-tag nrho cov duab courtesy of Mikey Williams / Sab saum toj nyob qib-
CRANSTON, RI (Kaum Ib Hlis Ntuj 25, 2015) – After his impressive second-round stoppage of Sergio “Cuatito” Lopez (19-10-1, 13 Kos) kawg rau hnub Friday yav hmo ntuj nyob rau hauv The Cosmopolitan ntawm Las Vegas, undefeated xiav-nti featherweight prospect Toka “T-Zoo” Kahn-Clary (17-0, 11 Kos) muaj teb kawm tiav los ntawm ib tug yim rau kaum-round fighter.
“”Kuv ua tau zoo yog zoo,” Kahn-Clary looked back on his knockout of Lopez. “I didn’t do anything to make it a difficult fight. I was a little concerned that my opponent came in overweight (128 phaus. daim ntawv cog lus hnyav tab sis Lopez tiv kev txom nyem 132.2 lbs.), but I didn’t think too much of it. I really wanted to go four or five rounds for some more experience, tab sis kuv muab nws cia nyob rau hauv lub thib ob round nrog ib txoj cai nuv, thiab coj nws tawm. (Lopez yog tsis tau teb cov lus tswb rau peb puag ncig.)
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| (L-R) Toka Kahn-Clary thiab referee Jay Nady |
“Kuv mas nws yeej npaj txhij rau 10-rounders. (Lub taub hau tus kws qhia) Peter (Manfredo, Sr.) yeej ib txwm muaj kuv ua ib tug ntau ntawm txias ua hauj lwm. Peb sparred ib tug ntau ntawm rounds rau yim-round fights, so I’ve been ready for 10-round fights. I won’t be fighting again until next year, tab sis kuv mam li yuav rov qab nyob rau hauv lub gym tom ntej no Monday.”
Ib tug dai kom zoo nkauj American pib xyaum ua uas muaj ib tug 131-11 cov ntaub ntawv, tseem ceeb los ntawm ib tug kub-puav pheej kev ua tau zoo nyob rau 2010 Lub teb chaws Golden Cov hnab looj tes sib tw, Kahn-Clary dhau rau ib tug txhaj tshuaj rau ua kom lub 2016 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team, xa pro peb xyoo dhau los.
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| (L-R) – Lub taub hau tus kws qhia Peter Manfredo, Sr. & Toka Kahn-Clary |
“Kuv xav hais tias Toka ua ib tug loj daim ntawv thiab thiaj li tau ua rau sab saum toj nyob qib (Kahn-Clary tus neeg pab txhawb),” Manfredo added. “They’re so high on him that they want to put him in a big fight. I told them to give us a 10-round fight first, tej zaum nyob rau hauv Lub ib hlis ntuj Lub ob hlis ntuj los yog, and then we can talk about him fighting a top guy. There’s no rush; nws tsuas yog 23.
“Toka’s really maturing. He still doesn’t have ‘man strength’ but he’s getting there. He always works hard. He spars hard with bigger guys. He doesn’t just beat up a sparring partner, nws ntaus li lub gym, three or four fighters a session. And most of the time he’s sparring bigger guys and using big gloves.”
Yug nyob rau hauv Liberia, the 23-year-old Kahn-Clary is a rising star with lofty expectations. “Kuv xav los sib tw nyob rau sab saum toj theem,” he explained. “Xyoo tom ntej, I will keep working hard and hopefully fight some decent named opponents. I’m not ready for the top guys in my division, tseem tsis tau, tab sis kuv mam li yuav muaj nyob rau hauv lwm xyoo.”
Ua raws li Kahn-Clary rau Twitter thiab InstagramTokaKahnClary, los yog phooj ywg nws nyob rau Facebook ntawm www.Facebook.com/tokakahn.