By Ricardo Ibarra

The ‘Battle at the Boat’ series at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington will celebrate its landmark twenty-year anniversary card on Saturday as Brian Halquist Productions presents the 111th installment of the long-standing Pacific Northwest boxing staple. In the main event, homegrown prospect Mike “Imagine Me” Gavronski (22-2-1, 14 KOs) will battle Quinton Rankin (12-3-2, 9 KOs) in a light heavyweight fight, headlining a six-bout card.

Gavronski, who will take top billing at the EQC for the ninth time, is seeking a third consecutive win after rebounding from only his second career loss to Dashon Johnson in 2015 in a bid for the vacant WBA-NABA super middleweight title. Gavronski came back from that loss with two important wins last year, stopping previously unbeaten Australian Jake Carr and, in his most recent fight, scoring a ten round unanimous decision victory over Ghanaian Thomas Awimbono. This will be the popular local fighter’s first fight of 2017.

Rankin, of Charlotte, North Carolina, has served as a sparring partner for light heavyweight champion Andre Ward recently, helping him prepare for his fight against Sergey Kovalev. The crafty southpaw has three losses on his eighteen-fight ledger, but two of those came early in his career. In his last twelve fights, he’s gone 8-1-2 with 1 no contest. Rankin fought to an eight-round split draw against unbeaten Todd Unthank May in his most recent fight this past March.

“That’s going to be a very good fight,” said promoter Brian Halquist of the match-up. “Mike’s going to be fighting a real tough kid. He’s been Andre Ward’s sparring partner. I think Mike, now that he’s training in Texas, he’s really matured a lot. His conditioning’s over the top. He’s really at that point in his career where he’s always ready. Should be a very good fight.”

Gavronski and Rankin will meet in a ten rounder at the 175-pound limit. Promoter Brian Halquist and matchmaker Andy Nance have lined up a five-fight undercard featuring some compelling match-ups between regional fighters.

The always exciting Andres Reyes (6-2-1, 1 KO), of Yakima, Washington, will look to add a second straight win when he faces off with Tacoma’s Will Hughes (5-5, 3 KOs) in a welterweight bout. Reyes, who’s fought nearly his entire eight bout career at the EQC, engaging in some memorable battles, rebounded from his second career loss in his last fight at the venue, stopping Jacob Szilasi in the second round of an action-filled affair. Hughes is hoping to erase the memory of a bad 2016 in which he suffered two losses. His last outing saw him lose to Antoio Neal by four round unanimous decision in June of last year. The two will meet in a five-round bout.

In a cruiserweight fight between two tough Northwest journeymen, Idaho’s Tommy Turner (4-7, 3 KOs) will face-off with Rafael Valencia (3-7-1, 2 KOs), of Medford, Oregon. Both fighters like to come forward and can deliver with power, and both are in need of a win after suffering consecutive losses, making this a potentially explosive fight on paper. Turner—who is looking for his first win since March of 2016 when he shocked local prospect Andre Keys, stopping him in the first round—has seven losses in eleven fights, but has taken on some top tier opposition in his career, including current top super middleweight contender Jesse Hart (LTKO 1 06-01-2013). In his last fight, Turner was stopped in the second by unbeaten Californian Alberto Fundora. Valencia, meanwhile, will come into the bout on a three-fight losing streak. He last fought in May, losing a four-round split decision to Fatlum Zhuta. They will meet in a scheduled five round contest.

Unbeaten former collegiate amateur champion Richard Van Siclen (3-0, 2 KOs), of Seattle, will look to add his fourth professional win in a four-round light heavyweight bout, taking on Pendleton, Oregon’s Justin Milani (1-4). Van Siclen went the distance for the first time in his last bout, taking a four-round unanimous decision over Jose Galindo in February. Milani was stopped in the first round of his last fight, losing to Alberto Rivas.

Two other bouts will round out the rest of the card. In a Jr. welterweight match-up, Shae Green will make his pro debut against Niko McFarland (0-3). And finally, in a four round Jr. middleweight bout, Kevin Torres (1-0-1, 1 KO) takes on Jesse Barich (0-1).

Doors to the Emerald Queen Casino I-5 showroom open at 6 p.m. with the first bout scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tickets to the event can be purchased at the EQC box office or at all Ticketmaster outlets. For more information, visit www.halquistproductions.com.