by Francisco Salazar
Featherweight contender Toka Kahn Clary is not letting a loss define his career. Instead, he has learned from it and moved on to bigger and better.
Clary has fought recently on network television, won a regional title belt, and has put together a string of victories. He hopes all that will lead to an eventual shot at a world title belt.
The southpaw Clary will face Emmanuel Dominguez of Mexico in a 10 round bout Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. The 10 round bout will be streamed live on CBS SportsLive OTT service (7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT).
The 25-year-old Clary (24-1, 17 knockouts) had won his last five bouts since a shocking opening round loss to gatekeeper Jhon Gemino in September of 2016. Clary did not resign with Top Rank, and after fighting on a few club shows, signed a promotional deal with Real Deal Boxing, which is run by former two-weight division champion Evander Holyfield.
In his last bout on Dec. 1, Clary stopped John Moralde of the Philippines, who defeated previously-unbeaten Ismail Muwendo on Saturday night. Clary has won his last five bouts and is currently ranked number 11 by the WBA.
Seth DeRobbio, who has managed Clary for about a year, could not be more satisfied where Clary is at in his career.
"Top Rank was great to Toka and we have nothing but great things to say about them," DeRobbio told Boxingscene.com Thursday evening. "(Saturday night) will mark Toka's fourth fight with Real Deal Boxing. Toka has rebounded from (Gemino) fight and become a legitimate contender."
Saturday night will mark Clary's first fight under the tutelage of trainer Freddie Roach. Clary has to travel from his hometown of Providence, Rhode Island to the famed Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, where he has received better sparring over the last several weeks.
Clary will have Roach and longtime trainer Peter Manfredo, Sr. in his corner against Dominguez.
"Peter will still be in Toka's corner. No one in England is Toka's size, so we traveled to Hollywood to have Toka spar against fighters his size. He has sparred A-level fighters. Contenders and unbeaten fighters, and he has learned a lot from Freddie."
Clary will take on Dominguez (22-6-2, 14 KOs), who resides in Aguascalientes, Mexico and has won six of his last seven bouts.
Clary's handlers believe he is ready for a world title shot, but an impressive victory over Dominguez may not guarantee him a shot against the likes of Gary Russell, Jr., Leo Santa Cruz, Abner Mares, or any of the elite fighters at 126 pounds.
"We'll fight anyone in the featherweight division," said DeRobbio. "The problem is, at this point, is the only way these fighters will face Toka is he becomes their mandatory. There is too much risk and no reward in facing Toka."
"The loss Toka suffered was a fluke thing. He has been able to bounce back. It happens to many fighters. Look at Danny Jacobs. Toka is a legit caliber fighter. He is a better boxer than anyone is giving him credit for."
Also on the Real Deal Boxing card, former world junior bantamweight title challenger Antonio Nieves (17-2-2, 9 KOs) will square off against Raynota Whitfield (28-2, 15 KOs) in an eight round bantamweight bout.
Welterweight Anthony Young (18-2, 6 KOs) will face Enver Halili (10-1, 3 KOs) in an eight round bout.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing