Jonny Mansour is excited to fight at home and against someone people in the region might know.
Mansour will fight in his first career eight-rounder when he meets William King on April 18 at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California.
Mansour, 6-0 (2 KOs), started his pro boxing career in San Diego. A resident of nearby La Mesa, California, the unbeaten lightweight prospect has grown since turning pro in 2024.
“A lot has changed. I feel a lot more relaxed inside the ring,” Mansour told BoxingScene. “I don’t even know what the Pechanga Arena looked like, because I was so locked in for my pro debut.”
One more thing has changed; now he is fighting the 30-year-old King, a fighter many fighters in Southern California know.
King holds a record of 6-3-2 (3 KOs) and is from Perris, California. Despite only living 90 minutes apart, the two have never crossed paths. King is currently 1-3-1 in his last five fights, having lost a unanimous decision to Michael Bracamontes in November.
Not only is Mansour stepping into his first eight-round bout, but he is fighting the most accomplished opponent of his career.
“It is actually funny, I have been getting a lot of messages,” Mansour said. “It is the first time I am fighting someone on the professional side who is actually pretty well known.”
Besides his ability in the ring, the 25-year-old Mansour has been known to sell tickets. For this fight, he has partnered with his cousin Julius Ballo – who also fights on the card – as well as Julius’ father and his uncle, Yasir “Jack” Ballo. He sold a substantial number of tickets for the card at Sycuan Resort & Casino in El Cajon, California (roughly 30 minutes from San Diego), and aims to continue the trend with his upcoming bout.
“I started early, when I was on Team USA [Boxing], I had the most [followers],” said Mansour, who won a six-round unanimous decision over Marco Antonio Juarez in December. “I started posting on social media when COVID hit. Since then, the support has been amazing.”
The main goal in promoting the upcoming event is to provide a platform for Southern California fighters, especially those from San Diego who might be overlooked. Though he is returning home, another joy is spotlighting regional fighters and helping them develop their records so they can get consequential fights in the future.
“I have been in conversations with promoters who weren’t willing to take the risk to bring boxing back to San Diego,” Mansour said. “Here we are taking the risk and giving opportunities to all the fighters in San Diego.”
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
