Lewiston, Maine (November 5, 2015) – New England Fights (NEF), America's number-one regional fight promotion, will hold its next event, "NEF XX: A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE" on Saturday, November 21, 2015 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine. The event will feature a first for Maine - mixed-martial-arts (MMA) bouts and professional boxing bouts on the same event with an MMA cage and a boxing ring set up side-by-side. In a featured lightweight professional boxing match, Josh Parker (0-1) has signed to face Elias "Danger Mouse" Leland (0-0) in a four-round contest.
While the bout will be Parker's first boxing match with NEF, he is no stranger to longtime fans of the promotion. Parker was a regular on NEF MMA cards during the early days of the company. He put together a record of 4-8 as a professional MMA competitor over the course of five years. Parker feels that he has found his true home not in the MMA cage, but in the boxing ring.
"Boxing is a better fit for me because I've always loved the standup part of MMA," noted Parker. "When I was offered the Brandon Berry (9-1) fight and started focusing on that alone, I knew I had found my true calling. I quit my job, started building a fight team, and have done nothing but study and train since. My plan is to stay very active, I'd like to fight every couple months if possible."
As noted, Parker began his boxing career in the spring of 2014 when he accepted a bout with Brandon Berry in North Anson, Maine. Parker held his own in the bout, eventually dropping a four-round decision. Fans have speculated that there would be a rematch at some point down the road between the two.
"You know, people always ask that, but I really don't care about fighting Brandon again," said Parker. "You watch the fight and tell me how the judges came up with the scores they did. That fight was on five weeks of boxing training. Now I've had a year and a half. If he's standing in the path on the way to the top then so be it, but it's not something I'm thinking about."
What is on Parker's mind is his fight team - Ruthless MMA & Boxing. Opened in 2014 and based out of Benton, Maine, Ruthless is one of the standout new teams emerging on the Maine fight scene consisting of scrappy young athletes. In founding the team, Parker is very clear that he is only interested in training those who are serious about competing as fighters.
"Ruthless is different because I'm not in it for the money. I don't take people who are just trying to get in shape or learn about MMA or boxing. We don't do 'classes.' We fight, every day. I'm building a fight team. When we fight, we're looking for the finish."
Unfortunately for Parker, he has had some trouble finding boxing matches in the past year-and-a-half following the Berry fight. With NEF now operating as an MMA and boxing promotion, Parker, and others like him, are destined to benefit from the company's stability and consistent events schedule.
"It's been very frustrating," said Parker of trying to find boxing matches. "I've tried setting up a couple fights through other promotions out of state and they've fallen through. I know I can always count on NEF to give me the opportunity to showcase my skills. I'm extremely excited for November 21st, especially to be a part of the first dual MMA and boxing show. It's been a year-and-a-half since my boxing debut. I've done nothing but train since. I can't wait to finally be able to put all that hard work to the test."
And Parker will, no doubt, be tested on November 21 at "NEF XX." His opponent, Elias Leland, is a member of Jay Jack's Academy of MMA in Portland, Maine. Leland is a talented mixed-martial-artist who has competed regularly on NEF cards. He is currently 2-1 as a professional MMA fighter after putting together a 3-1 record as an amateur. While Leland has established himself as a submission specialist, he has shown very good hands and standup abilities to date in MMA bouts.
"I expect it to be a good fight for the fans," said Parker of the upcoming boxing match with Leland. "I've never been one to trash talk before a fight. I'll let my hands do the talking on November 21st. Fans can expect to see me looking for a knockout for as long as it lasts. It's going to be an exciting fight."
New England Fights' next event, "NEF XX: A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE," takes place on November 21, 2015 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine. The event will mark the first time in Maine history a mixed-martial-arts (MMA) event and a professional boxing event have taken place together on the same show. Tickets for "NEF XX" start at just $25 and are on sale now at www.TheColisee.com or by calling the Colisée box office at 207.783.2009 x 525. For more information on the event and fight card updates, please visit the promotion’s website at www.NewEnglandFights.com. In addition, you can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”