In addition to being an accomplished boxer, Brooklyn native Chris Colbert, who will turn 28 next month, is a veteran in the sports and entertainment industry. Before Colbert made his professional boxing debut at the Barclays Center as a teenager more than a decade ago, he was nicknamed Lil B Hop, a comparison to 2020 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Bernard Hopkins.
Colbert, WBC champion Stephen Fulton, and one-loss Dominican boxer Michel Rivera star in the docu-series “Boxing: Raw & Uncut,” currently airing on Apple TV+ and Tubi. Each boxer is featured in an episode of the series, which provides fans with unique insight into the lives of the fighters. Colbert, Fulton, and Rivera are co-producers, and the series is directed by Rodrigo Belone of Virtuoso Films.
The first episode in the docuseries, which premiered on August 2, takes a look at the rise of Colbert, who is also profiled in the two-time Emmy Award-nominated documentary “Counterpunch.” From growing up in Flatbush to developing his skill at the landmark NYC Cops & Kids Boxing Gym, founded by retired New York Police Department officer Pat Russo and legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas, “Raw and Uncut” explores how Colbert explodes onto the local and national boxing scene.The 45-minute opening episode highlights Colbert’s work in the community coaching youth, and the adversity that came with his first professional loss to Héctor García in February 2022.
Colbert told the AmNews at the red carpet premiere of “Raw & Uncut,” held on July 31 at Nighthawk Cinema in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, that he is targeting a fight with former two-time champion Gary Russell Jr., who defeated Hugo Castañeda last month after a three-and-a-half-year layoff. A fight between Colbert and Russell Jr. would be intriguing.
In other boxing news, the clash between Mexican boxing superstar and undisputed super middleweight (168 pounds) champion Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford, a former undisputed champion in two weight classes, is just a month away. The highly anticipated fight will take place on Saturday, Sept. 13, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, home of the Las Vegas Raiders. Allegiant opened in September 2020 and this will be its first-ever boxing card.