On Friday, November 1, Oshawa’s own Evan “Kid Chrome” Gillard (3-0-0, 1KOs) trades leather in his hometown for the third time as a professional, taking on Mexico’s Brandon Gallardo (3-1-0) in a six round flyweight contest at the Children’ Arena.
The fight is part of a six-fight offering by the Classic Boxing Company, featuring the return of unified Canadian super lightweight champion Steven “The Piranha” Wilcox (21-3-1, 5KOs); rising super featherweight standout Kylie Angel Fallis (3-0-0, 1KOs); and local fan favourite “Bad” Thad Ridsdill (2-1-0, 1KOs).
It’s been six months since Gillard performed for his hometown faithful. Back in April, “Kid Chrome” boxed his way to a majority decision victory over Carlos Villasis of Mexico in front of a packed Children’s Arena crowd. Three months later, Gillard took his skills to Halifax, turning in a dominating performance to stop Ramon Valles in the fourth and final round.
“I’m really excited to fight Gallardo,” explained Gillard. “This is my first scheduled six rounder. I’ll do well with longer fights. I’ve been excelling as fights go on. A couple more rounds will really let me get my combinations flying. I’ll be ready and willing to go the full six but, coming off my first professional KO, I’m happy to end the fight early if an opportunity presents itself. I can’t wait to be back in front of my hometown fans!”
Mark Erwin, Gillard’s manager, was equally enthusiastic about his fighter’s return to Oshawa and move to six rounds. “Evan is a special fighter. He’s already won multiple national championships in the amateurs. Now, as a pro, the fans are flocking to the arena to support this guy. It’s great to see. Evan thrives under the pressure. He wants to win and win convincingly. His style is perfect for longer fights. Once he’s warmed up, he picks his opponents apart with combination work. He was tailor made for the pros.”
Gillard-Gallardo is part of the undercard for the eight-round main event between NABA and NCC Canadian super lightweight champion Steven “The Piranha” Wilcox (21-3-0, 5KOs) of Hamiltonand Gustavo Torres (9-7-1, 4KOs) of Monterrey, Mexico.
The undercard is rounded out by an all-Ontario six rounder between Oshawa’s Thad Ridsdill (2-1-0, 1KOs) and Toronto’s Mikhail Miller (2-4-1); Hamilton featherweight Kylie Angel Fallis (3-0-0, 1KOs) against tough-as-nails Ana Ruth Castro (1-1-0, 1KOs); Super lightweights Dylan Rushton (1-3-1) of Hamilton and Kyle Marsh (0-3-0) of Peterborough in a provincial rematch; and national super middleweight contender Phil Rose (9-6-1, 5KOs) of Whitby against Hector Ruiz (7-2-0, 3KOs) of Mexico for six rounds or less.
