteran of 35 fights, has won two of his last three and has bouts against top prospects Frank Martin, Bryan Flores, Jerry Perez, and Jamaine Ortiz on his resume.

In the co-main event, Orta faces one of his toughest tests to date. Santiago returns to New England following an upset victory in November over fellow New England featherweight Nathan Martinez, who entered the bout 7-1.

Springfield welterweight Jalen Renaud (7-0, 3 KOs) returns in six-round bout to face longtime upset specialist and Lancaster, PA, vet Evincii Dixon (10-28-2, 5 KOs), whose recent stretch includes wins over unbeaten Marcel Rivers and undefeated Detroit native Joseph Bonas. Dixon makes his fifth appearance with CES and first since 2019.

Also fighting Saturday, fast-rising super featherweight Isaiah Cruz (2-0, 1 KO) of Springfield faces New Jersey’s Tyriek Gainey (0-2) in a four-round bout and super middleweight Jahvel Joseph (5-0, 2 KOs) of the Bronx faces unbeaten Vero Beach, FL, native Zachary Albornoz (1-0) in a four-round special attraction. Undefeated Hartford bantamweight Angel Gonzalez (8-0, 6 KOs) returns in a six-round bout, his second appearance with the promotion and first since September.