CES Boxing returns to Foxwoods on February 22
Francis “Frank the Tank” Hogan (18-0, 16 KOs) returns to Foxwoods Resort Casino on Saturday, February 22 to defend his WBC US Silver Middleweight title against Massachusetts rival Khiary “King TooSharp” Gray (19-7, 14 KOs).
The bout headlines ‘Winter Brawl 2025,’ a stacked 14-bout card taking place at The Premier Theater in Foxwoods. Tickets start at $82 and are going fast. Purchase yours now at CES Fights or TicketMaster. Doors open at 5pm, with the first bout scheduled for 6pm.
“Training is going good,” said the Boston-born, Weymouth-raised boxer from his training camp at Everybody Fights gym in the Seaport District of Boston. “I’m training 2-3 times a day, eating right, sleeping enough. That night, he’s going to be the old trailer park and I’m going to be the tornado. I’m going to rip him up.”
Hogan has come a long way since his first few amateur bouts. The 24-year-old took up boxing when he was 10 years old with his brother and a childhood friend.
“My dad kept bringing us to amateur shows and we started realizing that everybody was really good,” said Hogan of his first impression. “So, my brother and I decided to either quit every other sport and start boxing full time or stop boxing and play all the other sports. I wasn’t really into all the other sports because they were team sports, so we chose boxing. With boxing, what I get out of it is what I put in, so I started grinding.”
Hogan would soon also realize that he had a lot of catching up to do, which was also a test of his resiliency and character.
“I had like 40 straight losses as a young kid in the amateurs,” laughs Hogan of the rough start. “But I kept at it. The next thing you know, I started dropping and knocking people out. Everybody started talking about me. Then I started going to the Nationals and started winning the tournaments. I couldn’t believe it.”
Considering what changed to make him turn his amateur career around, Hogan cites his family’s willingness to travel to expose him to other styles and levels.
“I was so used to sparring guys that were less or close to my caliber and we didn’t really ever want that,” explains Hogan. “We always wanted to fight the better, tougher, heavier, stronger guys. We started going to Big Six in Rhode Island, and to this day, they have some of the top amateurs and pros in New England, all at one gym. It was a crappy drive coming all the way down from Weymouth, but it was worth it. I think that’s what changed us and brought us to the next level of boxing.”
Hogan’s friend boxed for a few more years before hanging up the gloves, and his brother boxed until enrolling in the Marines 4 years ago. For Hogan, it became a vocation.
The fighter eventually linked up with his childhood idol, former 2-time NABA Super Welterweight champion Mark “The Bazooka” DeLuca, who eventually became his trainer.
“I used to look up to him a bunch when I was a young kid,” says Hogan, who attended many of DeLuca’s pro bouts when he was an amateur. “When I turned pro, I was always in his training camps, so he became like an older brother to me. He’s like a mad scientist when it comes to boxing. He knows all the fighters, who’s won what and who’s a good fight and who would be a crappy fight, so I leave it up to him [to choose my opponents].”
Together with CES, DeLuca has done a great job developing Hogan to date. The Boston native fought 3 times last year, steadily increasing his level of opposition while winning the WBC title along the way.
In his last fight, Hogan faced his most high-profile opponent to date in former title challenger Elvin Ayala. ‘Frank the Tank’ dominated the first round before knocking out Ayala with a body shot in round 2. Despite the impressive win, Hogan was not completely satisfied as he wanted to showcase more of what he had been working on in the gym.
“I do wish I had more time,” laments Hogan. “There are people that say that he took a step back and tore his ACL, but I think that when I hit him with the left to the body, his knee just couldn’t take the pressure of the shot and that’s why it blew out on him. It’s too bad, because the fight before that was one of the best I’ve looked boxing wise.”
In that fight, Hogan patiently stalked veteran Heber Rondon behind his jab before launching a hellacious left hook to the body that knocked the Venezuelan out round one.
That bout took place at the Great Cedar Showroom at Foxwoods. This time, Hogan gets to headline at Foxwoods’ much bigger Premier Theater against a more experienced opponent in Gray.
“Everybody’s saying that he’s coming in shape and he’s ready, but that’s what I want,” says Hogan of ‘King TooSharp’, who has shared the ring with the likes of IBF jr. middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev, top contender Charles Conwell and Gary O’Sullivan. “I don’t want any excuses. I’m coming to win. I’m coming to take over, so that’s the goal.”
When assessing how the fight will play out, Hogan predicts a breakthrough performance: “I feel this is the fight where I’m going to make a statement. This is the one where I’m gonna show everybody that the power is real. I can punch hard, I’m fast, and I have boxing skills in my tool bag, so I think that’s going to show on fight night. I’m coming for war like Marvin Hagler used to say.”
An emphatic win on February 22 will lead Francis one big step closer to the high-profile fights that he covets.
“I’m 18-0 and 24 years old,” says Hogan when asked to assess the middleweight division. “I think I am the next generation of boxing and I think there’s going to be a lot of guys that are going to either have to fight guys like me who are hungry, or they will have to retire or vacate their belts.”
For more information on ‘Winter Brawl 2025’ and all other CES Boxing events, visit cesfights.com
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