Bernardo Pilatti 9y

Dargan tangles with Luis on FNF

A pair of rising opponents who live up to their names will square off in the main event of this week's "Friday Night Fights" when unbeaten Karl "Dynamite" Dargan squares off with Canadian Tony "The Lightning" Luis (ESPN2, 9 p.m. ET) at the Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

Luis (18-2, 7 KOs), a native of Ontario, lost to unbeaten prospect Ivan Redkach in January 2014. Luis, 26, bounced back in his most recent bout, outpointing Wanzell Ellison in July.

As his name suggests, Luis is a quick, explosive fighter who comes forward behind a high guard defensively that is tough to penetrate. He looks to throw two- and three-punch combinations on the inside, but despite his irregular fighting rhythm, he sometimes leaves himself vulnerable to counterattacks.

Philadelphia's Dargan (17-0, 9 KOs) makes his return to Foxwoods, where he already displayed his virtues in September by getting up off the canvas to defeat Angino Perez by fifth-round TKO.

In order to get closer to a title shot, Dargan, 29, will have to use his quickness to overcome a complicated opponent in Luis. Dargan, trained by his cousin Naazim Richardson, utilizes good technique and fast combinations.

Dargan's jab is effective, and he uses bursts to surprise his opponents with right hands. While both of his hands are effective, Dargan's main weapon is his right hook. On defense, he dodges punches by moving his torso and always looks to stay quick on his feet in order to complicate his opponent's attack.

Luis, who turned professional in 2008 after a successful amateur career, is also a well-regarded social worker who became a drug and alcohol rehabilitation counselor at a boys' group home. He suffered his first professional defeat in January 2013 when he was stopped on FNF against Jose Hernandez.

But Luis says the loss was the best thing that could have happened at the time because it showed him that he wasn't invincible, something that many young fighters can start to believe after 15 straight victories.

Luis' father and trainer, Jorge, recognizes that his son's loss to Redkach, however, left a "bad taste" in his mouth that he still hasn't gotten over.

"It should have at least been a draw," Jorge Luis said.

Regardless, both father and son have taken it as another lesson, one that requires them to increase their sense of perseverance and endurance to achieve all their goals.

Friday’s fight promises to be an explosive, even match between two opponents with similar traits in terms of technique, defense and punching speed. However, the physical advantages (height and reach) widely favor Dargan, whose effective jab will likely allow him to control the distance and set the rhythm of the fight.

In this type of scenario, Luis will have to be more aggressive and risk more than normal to get at his opponent. By opening up, Luis will surely be vulnerable to Dargan's counterattack, which is why Dargan is slightly favored coming into the bout.

In the co-main event, Thomas Falowo (12-3, 8 KOs) of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, takes on Russell Lamour (11-0, 5 KOs) of Portland, Maine, in an eight-round middleweight bout.

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