Whitfield's next bout will be at Bell Auditorium

Augusta boxer Rayonta Whitfield is coming home for his next fight.

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Whitfield, known as the "Stingray," will take on Sergio Espinoza in a scheduled 12-round bout at Bell Auditorium on Feb. 27.

"I love to come home to Augusta. There's no place like home," Whitfield said Tuesday in a news conference at the Municipal Building. "If I can't win here, I can't win any place in the world. I want the fans of Augusta to be here with me."

The Whitfield-Espinoza bout will be the main event on a card of up to eight fights put together by TKO Boxing Promotions. The bout will not be televised live, but will be taped for broadcast at a later date by Comcast.

Bernie Bahrmasel, publicist and site coordinator for TKO, said he is looking for a sellout in his group's first event in Augusta. The plan is to have more fights in Augusta, and Bahrmasel hopes to bring a world championship fight to Augusta for Whitfield.

"It's huge to have a large and enthusiastic crowd who really enjoy the event," Bahrmasel said. "If we have 2,200 and they didn't enjoy the event, they're not going to come back."

Plans call for a weigh-in and news conference to be held at Fort Gordon the week of the fight, Bahrmasel said.

Whitfield will defend his North American Boxing Organization flyweight title against Espinoza. The "San Diego Sensation" is 16-6-1 as a pro.

"He likes to fight. He can take a lot of punishment," said Whitfield, who is 23-1 as a pro with 11 knockouts. "I'm going to give it to him."

Whitfield's only stumble came last February when he lost to Omar Andres Narvaez in Argentina. The boxer said he learned a valuable lesson from the loss.

"Going in as a business aspect and to take my time and look over everything," Whitfield said. "It's a business, so I need to be a little more business-oriented about things."

Tom Moraetes, Whitfield's local trainer at the Augusta Boxing Club, said he expects a tough bout for his fighter.

"He's going to have to earn it," Moraetes said. "When you're world ranked, they're always tough opponents."