Joshua Greer Jr., the top-ranked bantamweight by the World Boxing Organization, prepared for his biggest fight to date while staying on his mother’s couch.
And that fight — 10 rounds on Tuesday in Las Vegas, with the card starting at 7 p.m. on ESPN — will take place in front of no fans.
Such are the strange realities of sports during the coronavirus pandemic. But none of that is crossing Greer’s mind at the moment.
‘‘My biggest thought process right now is winning,’’ Greer said Sunday. ‘‘That’s the most important key and the most important goal: to win and bring the victory back to Chicago.’’
Greer, a 26-year-old native of the West Side, has spent years inspiring young athletes in high-crime Chicago neighborhoods with the story of his rise from his own high-crime lifestyle. He survived two near-death experiences before turning 21 to become one of the best boxers in the world in his weight class.
Now, ‘‘Don’t Blink’’ Greer (22-1-1, 12 knockouts) hopes to move a step closer to adding an official world championship to his increasingly lengthy list of accomplishments.
The bout against Mike Plania (23-1-0, 12 knockouts) will be the toughest test yet for Greer, who has won 19 consecutive fights. Plania, the 12th-ranked super-bantamweight by the International Boxing Federation, is moving down in weight to take on Greer.
‘‘My strategy is to go in and really dominate this guy,’’ Greer said. ‘‘I feel it’s my duty to show why I’m the superior, ranked-No. 1 bantamweight.’’
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It will be Greer’s first time headlining an ESPN card since signing with Top Rank in the summer of 2018. It also will be his first fight in the MGM Grand, but his audience will be entirely virtual.
Top Rank returned last week with an event highlighted by Shakur Stevenson’s six-round knockout of Felix Caraballo, but the newly implemented safety requirements include empty stands.
Greer said he was required to take a COVID-19 test before heading to Las Vegas and again after arriving and indicated he doesn’t expect the quiet arena to be disconcerting.
‘‘This is definitely a new protocol and everything, but I don’t feel it should be a problem for me,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m sparring in the gym every day, so it’s really just like a sparring match or something.’’
More problematic were the protests and rioting that caused city officials and the National Guard to block access to downtown for a week, preventing Greer from getting to his condominium.
‘‘I just adjusted to the times and what was going on and stayed at my mother’s house with kids and family,’’ he said. ‘‘I still went to the gym and still trained every day; I just relocated there for some time.’’
Greer said he feels satisfied with his training camp overall, saying the ‘‘world being on pause’’ gave him fewer distractions and more time to work on his fundamentals.
And he anticipates that featuring prominently against Plania.
‘‘Life is about adjustments, so I just had to adjust to it,’’ Greer said. ‘‘I still found a way to get things done, and I’m grateful for that.’’
