By the end of 2012, Phil Lo Greco was 25-0 and seemingly on the verge of making the leap to title contender. Since then, the Toronto native has struggled to build a winning streak—something he intends to change next month.
Phil Lo Greco lands a right hand against Errol Spence Jr. during their fight last June. Lo Greco lost by third-round TKO, but rebounded in October with a victory over Pablo Munguia. (Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions)
Lo Greco (27-2, 15 KOs) returns to action June 12 when he matches up against powerful southpaw Joseph Elegele (15-2, 11 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round, 147-pound main event from the Lakeland Event Center in Lakeland, Florida (Bounce TV, 9 p.m. ET/PT).
Also on the card is a 10-round, 175-pound showdown between unbeaten Australian Steve Lovett (15-0, 12 KOs) and tough Texan Craig Baker (16-1, 12 KOs).
After blasting through his first 25 opponents, Phil Lo Greco ran up against then-unbeaten Shawn Porter in May 2013 and lost a wide 10-round unanimous decision, getting dropped in the final frame. Lo Greco then was absent from the ring for nearly two years before returning last March to fight three times in the span of seven months.
The 31-year-old boxer-puncher sandwiched a third-round TKO loss to undefeated 147-pound contender Errol Spence Jr. between victories over Rafael Cobbs (eight-round unanimous decision) and Pablo Munguia (fifth-round stoppage).
If he can get past Elegele, Lo Greco will have won consecutive fights for the first time since he improved to 25-0 with a seventh-round TKO of Daniel Sostre in November 2012.
“I don’t know much about Elegele, but I will not take him lightly,” said Lo Greco, who has fought the majority of his career between 149 and 152 pounds. “This is what it’s all about, fighting on television and making a name for yourself. A win here will get me one step closer to the bigger fights.”
Like Lo Greco, Elegele’s career got off to a tremendous start as he won his first 12 bouts, including 10 by knockout. But like Lo Greco, Elegele then sputtered, dropping two of his next three fights to Aron Martinez (then 14-1-1) and Javier Molina (then 12-1).
Elegele, a resident of Melbourne, Florida, rebounded from the Molina defeat to win his last two contests—a six-round split decision over Jonathan Garcia in October 2014 and a sixth-round TKO of Alex De Jesus on January 31.
Lo Greco and Elegele—who were born just 11 days apart in the summer of 1984—both enjoyed stellar amateur careers. While Lo Greco was a four-time national Canadian champion, Elegele went 69-8 before turning pro in 2009.
Additionally, Elegele, 31, has sparred with the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Adrien Broner and fellow Florida resident Andre Berto—three former champs who have reached the heights to which Elegele aspires.
“A win [over Lo Greco] will put me in a position to fight top fighters,” said Elegele, who weighed 153 and 149¼ pounds, respectively, for his last two bouts after previously fighting in the mid-140s.
“This is the best I have felt in my whole career. Lo Greco is a game fighter, [but] this is my hometown, and I will have a lot of people coming out to support me. I can’t wait.”
For a complete look at Lo Greco vs Elegele, visit our fight page.
