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**ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.** — On Saturday, June 13, undefeated heavyweight Bruce “2.0” Seldon Jr. (8-0, 6 KOs) headlines a Boxing Insider Promotions card at the Tropicana Atlantic City Showroom against fellow unbeaten South Jersey heavyweight Josh “The Hammer” Popper (7-0, 6 KOs). It is the kind of all-local, all-undefeated main event the sport rarely produces, and for Seldon it is a chance to prove the name on his trunks belongs to him as much as it does to his father.
That name carries weight in Atlantic City. Bruce Seldon Sr., “The Atlantic City Express,” won the vacant WBA heavyweight championship in 1995, stopping former IBF titleholder Tony Tucker, and retired with a record of 40-8 and 36 knockouts. His son grew up a few miles inland in Smithville and graduated from Absegami High School. Now he is building his own career on the same stretch of shore where his father became a world champion.
Seldon Jr. came to boxing late and without an amateur background, turning professional in 2024 in his late twenties. What he lacked in pedigree he has made up for in power. He has stopped six of his eight opponents and become a fixture in his home market, appearing on six previous Boxing Insider shows where his come-forward style and finishing instinct have made him a local favorite. He trains at the Pleasantville Recreation Center under Julio Sanchez and is guided by managers Jim Kurtz and David Dubinsky of DKO Boxing.
By his own account, this camp has been different. “This is the strongest, the fastest, the calmest I’ve been probably my entire career,” Seldon told Josh Hennig on 97.3 ESPN. He points to his most recent fight as the turning point, an experience he has called eye-opening. “I promised myself and my team that I would never get into another ring again if I wasn’t 100 percent ready,” he said. “Coming into this one, I’m just making good on my word.”
Those changes started in the gym. Seldon describes a camp built on consistency and focus, one where he stayed disciplined and let his corner reshape the way he fights. The pressure and power that made his name are still there, but they now sit underneath a more patient, calculated approach designed to carry him deeper into a fight against an opponent who will not fold.
The version of himself he plans to bring on June 13 is one he says no one has seen yet. Known as a pressure fighter hunting the knockout, Seldon says he has spent this camp learning to box, to set traps and pick his spots rather than simply walk his man down. “At the end of the day, boxing is chess, not checkers,” he said. He credits his corner for the growth and makes no apology for leaning on it. “I would be a true idiot, especially in this sport, not to listen,” he said. “I don’t have all the answers. You’ve got to be coachable.”
Popper has promised to walk into a storm of pressure, and Seldon is happy to confirm it is coming. “Of course I’m going to bring the pressure. That’s what I do,” he said. “Just because he’s expecting that doesn’t mean he’s going to be able to stop it.” He believes the night will be the hardest of Popper’s career. “He should be expecting the toughest fight he’s gotten into in his entire career,” Seldon said.
The matchup carries the kind of personal edge only a hyper-local main event can. The two men grew up minutes apart and attended rival high schools, Seldon at Absegami and Popper at Holy Spirit, and Popper has needled him about a high school football game from more than a decade ago. Seldon waves it off. “Whatever he did on the field 13, 14 years ago, good for him,” he said. “That’s a team sport. I didn’t even play football that year. Regardless, you’re not going to be able to bring your team into the ring with you on June 13th.”
“Bruce Seldon has been on six previous Boxing Insider shows and has made quite the impression on the local market with his KO power,” said promoter Larry Goldberg of Boxing Insider Promotions. “When this fight was presented to him, he didn’t hesitate to say yes.”
Seldon Jr. vs. Popper headlines a stacked seven-fight card on Saturday, June 13 at the Tropicana Atlantic City Showroom, first bell 7:30 PM ET. Two undefeated South Jersey heavyweights, a hometown crowd, and a building that Boxing Insider Promotions has turned back into the home of Atlantic City boxing. This is the fight the region has been asking for, and somebody’s zero has to go. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster. Get yours before the room sells out:
https://www.ticketmaster.com/boxing-insider-live-professional-boxing-atlantic-city-new-jersey-06-13-2026/event/02006495CFC0F3D8 |
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