Jett Blackwell and Osmel Avila have overcome different adversities to make it to their bouts on Tuesday night at Plaza Mariachi in Nashville, Tennessee.

Blackwell will face veteran Rydell Booker in a six-round heavyweight bout, and the welterweight Avila will face Tyree Sawyer in a four-round fight. 

Blackwell, 6-0-1 (2 KOs), first got into boxing because of a local bully. 

“As a kid, I was very chubby,” Blackwell said. “I was never severely bullied, but I was an easy target, being chubby.”

 

Blackwell was never fully at ease, as he stated that he built a core group of friends, but also had enemies.

 

Blackwell’s shining light was his family, especially his father, Jeff Blackwell, who inspired him to become a boxer. He credits his family with keeping him away from the chaos that surrounded him for parts of his life. 

 

“My mental health as a teenager was not good,” Blackwell said. “I always felt something was missing.” 

 

Then he found boxing.

 

“I trained for less than a week, and I was able to have him stop bullying me,“ Blackwell said in April. “I whooped him.”

Blackwell noted that boxing immediately felt like the thing that was missing. 

 

“I felt less depressed and inspired,” Blackwell said. 

 

Blackwell’s motivations have changed a bit. His first day in the gym was to stop some early torment from a bully. Now, he is motivated by his family, especially his son, who has level-3 autism. Blackwell’s story is similar to a lot of people.

 

“Seeing my family that I created and my parents proud are my biggest motivations,” Blackwell said. “I have four brothers and five sisters in total, and my family always wanted the best for all of us.




Blackwell, a 24-year-old from Fresno, California, has ambitions to be on the big stages, but for now, he is in the development process. His next bout is against Booker, 27-12-1 (14 KOs), who is a gatekeeper at this point. Booker, a 45-year-old from Detroit, is on a five-fight losing streak after knocking out Norman Neely in 2022. Booker fought James Toney in 2004 and returned to the sport in 2018. He has fought Jermaine Franklin, Kubrat Pulev, Filip Hrgovic, and Otto Wallin. He won none of those fights, but proved a tough developmental test to world class heavyweights.

“When Booker was brought up as an opponent, I knew he’d be a good name on my resume, and a good test for me,” Blackwell said. “This is a step-up fight. It got me excited, and I am in the best shape of my life.”

Then there is Avila, 2-0 (2 KOs), who has known Blackwell since he was seven years old. Avila is also 24, trains out of the 501 Boxing Gym with Joey Hernandez, the father of former pro boxer Marcos Hernandez. He has been in some high-profile training camps, sparring Terence Crawford, Vergil Ortiz, and, most recently, Mario Barrios in preparation for his fight with Ryan Garcia. Avila had nearly 200 amateur fights, but activity had plagued him as a professional. Avila’s battle has been getting opportunities. 

“I have been struggling to get fights,” Avila said. “I have had just one fight per year.”

Avila signed with Westside Promotions in November, the same promoter as Blackwell; his bout against Sawyer, 1-0, will be the first fight of their deal. Sawyer is a 19-year-old from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who happens to be the second undefeated fighter Avila has faced in his career. Avila so far has felt voiceless and anonymous in his career, coming from the Central Valley of California. While some fighters like Jose Ramirez and Richard Torrez Jnr have made it to marquee main event fights from the region. Ramirez and Torrez were both Olympians; Avila wasn’t.

“It is exciting that potentially I could have a fight lined up after this one,” Avila said.