Brinkley back in action June 13 in Reno

Brinkley back in action June 13 in Reno

BY MIKE HOUSER

Appeal Sports Writer

Yerington's Jesse Brinkley will return to action and make the first defense of his WBC-affiliated United States National Boxing Championship (USNBC) super middleweight belt in a 12-round bout scheduled for June 13 at the newly built Reno Ballroom in downtown Reno.

The 31-year-old Brinkley, 30-5 with 21 knockouts, will face Canadian light heavyweight champion Jason Naugler, 18-7-1 (11), of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Brinkley, ranked No. 30 by the WBC at super middleweight and No. 13 by the IBF at light heavyweight, has won his last four fights, all by knockout, and is coming off an 11th-round stoppage of Otis Griffin on Feb. 22 at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino.

The 30-year-old Naugler last fought on March 20, when he scored a 10-round unanimous decision victory over Abdullah Ramadan, whom he faced for the vacant Canadian light heavyweight belt.

Naugler has never been knocked out, going eight rounds in a defeat to current WBC light heavyweight titlist Chad Dawson (who was 19-0 when they met in February 2006). The 5-foot-11 Naugler, who began his career as a junior middleweight, also went the eight-round distance in a loss to James McGirt Jr., who was 17-0 when the pair met on Oct. 30, 2007.

The 5-foot-10 Brinkley is also moving up the rankings in several regional sanctioning bodies, including the WBC-affiliated North American Boxing Federation (NABF), where he is ranked fourth, and the WBA-affiliated North American Boxing Association (NABA), where he is ranked ninth.

Boxrec.com lists Brinkley as its 20th-ranked super middleweight.

Terry Lane, Brinkley's promoter and the CEO for Let's Get It On Promotions, said Friday that his other two fighters - heavyweight Tyler Hinkey, 2-0-1 (2), and his brother Derek Hinkey, 4-1 (4) - will also be on the card.

Lane said both Hinkeys will be active before the June event and are slated to meet opponents to be named on May 17 at Freeport Hall, in Dorcester, Mass. The card will be a co-promotion with Let's Get It On and Peter Manfedo Jr., who is also Brinkley's trainer.

The 25-year-old Tyler Hinkey, who will fight in a four-rounder May 17, is coming off a one-round TKO of Travis Biechler, while 27-year-old Derek Hinkey, who will engage in his first six-rounder, is looking to rebound after being stopped for the first time in his pro and amateur career by Tony Hirsch, who twice knocked down Hinkey before notching the TKO.

Both Hinkeys last fought on Feb. 22, on the Brinkley-Griffin undercard.

The newly constructed Reno Ballroom replaces the City Center Pavilion on Fourth and Center Streets.