LYNN — On Friday, Oct. 25, “Speedy” Rashidi Ellis (24-1, 15 KOs) headlines an exciting 7-bout CES Boxing card in his hometown for the first time in his career when he takes on Argentina’s Brian Chaves (14-5, 5 KOs). The action takes place at the Oceanside Revere and will be broadcast live worldwide on DAZN.
“Halloween Knockout” tickets are quickly selling out. Purchase yours now at CESFights.com. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7 p.m..
The bout serves as a reintroduction of sorts for the 31-year-old Ellis. A native of Lynn, Ellis has not fought in the Boston area since his fourth pro bout at the House of Blues in 2014.
“It feels really good to fight at home,” Rashidi said. “The last time I fought back home was over 10 years ago. People haven’t seen me fight here since I was a little kid. I’m a grown man now, and I’m going to work.”
Rashidi’s career has been a long winding road that has led him back home, where he, his brother Ronald and his sister Rashida used to set up neighborhood boxing matches in their family basement as teens.
A talented boxer, ‘Speedy’ Rashidi packed his bags at 21 and fought 10 consecutive times in the Caribbean before signing a promotional agreement with Golden Boy Promotions in 2016.
Linking up with a powerful promoter paid dividends at first, as Ellis quickly burst on the scene with a shocking 1st round knockout of highly regarded prospect Eddie “E-Boy” Gomez to win the IBF North American welterweight title. Three years and five fights later, Rashidi proved the first fight wasn’t a fluke when he virtually shut out Gomez over 10 rounds.
The win set up a showdown of unbeaten prospects as Ellis faced Alexis Rocha in 2020 for the vacant WBC Intercontinental Welterweight championship. Rashidi was too slick, fast and smart for Rocha, winning a unanimous decision over 12 rounds. The sky seemed to be the limit, but instead of a world title shot, Ellis spent the next two-and-a-half years on the shelf.
“It’s no secret, they obviously wanted him to win,” says Ellis when reflecting on what should have been a breakout win. “I was an East Coast boxer fighting on the West Coast, and I guess I wasn’t a priority for them.”
After securing his release from Golden Boy in 2022, Ellis joined the PBC, where he quickly scored a first round TKO in his first bout. Rashidi was working his way to a title shot against Jaron “Boots” Ennis when he ran into Roiman Villa, a heavy-handed Venezuelan who was also hungry for a title shot.
Rashidi started fast, utilizing his jab, feints and quick counters to pile up points against the slower Villa. By the mid to late rounds, the momentum shifted as the Venezuelan pressed forward, forcing Ellis into exchanges. Rashidi seemed to be well ahead going into the 12th round, when he suffered two late knockdowns, the second just before the final bell.
With the knockdowns, Villa eked out a disputed majority decision. Once again, instead of getting a title shot, Rashidi was on the outside looking in.
“I don’t want to say that I have bad luck, but it’s something like that,” laments Ellis when analyzing his career. “There were a lot of issues with contracts and fights falling through…”
Returning to Lynn, Rashidi pondered what was next before running into Jimmy Burchfield, Sr. at a CES Boxing card. The promoter was looking for fighters to join the Boston Butchers, his newest venture as the general manager of the Team Combat League franchise.
“It was a good experience,” says Rashidi, who won 11 of his 12 bouts and led the Butchers into the semifinals in their inaugural season. “It was good for me because of the activity. We fought every few weeks and I loved it.”
In addition to reestablishing himself on the Boston scene and shedding ring rust, Rashidi was able to gauge the type of person Burchfield is and the kind of organization he is running.
“I got to see how they move and do things,” explains Ellis of CES Boxing. “They seem like really good people. We connected on the TCL, so this came about.”
As soon as the season was over, Burchfield went to work to secure Ellis a main event card in his hometown.
“I’m looking to make a statement on Oct. 25 because I’ve been away for a long time,” Ellis said. “People overlook me because I haven’t been active. A lot of people don’t know if I’m still in the sport, but I’m still here. I’m here to stay and I’m ready to take over. It’s gonna be on DAZN, where I had my biggest wins against Eddie Gomez and Alexis Rocha, so that’s even better.”
In front of him on Oct. 25 will be Brian Chaves, a tough Argentine who has shared the ring with the likes of Chordale Booker, Vaughn Alexander and world title challenger Jeremias Ponce.
“Chaves is decent, but he’s not good enough,” said a confident Ellis. “He’s good enough to put on a good show though.”
Mapping out his future, Rashidi and CES have conjured up a clear three-step plan to get him where he should have been all along.
“Right now, I’m just focused on getting active,” explains Ellis. “I want to get back in the rankings. Once I’m back in the rankings, I don’t want to hear no excuses from these dudes. They’re going to have to fight me.”
Asked which of the welterweight champions he prefers to fight first, Ellis answers emphatically.
“I want to fight Brian Norman,” states Rashidi. “The only reason why I wanna beat him up is because his father was talking a lot of trash. Then I want the rest of them: Stanionis, Boots, Barrios. I need those world titles. I’ll be there real soon. I’m knocking on the door.”
But first, Ellis needs to reacquaint himself with his hometown fans and he plans to do so in spectacular fashion.
“Make sure you guys come through,” says Ellis of Halloween Knockout. “I’m going to put on a great show like I always do, and the whole card is packed with a lot of good fighters. It’s gonna be spooky!”
‘Halloween Knockout: Ellis vs. Chaves,’ takes place on Oct. 25 at Oceanside Revere and live worldwide on DAZN. Get your tickets now at CESFights.com.
For more information on these cards and all other CES Boxing events, visit cesfights.com
CES Boxing is one of the top promotions on the East Coast. Founded in 1992 by Jimmy Burchfield Sr., CES Boxing has promoted many world class fighters, including Jamaine Ortiz, Juiseppe Cusumano, Hank Lundy, Vinny Paz, Peter Manfredo, Mariusz Wach, Jason Estrada, Matt Godfrey, Chad Dawson and Ray Oliveira. CES Boxing has promoted such super fights as “The Thriller on Triller: Tyson v Jones Jr.”, “Mayweather vs. Gotti III” and “The Contender: Manfredo v Pemberton”.
