Jonathon Banks is making his move. Next cruiserweight champ!

[Hitman932]

anybody remember any specific posters who said that castillo was going to beat wlad when they fought?

my favorite part of this matchup is the fact that a guy who so many people picked to beat wlad at heavyweight is going to get his ass kicked at cruiserweight by a guy with only 11 career fights.

it will really put into perspective how far people go to hate on klitshko and how ****** they are for predicting that this specific guy could have beaten him.

[The Coagulator]

Ive seen him at Kronk....

ive been telling everyone about this guy for awhile now. jonathon banks is 11-0 with 8 Ko's and prime to be the next cruiserweight champ before moving up to heavy.

he is managed by emmanuel steward and trained by javon hill, hopefully he will become the next great detroit fighter.

anyhow, the ****in big news.

he has signed to fight eliseo castillo 20-1-1 only loss coming to wladamir klitschko at heavyweight. watch this fight all of you *******s who predicted that castillo would beat wlad. hes about to get his ass handed to him by a guy with 11 career fights.

castillo may think this is another nice undefeated name to add to his record but is gonna get his ass stomped in NYC.

the fight is going to be on the david tua vs. gutierrez card.
looks like it will be the main event replacing the Shannon "***** *****" briggs vs. darroll wilson fight.

get ready for the cruiserweight version of wlad, banks is a monster!!!!!

and at the Palace and I know you are absolutely right..hail Kronk and Mr. Banks!

[Hitman932]

from *********, i thought this was a funny excerpt from the article...

...Kronk cruiserweight Johnathon Banks is the next in a long, proud line of fearsome Detroit power punchers and his appearances are quickly taking on the nervous, expectant mood of public executions. Tonight’s victim, Roosevelt Johnson, 4-5 (1), from Cleveland, was fortunate in a way. Banks dropped him with the first left hook he landed, but didn’t render him unconscious for fifteen minutes as he had previous Palace opponent, Abdul Shabazz.

26 seconds into the fight, Banks surgically moved Johnson into a corner, threw a right hand and then administered the ether with a sweeping left hook that landed right on the button. No count was necessary; allowing Johnson to fight on would have only gotten him more seriously injured. This was Banks’ fourth consecutive first round knockout. Those four opponents took Banks a combined 248 seconds to knock out and collectively they spent approximately 25 minutes asleep on the canvas.

[Hitman932]

from detroit free press....

Banks has been boxing at the Kronk since he was 15. Now he wants the title -- not just to make a name for himself, but to bring attention to the Kronk, a world-famous fighting club that has been struggling to stay open five days a week since January. That's when the city cut funding to the recreation center that houses the basement gym at 5555 McGraw.

"It's important to bring the championship home so that people see what's being developed at the gym," Banks said.

[Hitman932]

good fight analysis from fightwriter..c.o.m

Trainer/manager Emanuel Steward takes a chance when he puts his unbeaten
cruiserweight prospect Johnathon Banks in with the much more experienced Cuban Eliseo Castillo in a 10-rounder promoted by Cedric Kushner on Wednesday Night Fights.

Banks, a 24-year-old who has sparred extensively with heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko, was national PAL champion as an amateur and he has had things all his own way so far in his pro career with 11 wins in a row (eight opponents stopped, including seven first-round KOs).

The statistics are impressive but Banks is untested and taking a huge step up in class against Castillo, a clever, mobile, well-conditioned boxer who has won 20 of his 22 bouts with one draw, his only loss coming when he was knocked out in the fourth round by the much bigger and more powerful Wladimir Klitschko in Germany.

Castillo easily outpointed the strong and durable Willie Herring in a 12-rounder in his last bout although his biggest win came when he outboxed the former heavyweight champ Michael Moorer on Showtime a couple of
years ago. Even though Moorer had seen better days and looked bogged down by excess weight it was nonetheless an excellent performance by Castillo to outpoint him as comfortably as he did.

A glance at Castillo’s record shows he has beaten a string of opponents who might have been considered sensible tests for Banks at this
stage of the Detroit boxer’s career, journeyman sorts — some with winning records. He has been in competitive fights, including a 10-round draw with Sajad Abdul Aziz, who in his next fight went to Holland and blasted out that country’s once promising Don Diego Poeder in three rounds.

Yes, Emanuel Steward admits, it is a sudden jump in quality of opposition for Banks. "I normally would like to have a couple of in-between fights before going to this level of competition, but the [cruiserweight] division
is dead right now and the opportunity was too good to turn down,” Steward said over the phone from New York.

"Castillo is a very good, experienced, technical boxer but he's not an aggressive guy. It's a calculated risk — but it's a risk."

Banks is going to be in the sort of situation he has never been in before, fighting a televised main event in New York City against a boxer who has been in big fights and is coming in as a winning fighter.

It seems clear that Banks — described by Steward as boxer-puncher — is the bigger hitter but Castillo is slick and shifty. If Banks
finds himself being made to miss and getting hit with counters he could get frustrated, in which case Castillo could take command.

There is, though, a certain magic about the Kronk gym where Banks trains. He has been around world-class fighters in a competitive atmosphere. The very fact that he has boxed a goodly number of rounds with Wladimir Klitschko means that Banks must be able to take care of himself. The gym is not the
same as the real thing but after sharing the ring with the towering Klitschko it is unlikely that Banks will be intimidated by Castillo, although the occasion itself could be a little unnerving.

Emanuel Steward, with his great experience and deep knowledge of fighters' mental and physical makeups, would not have taken the match unless he felt at least reasonably sure his man was going to win. A loss would not be a disaster for Banks and most likely would come on points — a win and he is on the threshold of big things.

I think that Castillo should be the favourite because we do not know how good Banks is — it will be fun finding out.

[the_truth_1984]

Anyone that is associated with Manny Steward has to be pretty good.If Manny didn't think that Banks could beat Castillo I don't think they would put him in against him.My pick Banks W10.

[Hitman932]

Banks TKO4 Castillo

im so damn excited for this fight i think im gonna go to sleep so i dont have to think about it for a couple hours

[beez721]

ive been telling everyone about this guy for awhile now. jonathon banks is 11-0 with 8 Ko's and prime to be the next cruiserweight champ before moving up to heavy.

he is managed by emmanuel steward and trained by javon hill, hopefully he will become the next great detroit fighter.

anyhow, the ****in big news.

he has signed to fight eliseo castillo 20-1-1 only loss coming to wladamir klitschko at heavyweight. watch this fight all of you *******s who predicted that castillo would beat wlad. hes about to get his ass handed to him by a guy with 11 career fights.

castillo may think this is another nice undefeated name to add to his record but is gonna get his ass stomped in NYC.

the fight is going to be on the david tua vs. gutierrez card.
looks like it will be the main event replacing the Shannon "***** *****" briggs vs. darroll wilson fight.

get ready for the cruiserweight version of wlad, banks is a monster!!!!!

that monster sure didnt look too good in the 1st round

[LiLHopkins]

Banks looks like ****.

[TyrantT316]

Banks looks like ****.

I am usually more impressed with young prospects facing adversity and coming back impressively...many fighters on TV can box or show talent...not many actually show heart and maturity...Banks did