Although it won't be in the same month or broadcast on the same TV network as it has in years past, this year's Fight Night in the Keys is shaping up to be one of the biggest ever, according to manager Si Stern.

The professional boxing event is returning to Mallory Square this year on March 20 instead of taking place in January like it had the previous five years. Also, unlike the three previous cards, which were televised live on ESPN2, this year the show will be broadcast live from 10 p.m. to midnight on FSN and its family of regional networks along with Fox's spanish station.

Those changes -- along with one of the most stacked cards in the event's history, thanks in part to Top Rank, which is co-promoting the show along with DEJ Productions -- have Stern looking forward to what could be an historic night of boxing next month in Key West.

"It's pretty much a new beginning and it should be an exciting night," said Stern. "We've gotten a lot of recognition because of what we've done down here in the past. I hate to toot our own horn, but we've come a long way to have a company like Top Rank down here."

The card will be headlined by a WBC International Heavyweight championship bout between defending champion Odlanier Solis (15-0, 11 KO) and Costa Rican Carl Drummond (26-2, 20 KO). Solis, a Cuban defector who won a gold medal for the island nation in the 2004 Olympics, has successfully defended his title three times since winning it in 2008.

It will also be a big night for some local fighters. Danny Van Staden (8-4, 4 KO), a 140-pounder, and 147-pound Damian Frias (16-2, 7 KO), both managed by Stern, will be competing in separate bouts for Florida State titles. Stern's newest boxer, 154-pound Marcus Upshaw, will also get his first taste of Key West in the event. Upshaw is the nephew of the late Gene Upshaw, a former NFL player and NFL Players Association president.

With Top Rank in town, there is a strong likelihood there could be some big names in the audience as well. Top Rank founder and CEO Bob Arum will be headed straight to Key West following Top Rank fighter Manny Pacquiao's March 13 fight in the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium against Joshua Clottey.

"When you have somebody like Top Rank promoting, there's no telling who's going to be down here," Stern said.

The card is scheduled to start at 7 p.m., with gates opening an hour earlier. General admission tickets are $35 with ringside seats listed at $65. There are also VIP tickets, which include admission to a weigh-in party and pre- and post-fight parties with food and drinks, for $150. To purchase tickets, call 292-0486, visit keystix.com, or pick them up at Big Un's Sports Bar on 218 Duval St. or Mr. Cheapee's Liquors at 423 Caroline St.

Assistant Sports Editor Willis Jacobson's Gettin' the 'W' column appears exclusively each Friday in The Citizen. He can be reached at 305-292-7777, Ext. 223, or at wjacobson@keysnews.com.