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By Cliff Rold - There is only one fighter to grace three US Olympic teams.
The same fighter is the only US boxer ever to exit the Olympics three times in his first fight. 28-year old Rau’Shee Warren (13-0, 4 KO) won his share of accolades over the years. Flyweight Bronze medals at the 2005 and 2011 World Championships bookended a Gold medal in 2007. For some reason, the Olympics just didn’t work out.
Warren was only 17 the first time through, losing to eventual Gold Medalist Zou Shiming in what everyone could chalk up to a learning experience. One-point losses in each of his next two appearances were heartbreaking and head scratching.
This Sunday, Warren has a chance to put that all behind him and he has twelve rounds without amateur scoring to get it done. Making a big step up in competition, Warren challenges WBA Bantamweight titlist 31-year old Dominican Juan Carlos Payano (16-0, 8 KO) in a Sunday prime time affair (Bounce TV, 9 PM EST/6 PM PST).
Win and Warren will be the first African-American titlist at 118 lbs. since Tim Austin had a nice run as IBF champion from 1997-20003. Adding something to the storyline, Warren and Austin are both from Cincinnati.
This being the PBC, which doesn’t seem much interested in geography, they won’t be fighting anywhere near Ohio. Instead, they will lock horns at the arena made famous among wrestling nerds by WWE’s excellent “NXT” show, Full Sail University. Payano fights out of Miami, so perhaps that is the thinking.
Maybe a ‘this is awesome’ chant will break out?
It’s an intriguing fight on paper either way. Payano is the more experienced professional of the two, though neither has yet been twelve rounds. A development win over veteran Luis Maldonado and a title win, shortened to six by a cut, over the outstanding Anselmo Moreno give Payano some ring maturity. Payano’s aggression and punching power make him dangerous for a fighter who saw far better in the unpaid ranks than he has yet as a professional. [Click Here To Read More]
The same fighter is the only US boxer ever to exit the Olympics three times in his first fight. 28-year old Rau’Shee Warren (13-0, 4 KO) won his share of accolades over the years. Flyweight Bronze medals at the 2005 and 2011 World Championships bookended a Gold medal in 2007. For some reason, the Olympics just didn’t work out.
Warren was only 17 the first time through, losing to eventual Gold Medalist Zou Shiming in what everyone could chalk up to a learning experience. One-point losses in each of his next two appearances were heartbreaking and head scratching.
This Sunday, Warren has a chance to put that all behind him and he has twelve rounds without amateur scoring to get it done. Making a big step up in competition, Warren challenges WBA Bantamweight titlist 31-year old Dominican Juan Carlos Payano (16-0, 8 KO) in a Sunday prime time affair (Bounce TV, 9 PM EST/6 PM PST).
Win and Warren will be the first African-American titlist at 118 lbs. since Tim Austin had a nice run as IBF champion from 1997-20003. Adding something to the storyline, Warren and Austin are both from Cincinnati.
This being the PBC, which doesn’t seem much interested in geography, they won’t be fighting anywhere near Ohio. Instead, they will lock horns at the arena made famous among wrestling nerds by WWE’s excellent “NXT” show, Full Sail University. Payano fights out of Miami, so perhaps that is the thinking.
Maybe a ‘this is awesome’ chant will break out?
It’s an intriguing fight on paper either way. Payano is the more experienced professional of the two, though neither has yet been twelve rounds. A development win over veteran Luis Maldonado and a title win, shortened to six by a cut, over the outstanding Anselmo Moreno give Payano some ring maturity. Payano’s aggression and punching power make him dangerous for a fighter who saw far better in the unpaid ranks than he has yet as a professional. [Click Here To Read More]
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