Friday Night Fights: China Smith and Aaron Jaco score knockout with local fight night

Under most circumstances, when two professional boxers walk into a press conference, they're not exactly on the same team.

But this morning, local boxing icon China Smith and fellow Sarasota pro Aaron Jaco sat down at Sarasota Lamborghini as partners to discuss their collaborative project, "Making History: Friday Night Fights" — a nationally televised, World Boxing Federation-sanctioned bout featuring two title fights and presented by Perfect Energy Sports.

Friday, April 3, at Robarts Arena, Smith will defend his world heavyweight title, Jaco will contend for the super middleweight title and local MMA fighter Eric Reynolds will make his professional debut.

The goal? To bring a big-ticket professional boxing event to Sarasota, showcase local talent and give back to the community.

"This is a launching pad to bring boxing to Sarasota," said Smith at the press conference. "It's been a dream of mine to have my teammates and local fighters on the same bill. We don't want to have just one fight; we want to do big things in Sarasota."

Smith was born and raised in Newtown, and the southpaw says he's happy to have the fight coincide with the Newtown centennial, and he plans to help support the occasion by providing tickets to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast and raising money for Newtown charities via raffles.

Jaco, who comes from a family of boxers, was especially eager to participate in the event and keep the focus on Sarasota.

"I've been in the business for a long time," he said. "And it's a great thing to take care of our hometown fighters. It's a huge opportunity to bring boxing back to Sarasota."

According to promoter MarcAnthony Roman, "Making History" is more than just a catchy title. He says the approximately 3,500-seat bout will be one to remember, featuring all the frills of a Vegas-style event: a red carpet, two cars from Sarasota Lamborghini, cats from sponsor Big Cat Habitat, lights, a live DJ and food from Texas Roadhouse.

"This team is going to set the standard for the future of boxing in Sarasota," said Roman. "You never see two main-event fights in the same night, because you can make more money at two different events. But we're not focused on that; we're focused on giving back to Sarasota, because we care, and we're making history. It's not just a tag line."

+ IF YOU GO:

Friday Night Fights — takes place at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 3 at Robarts Arena. $25 to $125.