WATCH: Bruce Carrington on winning Prospect of the Year, facing Bernard Torres at MSG

NEW YORK — Wednesday was a day of firsts for Bruce Carrington.

For the first time in his two-plus years as a professional, Carrington (10-0, 6 knockouts) had his opponent on stage with him to do a stare down. His ten-round featherweight fight against Bernard Angelo Torres this Friday at The Theater at Madison Square Garden will be his first time on the main part of an ESPN card, opening up a tripleheader that is headlined by WBC junior lightweight titleholder O’Shaquie Foster vs. Abraham Nova.

Carrington, 26, clenched his jaw slightly as he faced off with the slightly shorter Torres (18-1, 8 KOs), a Philippines born fighter based in Norway who is fighting for the second time in the United States.

“He seems ready, respectable guy, he seems he put his hard work in. The vibe I was getting is, he’s locked in and I’m locked in with him too,” said Carrington of the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Torres, 27, has won two straight since his lone defeat, a split decision to Dominican boxer Frency Fortunato Saya. Though acknowledging that Carrington, winner of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials, is probably going to be the best fighter he’s yet faced, he says he has prepared well in training camp, which included a trip to England to find better sparring than is available in Norway.

“Growing up in boxing, it’s a dream to fight here. So I’m happy to box here at Madison Square Garden. I am really happy for this opportunity. I’m very prepared. I had a really great camp. I’m really happy and ready to go,” said Torres.

While all six boxers on stage received customized Knicks jerseys, Carrington also received a plaque that signified he was The Ring’s Prospect of the Year for 2023. It was his first major award as a pro, which he earned on the strength of five victories in 2023.

“It feels great. This is just one of the many accomplishments that I plan to have throughout my whole career. This is definitely going on the wall in my crib.

I’m just super happy about it, having this plaque, I’m super honored about it. There are so many other guys out there now that are doing their thing and making a lot of noise and getting respect in the division, but I’m just happy that my hard work has been noticed. This makes me want to just continue to put on crowd pleasing performances throughout my whole career,” said Carrington.

Carl Moretti, who is Top Rank’s Vice President of Boxing Operations, says 2024 will also be an important year for Carrington, who he intends to have ready for his first world title opportunity by the end of the year.

“He’s top ten in featherweight right now. This year, fighting nothing but veteran guys and moving him up in the rankings. At some point by the end of the year he’s ready for a title shot,” said Moretti.

“Talent-wise he’s there already.”

Ryan Songalia has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler and The Guardian, and is part of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Class of 2020. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com.

The post WATCH: Bruce Carrington on winning Prospect of the Year, facing Bernard Torres at MSG appeared first on The Ring.