NEWARK, N.J. – On Friday, something will happen for Emmanuel Chance that hasn’t happened since he was 10 years old. It was in 2017, when Chance was a grade school student, that he last fought in his home state of New Jersey. It was the only time he was able to do so, as finding willing opponents was a tough task, leaving the native of East Orange, New Jersey, to travel the country and globe in search of takers.

Chance, 3-0 (1 KO), could barely contain his excitement about having woken up in his own bed before heading to Wednesday’s press conference at Prudential Center, where he will fight Angel Munoz, 3-2 (2 KOs), in a six-round bantamweight fight this Friday in the opening bout of a ProBox TV broadcast.

“My mom gets to see me, my family gets to come out. I’m just finna turn up and do what I do and put on a great performance,” said Chance. 

“Just to show her that this is real, that this is gonna be our family’s out, this is what’s gonna take us all the way to the top. Ain’t no pressure and I believe in everything we do in the gym so once we get in the ring, I’m gonna do what we do.”

The southpaw boxer didn’t waste those out-of-town trips, winning 14 national titles and making it all the way to the United States’ Youth team. After losing a split decision as a 55lbs boxer in 2016, he didn’t lose again on U.S. soil until dropping a decision to a Japanese boxer in the 121lbs final at the 2024 Under-19 World Championships.

“That just tells you what type of amateur fighter I was,” said Chance. “All that was to get me to where I am now. Now that I’m professional I just have to keep that momentum, keep building and keep going and it all starts April 10 at the Prudential Center.”

Chance, whose older brother Rajon Chance is also a professional boxer, started out of the same Newark gym that produced Shakur Stevenson and Vito Mielnicki. He turned pro after that 2024 world tournament and signed with Top Rank, and is managed by James Prince, the rap impresario who also manages Stevenson. He names Pernell Whitaker as his favorite boxer, and says he’s been getting into old videos of Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson as well, and says that being in the gym with Stevenson throughout the years has been a big influence on him, too.

His opponent, Munoz, is from Baldwin Park, California, and is a year older at 20. Though Chance’s father, Roger Chance, doesn’t believe this opponent brings anything new to the table, he understands why it’s important to take someone serious when they have nothing to lose.

“There’s not too much that’s gonna come in front of him that he hasn’t seen before. The kid is a tough kid, he comes to fight so it’s one of those situations where we can’t come into this fight with any type of lacking,” said Roger Chance. “You have to be on your game to get the win.”

Mannie Chance has big plans for the future, and they begin with a successful homecoming in Essex County.

“My 2026 is gonna be big. This is the year we blow up, this is the year that we shine, this is the year that we start getting talked about much more,” said Chance.

“I hope to accomplish everything, becoming the best in my weight class, being pound for pound number one. The sky is the limit for me. I do everything for my family, do everything for myself and just get the job done every time out.”