Ohio Combat League 25 set with two pro bouts, light heavyweight title fight
Ohio Combat League 25 is set to go down at the Ohio Event Center at the Cherry Valley Hotel this weekend in Newark, Ohio. The fight card features a pair of pro bouts, as well as an amateur light heavyweight title tilt.
On the pro side, Asher Frederick will make his pro debut against Haseeb Khetab in a flyweight bout, while Melvin Harris and Damoane Hawkins will both look for their first pro victories in a welterweight contest.
Frederick hails from the Columbus area where he represents Ronin Training Center. The 23-year-old compiled a 7-2 amateur record that led him to the No. 1 amateur bantamweight ranking in Ohio and No. 6 in the Midwest according to Tapology. He had four of his seven wins via knockout, including a third-round stoppage over Vincent Williams in his final amateur bout at OCL 22 last fall. After spending his entire amateur career at bantamweight, he’ll drop down to flyweight for his pro debut.
Khetab comes in from Albany, New York where he represents Sukhti Muay Thai & MMA. Originally from Afghanistan, he had a short amateur career with a 3-0 run in 2022 before turning pro in March. He came up short with a knockout loss against Ben Coyle at Cage Wars 56, and he now looks to pick up his first pro win.
The other pro bout features a pair of striking specialist welterweights, as Ronin Training Center’s Melvin Harris takes on Ares Combat’s Damoane Hawkins.
Harris came up short in his pro debut with a loss against Brogan Endres at Caged Thunder 20 in April. He quickly followed that loss with a victory in his pro boxing debut, however, as he topped Antonyo Slaughter at OCL Boxing last month. He had a 7-2 amateur record that included six stoppage wins.
Hawkins also comes in looking for his first pro win after a TKO loss against Tom Kizer at 247 FC: Brawl in the Burgh 14 last October. He had a 5-4 amateur record that included three stoppage wins.
On the amateur side of the card, the light heavyweight title will be on the line as Travon Eller welcomes Foster Eberly to the OCL cage for the first time.
Eller has been nothing short of dominant through his first four amateur bouts, as the Newark native and VO2 Fitness product has produced four first round knockouts, including consecutive stoppages of 9, 8, and 9 seconds. He’s currently ranked as the No. 4 amateur light heavyweight in Ohio.
Eberly is a durable fighter who represents Victory MMA in Canton, Ohio. He has produced four stoppage wins of his own, including a pair via strikes in under a minute. His only two losses thus far have come via decision. He’s ranked as the No. 6 heavyweight and No. 11 light heavyweight in Ohio.
Ohio Combat League 25 goes down on Saturday and streams live via CombatSportsNow.com.
