(sve slike po Jeny Luna Hernandez-Watson)

PROVIDENCE (Novembar 16, 2015) — Neporažen pero Prospect Toka “T-Nice” Kahn-Clary (16-0, 10 KOs) može biti najbolji, relativno “nepoznata” borca ​​u zemlji, barem izvan New England.

A uređen američki amater koji je imao 131-11 rekord, naglašene zlatnu medalju-nastup na 2010 Nacionalni Golden Gloves turnir, Kahn-Clary se vraća u ring ove subote noć (Novembar. 20) The Cosmopolitan u Las Vegasu protiv meksičke protivnika Sergio “Cuatito” Lopez (19-9-1, 13 KOs) u ono što bi trebalo da bude Kahn-Clary prošle rasporedu osam rundi meča prije nego diplomira na 10-rounders.

“On je teška meksički borac koji mogu box malo na izvana,” Kahn-Clary govorio o svom naredni protivnik, “ali on dolazi napred, suviše. On je iskusan i bio je u sa mnogo dobrih protivnika.”

Lopez je ozbiljan test za bilo kakve izglede. His last three fights include a loss to 18-0 Alejandro Luna (KO4) ovo prošlog avgusta, 10-okrugli split crtati s 24-7-1 Joksan Hernandez, i zadivljujući peti krug-tehnički nokaut 16-0 Victor Betancourt.

“Lopez je gamer,” Kahn-Clary glavu trener Peter Manfredo, Sr. dodao. He’s tough but our plan is for Toka to take him apart and eventually take him out. Toka’s not far away from a really big fight, možda 8-10 mjeseci. We were offered a big fight but, moramo prvo jedan 10-krug borbe, i on dobiti tu borbu početkom naredne godine.”

Kahn-Clary, bori se Providence, dolazi sa svojih najznačajnijih pobjeda kao profesionalni prošlog juna, u kojoj je ušao u klasu da preuzme 33-11 Jonathan Perez, bivši kolumbijski super bantam i World Boxing Council (WBC) prvak. Kahn-Clary stopped Perez in the sixth round of their fight on a card headlined by Timothy Bradley'E privremene titulu svjetskog prvaka u velter kategoriji pridobiti Jessie Vargas u StubHub centru u Carson, Kalifornija.

23-godišnjak, koji je rođen Toka Kahn, will never face obstacles in the ring more difficult to overcome than his early life experiences. Now a blue-chip prospect, he was born in Liberia and came to America with his younger sister to join their father when he was only six. He lived in Philadelphia only one year before his father was killed in a shooting. Toka’s arduous journey continued as he and his sister moved to Providence, gdje su živjeli sa hranitelji koji, iskreno, Nije me bilo briga što im se dogodilo.

Sve je ukazivalo na Toka uzimajući u nevolji na Providence ulicama kao mladić, posebno na vrijeme, kada je bio beskućnik. Srećom, iako, prijatelj ga je doveo u Manfredo teretane u Pawtuckert, RI. Boxing truly saved his life. Manfredo, SAD Boxing New England predsjednik Jim Perella i par koji ga je na kraju usvojen, Andrea Watson i Ron Clary, dramatično promijenio njegov život.

Kahn-Clary potpisala promotivni ugovor sa Top Rank, koji, zajedno sa menadžerom Mike Criscio i Manfredo, Kahn-Clary su se preselili na stabilan, gore tempo. Kahn-Clary, slučajno, će se boriti za treći put ove godine, nakon što je prošle godine pet.

“Top Rank je odradio dobar posao mi je zauzet,” southpaw Kahn-Clary commented. “I know that it takes time to climb the ladder and I still need to improve a few things. I need to beat a top fighter to get into the world rankings. I’ll be ready when I get that call.

“Ja sam spreman odmah za 10 ili 12 okrugli borba. I’ve done a lot of sparring to help me get ready to step up. I’m excited about fighting 10 i 12 round fights because it’ll be a test for me and I love to be test. The top guys in my division are the (Gary) Russell, (Umoranl) Lomachenkoi (Lav) Santa Cruz. I have the skills and heart to compete with them.”

Kvaliteta sparing u New England je u premium, posebno za manji i težine borca ​​kao što je Kahn-Clary, koji je stekao neprocenjivo iskustvo sparing sa WBA super perolakaJavier Fortuna (29-0-1, 21 KOs), tri puta US Olympian Rau'shee Warren i njegove kolege New England i prijatelj, New Haven’s Luis “KO King” Rosa (21-0, 10 KOs).

“Nestajati (Manfredo) i ja putuju u Worcester (MA) Connecticut i da se dobar rad,” the gifted boxer-puncher Toka-Kahn explained. “It’s been a great help for me. I’ve gotten a lot of valuable experience in there with fighters like Fortuna and Warren. Vidio sam njihov prsten Generala, njihovo kretanje, and I’ve learned from them. They’re smart. I’ve learned from them, even try to copy them. It’s not just about sparring, što je iskustvo učenja. Ako ne uče iz sparing, sve što ćete ikada biti sparing partner je.”

Manfredo je oko i on shvata da je njegova nagrada učenik, Kahn-Clary, will need to go away to training camp for good sparring when he starts fighting 10-rounders. “Ja sam dobar prijatelj sa Freddie Roach a mi ćemo izaći u Kaliforniju i trenira na Wild Card Gym,” Manfredo concluded. “I’m very happy with the way Toka’s been moved. I have faith in Brad Goodman, koji je jedan od najboljih, if not the best matchmaker in the world. They’ve moved Toka along at a good pace. They know what they’re doing.”

U međuvremenu, Toka Kahn-Clary plans to make his name in boxing next year. Prvi, iako, on mora otarasiti Lopez ove subote noć da zadrži zamah ide.

Pratite Kahn-Clary na Twitteru i InstagramuTokaKahnClary, ili prijatelj ga je na Facebooku u www.Facebook.com/tokakahn.