Dorticos Already Back In Gym After FOTY Win Over Kalenga

By Jake Donovan

MIAMI -- Yunier Dorticos could have spent his Monday any other way than going to work, yet it was just another day in the office as far as he was concerned.

The unbeaten 30-year old from Miami by way of Cuba was the first one to arrive at Herman Caicedo’s boxing gym in Miami on Monday. His presence came as a bit of surprise, as he is fresh off of an interim cruiserweight title win over Youri Kalenga, scoring a 10th round win over the weekend in France. It was a brutal slugfest, one already being hailed as the leading contender for 2016 Fight of the Year, with both boxers absorbing massive punishment before Dorticos closes the show early in round ten.

His career-best performance was not without its perils. The visiting boxer was hurt in the opening round, forced early on to switch to Plan B and then withstand a mid-rounds rally from his opponent which made for fantastic two-way action.

“You always say you prepare for a tough fight, but of course you do your best to avoid taking punishment if you can. I could not, so I had to push through to get this win,” Dorticos (21-0, 20KOs) told BoxingScene.com on Monday. “In the very first round, Kalenga hit me with a wicked shot in my upper rib area on my left side.

“That took away my best weapon, my left hook and my hook, left uppercut combination. The adjustment I had to make was to start landing the right hand.”

He’d land it virtually at will, dropping Kalenga with an uppercut in round two that would have punched a hole through a brick wall. The 28-year old Congolese boxer from France – perhaps fighting through pride for his adopted countrymen – recovered and battled back, but had absorbed far too much punishment to withstand the final right hand shot that left him out on his feet at the time referee Raul Caiz Jr. stepped in to intervene.

“I was very surprised that he was able to get up after the way I dropped him, and that he was able to continue and fight me back the way he did,” Dorticos admits. “It just goes to show the championship level talent I was in there with, and the type of fighters I want to continue to face in the ring. Without a doubt, this was the toughest test I’ve had.”

With the win, he now becomes the mandatory challenger to the winner of a forthcoming battle between Denis Lebedev and Beibut Shumenov, both of whom posted separate wins on Saturday.

In the meantime there exists room for rest and physical rehabilitation, along with any celebration he chooses to plan. Apparently, he’s choosing to spend it the same way he does any other day – in the gym with his team, preparing for his next fight.

“No matter how you prepare for a fight, you’re never fully prepared for the toughest one of your career. Without a doubt, this was the toughest test I’ve had,” Dorticos states. “The truth is, though, that this is my home, this is my life.

“It’s no secret that I’m in pain, it was a brutal fight. But it’s overcome by happiness and appreciation that drives me. I’m here with my family when I’m at the gym, this is my Zen, this is where I find peace.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Follow his shiny new Twitter account: @JakeNDaBox_v2