Pittsburgh fighter will compete for IBA Super Featherweight title in Harmar

Pittsburgh junior lightweight Matt “Sweet Child” Conway will go up against a Philadelphia fighter for the IBA super featherweight championship title in the 130-pound division on Jan. 15, as another full night of boxing returns to the Pittsburgh Shrine Center in Harmar.

“We have some fighters on this card from Philadelphia, and that’s one of the best regions in the world for boxing,” said promoter Derek Gionta of Monroeville.

Gionta has put together cards in Washington, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties over the past two years.

Conway (20-2, 8 KOs), 26, registered his 20th win at Gionta Management’s most recent event in September at the Murrysville SportZone. He is the current IBA Intercontinental Featherweight Champion and will go up against Philly junior lightweight Avery Sparrow in a 12-round match.

“He has some good wins on his record and fought some high-level guys,” Gionta said.

Gionta said there are a large number of variables he looks at when determining what will make for a good fight.

“Sometimes you have a guy that may not have fought enough southpaws, so as a manager, I like to see my guys getting a number of different looks,” he said.

“If we have someone who’s a pretty big puncher, it helps to find them an opponent who’s durable, because it tests them and gets them enough rounds since we know his opponent won’t fall down early.”

In a full-contact sport such as boxing, health and safety are always primary considerations. And with the recent surge in covid-19 cases fueled by the delta and now the omicron variants, it’s at the top of the list once again.

“We ran three shows in 2021 when things were a little bit more difficult with covid, and it went very well,” Gionta said.

Fighters and corner men are tested before the fights.

Gionta said no one involved in any of the past three cards tested positive following the events.

“Fans have the option to wear a mask, so we are comfortable with things,” he said.

Being able to promote three events in the past year also has Gionta’s stable of local fighters primed and ready.

“From a match-making standpoint, for some of these guys it’s going well, because they’ve been active, and they are confident in taking some tougher matches,” Gionta said.

Other fights on the card, which is subject to change, include Ohio lightweight Ryizeemmion Ford (6-1, 4 KOs) against Philly’s Lonnie Jackson Jr. (5-2-2, 2 KOs), and Pittsburgh middleweight Eric Lomax (4-0, 3 KOs) going up against Samuel Wildenhaus (4-1, 1 KO) in six-round matches.