Ronald “Akeem” Ellis is ready to return to the ring and he couldn’t have picked a bigger stage.
Ellis, who grew up in Lynn and attended Lynn English before graduating from Lynn Tech (Class of 2007 with a specialty in Electrical), will appear on Showtime Boxing: Special Edition Saturday night as part of the featured bout card at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.
As boxing fans have known for years, Showtime is the gold standard of televised professional boxing events. Ellis’ bout will be broadcast live to millions of Showtime subscribers and boxing fans worldwide.
A 6-feet tall middleweight contender, Ellis (17-1-2, 11 knockouts) will be facing Matt Korobov (28-3-1, 14 knockouts) of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., in a 10-round bout.
“I’m excited to get back to work, especially after this long year,” said Ellis, who has been training in San Diego and Los Angeles for the bout. “It’s time for me show out on Showtime.”
Due to the coronavirus, Ellis hasn’t fought in a pro bout since last December. But he has been doing some serious training and sparring with the best in the business.
“I was training with [world super middleweight champion] Canelo Alvarez,” said Ellis. “And I’ll tell you, ‘while you’re sparring, it’s hard to wear that mask.’’’
Ellis said there will be no fans allowed at the fight, meaning that his parents, Ronald Ellis and Margaret Ellis, and his famous boxing siblings, Olympic contender Rashida Ellis, and undefeated world title aspirant Rashidi Ellis (23-0-0, 14 KOs), will all be watching on Showtime.
“I hope to visit my family in Lynn after the fight,” said Ellis, who began boxing at the age of 13 under the tutelage of his father.
“My brother just fought last month and won the WBC Silver title, so he’s next in line for a great big fight. My sister is training in California at the Olympic Training Center.”
Ellis has watched past performances of Korobov, his opponent in Saturday’s fight. “He had a great amateur career. He is a lefty and he just comes to fight, so I feel like we’re going to put on a show.”
Ellis has lived in California for most of the past seven years. He has three daughters, Jahzara, 5, Zariah, 2, and Khalise, 2 ½ months.
Ellis arrived in Connecticut Wednesday and he’s confident about taking another step toward a title shot.
“On paper, this is the biggest fight of my career,” said Ellis. “I want to close out this year with a statement, so everyone next year will know my name in the middleweight division.”
Asked if he has a message for his friends and fans in Lynn, Ronald said, “Just tell everybody to make sure they tune in – I’m going out of 2020 in a huge way.”