Dusty Hernandez-Harrison vs. Tommy Rainone: Date, Live Stream for Throne Boxing

Welcome to the boxing world, Jay Z.

The omnipresent rapper's Roc Nation Sports will put on its first boxing card Friday night, sending voracious welterweight Dusty Hernandez-Harrison (24-0, 13 KOs) into the ring against Tommy Rainone (22-5-1, 4 KOs) for a scheduled 10 rounds. The two boxers will be fighting for the vacant WBC Continental Americas welterweight title.

"We feel it's a good competitive fight between an up-and-coming prospect against a guy fighting in his hometown who comes to fight," said Roc Nation Sports COO David Itskowitch in mid-December, per ESPN.com's Dan Rafael. 

Elsa/Getty Images

Roc Nation Sports isn't just dipping its toes into the water here either. Jay Z has nicknamed the event "throne boxing," according to Rafael, even though the two fighters leading the card would likely be difficult for casual fans to spot in a lineup of welterweights. Still, catchy titles cannot hurt, especially if paired with (hopefully) catchy tunes. 

The throne boxing event will also see live musical performances from DJ Mustard and rapper Fabolous, per a report from Billboard.com.

Live music will either be a welcome addition to the event or an unnecessary distraction, if indeed a strong step toward building the brand and setting Roc Nation Sports apart from other promoters.

Here is all the necessary viewing information for the first of three events put together by Roc Nation Sports and Fox Sports.

Dusty Hernandez-Harrison vs. Tommy Rainone Fight Info

Date: Friday, Jan. 9

Time (ET): 10 p.m.

Location: The Theater, Madison Square Garden, New York

TV: Fox Sports 1

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go (part of pay TV subscription, sign-in required)


Fight Preview

This article is done with the bells and whistles. It's time to talk fighters.

Hernandez-Harrison is a prolific welterweight prospect fighting out of Washington D.C. He made his professional debut back in 2011 soon after his 17th birthday.

Hernandez-Harrison, fighting at a lightning pace and clearly uninterested in taking things slowly, has already amassed two dozen pro bouts with a 54.17 knockout percentage. FoxSports.com provided a bit more information on the 20-year-old's burgeoning reputation: "Most recently, he scored a first-round knockout win over Michael Clark on Nov. 1 in front of his hometown fans at Constitution Hall. The undefeated 20-year-old has received high praise along the way, having been described as Washington's best boxing prospect since Sugar Ray Leonard."

As an up-and-coming fighter, he's a natural fit to work with an up-and-coming promoter in Roc Nation Sports.

Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Of course, this event will almost certainly have a heavy New York vibe, some of which will emanate from Rainone, who hails from Long Island. The 34-year-old journeyman fighter hasn't done much work outside of his native New York, and with just four knockouts to his name, he appears to pose little threat to a hard-working ascendant pro like Hernandez-Harrison; however, Rainone insists he isn't here just to collect a paycheck.

“He’s one of the biggest prospects in the country so beating him on national television would be huge,” said Rainone, per RingTV.com's Andreas Hale. “A win over him can get me a fight with Andre Berto, Adrien Broner or Zab Judah.”

Indeed, Rainone could prove to be dangerous if he can bring the same hunger into the ring as Hernandez-Harrison. He's 9-1-1 in his last 10 bouts and just won the USBO welterweight title in defeating Carl McNickles by unanimous decision on Nov. 13. A late-career surge would be huge for a guy like Rainone; his will to win should not be discounted.

The fight has a good chance of going the distance, which should be a good thing for the fan experience, especially considering the stamina of the two fighters involved. Still, Roc Nation Sports needs fireworks to get noticed, so look for Hernandez-Harrison to come out aggressively and go for the knockout. 

There's no guarantee Roc Nation Sports will rock the murky, splintered world of boxing promoters, but it's at least a sign that the decaying sport still attracts interest from those looking to establish themselves in the sports-business world.