Gerald Washington was 30 years old when he made his professional boxing debut. You’ll forgive his opponents for being skeptical of that fact.
Gerald Washington lands a left to the nose of Jason Gavern en route to winning a unanimous decision in Ontario, California, on March 13. (Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions)
Despite the late start to his career, Washington—a former Navy helicopter mechanic and college football player at USC—has proven to be a natural pugilist, turning aside all 16 foes who have been put in front of him in his first three years in the sport.
Gerald Washington (16-0, 11 KOs) will look to make hard-charging veteran Amir Mansour his latest victim when the two heavyweights square off October 13 at Little Creek Casino Resort in Shelton, Washington (Fox Sports 1, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).
The scheduled 10-round showdown will serve as the main event of another Premier Boxing Champions Toe-to-Toe Tuesdays card that will also feature bouts involving 2012 U.S. Olympian and unbeaten heavyweight Michael Hunter (9-0, 6 KOs) and 175-pound knockout artist Ahmed Elbiali (12-0, 11 KOs).
Washington, 33, launched his boxing career in 2012 with consecutive first-round knockouts less than a month apart. He last fought in March, when he earned a dominating eight-round unanimous-decision victory over Jason Gavern.
Meanwhile, Mansour (22-1, 16 KOs) has posted consecutive victories—including a 10-round unanimous decision over Joey Dawejko in May—since suffering the only defeat of his career, a close unanimous-decision setback to Steve Cunningham in April 2014.
In the 43-year-old Mansour, Washington will be facing an opponent who is 10 years his senior and who had a 15-year head start to his career. However, the 6-foot-6 Washington is confident his younger legs—not to mention his five-inch height and eight-inch reach advantages—will prove to be the difference come fight night.
“This is my time to make a statement,” said Washington, a native of San Jose, California. “I will make an example of Amir Mansour to let the heavyweight division know that there’s a new sheriff in town. No more ‘Mr. Nice Guy’—it’s time for me to bring the pain!”
Needless to say, Mansour sees things unfolding differently.
“Gerald Washington has not come close to fighting someone of my caliber,” said Mansour, who was born in Salem, New Jersey, and now fights out of nearby Wilmington, Delaware. “He has zero advantage except for height, and I’m experienced enough to take that away.
“The match against me is going to introduce Washington to an entirely new world of fighting, and I’m sure he isn’t prepared for this type of fight.”
For complete coverage of Washington vs Mansour, visit our fight page.
