Several prospects are starting to make a name for themselves
In a weekend that saw a great match up between Vasyl Lomachenko and Jorge Linares, we also saw some good young talent all weekend long. The future of the sport is looking mighty bright, with immense talent emerging.
Friday night we saw a 19 yr old Devin Haney basically put all his skills on display against Mason Menard. Haney was in complete control the entire bout basically picking Menard apart. Haney (19-0,13KO’s) is coming along great in his progression and it shouldn’t be long before we see him in a title bout. He will surely start to step up his competition but so far the young man has passed the eye test of many who have watched him box.
On Saturday we saw Teofimo Lopez (9-0,7KO’s) make quick work of Vítor Freitas, scoring a first round KO. Lopez was Yahoo Sports 2017 prospect of the year, a former 2016 Olympian for Honduras, has burst on the scene showing immense skills. The way he beat a game Juan Pablo Sanchez made believers out of many. He looks very promising and his stock just keeps on rising with every appearance he makes.
We also got a glimpse of a Welterweight that many feel could very well end up at Jr Middleweight in Carlos Adames. Although he is still very raw he showed some true offensive skills in the ring, imposing his will on Alejandro Barrera. He does need to work on his defense and could perhaps learn to move his head a bit more. Adames (14-0,11KO’s) is just 24 yrs old, my guess is he will spend this year working on his craft. You can see a glimpse of what he can be but there’s no need to rush him at all.
Michael Conlan is perhaps a more known name than of the ones previously mentioned. He is (7-0,5KO’s) a former Olympian who seems to be on the fast track, he’s already headlined a show at The Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden. This past Saturday he got some good rounds in against an opponent that came in to survive, rather than win in Ibon Larrinaga. Conlan did anything he wanted showed good movement and is now scheduled to fight back home in Belfast on June 30.
We also saw prospect of the year Jaime Munguia (29-0,25KO’s) become the WBO Jr Middleweight Champion of the World , walking through a tough Sadam Ali. It was Munguia’s first time fighting out of Mexico and boy did he make an impression. He destroyed Ali who basically didn’t have a chance. Munguia is a huge Jr Middleweight that packs a punch and has put all the Jr middleweights on notice.
Not only did we get a high level fight between Lomachenko and Linares but we got to see some really good prospects make a splash. There’s a lot of future fights to think about and the future seems to be coming sooner rather than later.
By: Wilson Urena
