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– Pictures courtesy of Mikey Williams –
PROVIDENCE (May 18, 2016)) – Undefeated blue-chip featherweight prospect Toka “T-Nice” Kahn-Clary (17-0, 11 KOs) continues to show improvement in each and every fight. Last weekend, the 23-year-old Liberia-native knocked out seasoned veteran Orlando Rizo (19-7) in the fourth round at Sportsman Lodge in Studio City, California.
Kahn-Clary, fighting out of Providence, may still be flying under the radar but he’s getting closer to becoming a breakout star. His most recent fight was his first scheduled 10-rounder.
“I put in a lot of hard roadwork, running seven miles a day, and (his head trainer) Peter (Manfredo, Sr.) really pushed me,” Kahn-Clary talked about preparing for his last fight. I got some good work from Javier Fortuna, sparring him a few times, and he’s a good southpaw.
“I wasn’t looking for a knockout but it just happened. I stepped left and threw a left. I didn’t load up but it was accurate, hitting him right on his chin. I was happy to get the knockout but I was looking forward to getting in some more rounds.”
“Nothing Toka does really surprises me because I’ve known since the beginning that he’s special,” Manfredo commented. “Toka continues to improve with each fight and he’s hungry to get to the next level. There’s no rush, he doesn’t turn 24 to next year. He’s still maturing. The kid he knocked out was Nicolas Walters’ main sparring partner.
“I just don’t want to put him in with the big names just yet. He’s maturing but he’s not all the way there. He’s improving all of the time, putting his combinations together better each fight. I’ve also noticed that he’s nice and relaxed in the ring now. He’s becoming a good boxer who always had power. Top Rank is doing a great job moving him. Everybody’s happy.”
A decorated American amateur who had a 131-11 record, highlighted by a gold-medal performance at the 2010 National Golden Gloves Tournament, Kahn-Clary passed on a shot to make the 2016 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team to turn pro three years ago.
“I’ve been boxing 10 years now,” Kahn-Clary added. “Knowing what I’ve already accomplished, I also realize that I’m still improving. I’ll be back in the gym Monday to get ready for the next call we get about my next fight. (Top Rank’s) Brad Goodman is one of the best matchmakers in boxing. He and everybody at Top Rank are doing a great job positioning me for a big opportunity. That may not happen this year but, hopefully, it will sometime next year. I’m boxing so much better now than I ever did. I used to fight like I was in a fog but, now, my eyes are wide open.”
Not bad for a kid who left his mother and siblings in Liberia when he was six, only to have his father murdered a year after he arrived in the United States. He’s overcome many difficult obstacles in his young life, most of them tougher than any opponents he’ll every fight, including a stretch in which he was homeless. It’s only made him tougher and an even better overall person.
Follow Kahn-Clary on Twitter and Instagram @TokaKahnClary, or friend him on Facebook atwww.Facebook.com/tokakahn.
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LAS VEGAS (May 18, 2016) – World Boxing Association (WBA) Interim Cruiserweight World champion Beibut Shumenov (16-2, 10 KOs) makes his first title defense this Saturday night (May 21) against WBA No. 11-rated Junior “Hurricane” Wright (15-1-1, 12 KOs) at The Chelsea inside of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
“I’m happy to get the opportunity to fight this Saturday night,” Shumenov said, “but I wish that I could fight more often. I’ve been ready since January. Every training session I gain new knowledge. I am a completely different fighter than in my last fight.”
Shumenov’s last fight was back in July, in which he defeated B.J. Flores (31-1-1, 20 KOs) by 12-round unanimous decision in Las Vegas to capture the vacant WBA Interim title, making the former WBA light heavyweight champion Shumenov the first professional boxer from Kazakhstan to be a two-division world champion.
By becoming the WBA Interim cruiserweight champion, Shumenov also became the No. 1 ranked mandatory challenger for WBA Super cruiserweight titlist Denis Lebedev (28-2, 21 KOs), who also fights this Saturday in Russia against International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Victor Emilio “El Tyson de Abasto” Ramirez (22-2-1, 17 KOs) in a unification match.
The WBA has already mandated that the Lebedev-Ramirez must fight Shumenovwithin 120 days. The WBA, however, has failed to explain why it also declared a WBA “regular” cruiserweight world title fight this Friday night in France between No. 2 Yunier Dorticos and No. 5 Youri Kalenga (since upgraded to No. 3), especially after announcing that it would work this year to have only one world champion in each weight class.
Shumenov, of course, is risking his mandatory position by fighting Wright, the former 5-time Chicago Golden Gloves champion. “I need to stay active,” Shumenov explained why he’s taking such a risk. “Every fight, I gain experience and it also helps me develop my fighting skills.”
The 12-round Shumenov vs. Wright title fight is on the non-televised portion of The Cosmopolitan show.
Fans may friend Beibut Shumenov on his Facebook Fan Page atwww.facebook.com/
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Baltimore, MD (May 18, 2016) – Baltimore Boxing middleweight prospect “Dangerous” Donald Wallace is slated to make his pro debut against fellow newcomer Brian Straus in a four round match up Saturday evening at the ABC Sports Complex in Springfield, VA.
In the last year, Wallace went from a virtual unknown to a respected up and comer in the notoriously tough Baltimore-Maryland-DC region. A participant in the 2016 Olympic Qualifiers, Wallace exceeded expectations but ultimately came up short after dropping a debatable decision to well-regarded Sharif Rahman.
Since the defeat to Rahman, Wallace has been fighting with a chip on his shoulder and the kind of hunger necessary to make it in a sport brutal as boxing. Now that his brief but successful amateur career is behind him, Wallace is focused on his future in the paid ranks.
“I’m excited and have been working on getting my weight down,” said Wallace. “My last few amateur fights I fought too heavy but that’s no longer an issue. I’ve already had experience boxing without the headgear during the Olympic Qualifiers so I’m not worried about that aspect. I actually like that the gloves are smaller in the pros because I’m looking for a knockout or stoppage in the first round to enter the pros in style!”
Jake Smith, Wallace’s manager and trainer, has been involved in the fight game for more than three decades and is a firm believer in him.
“Donald came to me with no experience but the desire to learn and improve. He is an incredibly hard worker and has come very far in a short period of time. I believe his work ethic alone will take him places in this sport and I’m looking forward to Saturday night.”
Tickets are available by calling 410-375-9175.
Fans can interact with Donald on Twitter @Wallytbe and for more information on Baltimore Boxing, visit Baltimoreboxing.com.
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