Dusty Harrison-Hernandez is back. The welterweight contender (34-0-1, 20 KOs) from Washington, DC will make his anticipated return to the ring in his hometown on Saturday, Oct. 1, 7:00pm as the headliner of Beltway Battles: Round Three at the Entertainment & Sports Arena (ESA).

Harrison-Hernandez will also serve as a show promoter along with Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna’s Rising Star Promotions and Blue Cork Strategies, in association with Events DC.

“It’s been a long layoff and hasn’t been easy getting back on track. However, it is the time is now to resume my career and I can’t think of a better place than in DC, my hometown, to jump back in,” said Harrison-Hernandez, who has fought 11 times in DC, most recently May 13, 2016 at the DC Armory.

He turned pro at age 17 and boasts 34 victories is stepping back into the squared circle where’s he most comfortable. This after experiencing a highly tumultuous journey over the past six years dealing with a variety of professional, mental and physical setbacks both outside the ring and in his personal life. From a contractual and promotional dispute that affectively stole three of his prime fighting years and legal trouble where he was twice arrested (convicted once) for weapons charges to packing more than 100 pounds on to his normally lean and fit welterweight frame and being diagnosed with depression, the DC fighter has suffered more than his fair share during this time.

Mental health problems are not new for professional athletes, especially boxers. However, it’s generally kept under wraps and out of the public eye for fear that it’s seen as a weakness in a sport where strength is the name of the game. In fact, depression has affected his friend, fellow boxer and current promotional partner, Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna who recently shared his own story wrestling with personal demons after getting knocked out in a world-championship fight.

“Unlike in basketball where you can blame a teammate or in football where a coach takes responsibility for an error or mistake, in boxing, everything falls squarely on the fighter’s shoulders,” said Harrison, whose response to his diagnosis was to stop visiting the doctor as opposed to taking medication to treat the problem.

The pressure associated with always being at the top of your game and producing can often be too much. Harrison-Hernandez, who grew up just 2.4 miles from the ESA venue in the Southeast DC neighborhood Naylor Gardens, avoided jail time in February 2021 when he was sentenced to three years’ probation stemming from weapons charges.

The 6’ boxer who fought mostly as a welterweight saw his weight balloon up to 270 pounds, remembering because it was right around the time that heavyweight champion Tyson Fury weighed in at 268 pounds for his most recent title defense. While he once ran an unheard of 4:39 mile as a 19-year-old (which was an American high school record), he needed to stop after only five minutes into a run when he started training again. 

After nearly reaching the peak of the mountain and falling close to the bottom, the resilient fighter spent the past four months getting back on track with rigorous training and re-focusing on boxing. While planning to step back in the ring weighing 185 pounds, 10 pounds more than when he last fought on February 20, 2020, it’s a start back on track for the 28-year-old.

The rest of the card features highly regarded District lightweight contender Anthony Peterson (39-1-1, 25 KOs) continuing his road back to title contention, along with Greg “Sharp Shooter” Outlaw, Jr. (10-1, 1 NC, 5 KOs) of Glenarden, Md. taking on Wilfrido Buelvas (22-15, 1 NC, 16 KOs) of Barranquilla, Colombia and Sulaiman Segawa (13-3-1, 4 KOs), a native of Kampala, Uganda now fighting out of Silver Spring, Md., facing Coby Breedy (15-1-1, 5 KOs), from Bridgetown, Barbados, now fighting out of Hyattsville, Md. Both are grudge rematches from no contest bouts on previous Beltway Battles cards where cuts caused by accidental headbutts forced early round stoppages.

Top young prospects will also be showcased, including super featherweight La’ Vay Lawrence (1-0, 1 KO) of Washington D.C., super bantamweight Jay Stancil, III (3-0, 1 KO) of Clinton, Md., super lightweight Eric Hernandez (9-1, 5 KOs) of Ashburn, Va., and super welterweight Duane Thompson, II (1-0, 1 KO) of Glen Burnie, Md.