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Rising Stars Lateef Kayode &
Luis Franco
On Display On ShoBox This Friday, Dec. 3
Lateef “Power” Kayode figures it’s just a matter of time
before he is stopped by a stranger beyond the corner of
Hollywood Blvd. and Vine near where he lives and is
recognized for knocking people out in the ring.
The Top-10 world-ranked undefeated cruiserweight and Freddie
Roach-trained Kayode (14-0, 13 KOs) is on the verge of
breakout stardom and SHOWTIME® boxing fans will have another
chance to catch this rising star on ShoBox: The New
Generation, Friday, Dec. 3, LIVE on SHOWTIME® (11:05 p.m.
ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from the Chumash Casino
Resort in Santa Ynez, Calif.
“I get recognized around my neighborhood but I want the
world to know me now,” said the 6-foot-2, 27-year-old Kayode
from Lagos, Nigeria, who will fight savvy veteran Ed “The
Georgia Thumper” Perry (17-4-2, 10 KOs) of Frankfort, Ind.,
in a 10-round cruiserweight main event. “The more people who
know me the better. Hopefully they will stop me now and say,
‘Hey, I saw you knock that guy out on SHOWTIME.’ ”
In the co-feature former Cuban Olympian Luis “La Estrella”
Franco (7-0, 5 KOs) also continues to make a name for
himself when he faces Eric “Outlaw” Hunter (15-1, 8 KOs) in
an eight-round super featherweight bout.
Having a world-class trainer like Roach in your corner
doesn’t hurt a young fighter’s budding profile. Some boxing
experts have tabbed Kayode, who is managed by Hollywood
writer and director Steven Feder and promoted by Gary Shaw,
one of the most intriguing cruiserweight prospects the
division has seen in years who only lacks a little bit of
seasoning. Roach, who trains the world’s best fighter Manny
Pacquiao and Kayode at the famed Wild Card Gym in Hollywood,
has been working with Kayode for almost two years.
Roach will once again be in Kayode’s corner on Friday night.
“Lateef has been blessed with a natural gift of power,” said
Roach, who was named Trainer of the Year by the Boxing
Writers Association of America in 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2009.
“He will fight for a world title someday. I’m not sure when
but he will get that shot. That’s what we’re working for
everyday.”
As far as adjusting to the new-found fame, Roach said some
fighters handle the limelight better than others. “He seems
to really embrace the notoriety and wants to be well-known.
Like so many things, it just comes naturally to him.”
The WBC ranked No. 6 and WBO No. 8-ranked Kayode is coming
off a sixth-round technical knockdown against Epifanio
Mendoza on a ShoBox undercard fight Oct. 15 at Buffalo Run
Casino in Miami, Okla. It was the 12th consecutive knockout
for the fighter dubbed “Power” who has continued to step up
his opposition and went the deepest (sixth round) he has
ever gone in his pro career in his last fight.
“Freddie’s been with Lateef since his third fight,” said
Feder. “We’re not calling Lateef a world champion yet or
watching tape of the Steve Cunninghams or the other top
fighters in the division. We’re just paying attention to the
fight that’s in front of us.
“Activity is one thing Gary (Shaw) has brought us. We needed
rounds. We needed experience. We were never telling him to
get the early knockdown. We were looking for experience. We
don’t walk in there telling him to knock the guy out. If he
has to go the distance he has to know he’s OK there. I don’t
put it in his head that he’s the knockout champion. Freddie
jokes with him all the time and tells him there’s no belt
for knockouts. There’s only one belt and that’s for the
world title.”
Added Kayode, who fought his first 10 fights as a
heavyweight, “Some people think I go into the ring to knock
the guy out. I don’t. I go into box. Of course everyone
wants to see the knockout but I have to be patient and know
it will come when it comes.”
In Perry, Kayode will face a veteran who is days away from
turning 35 and a six-year professional who is undefeated in
his last nine fights (7-0-1, 1 NSF). His last loss was by a
six-round split decision against former accomplished amateur
Nicolai Firtha in February, 2007.
“When it comes to experience, I think I’ve got him beat
hands down,” Perry said of Kayode. “Me seeing what Lateef
can do and knowing what I can do, this should be a good
SHOWTIME fight for everybody. That’s what we are –
entertainers. It should be a good test for him. I’ve had a
few tests, so I know what it takes. I know how a real test
feels, too.”
Kayode learned to fight on the mean streets of the Surulere
district of Lagos after being bullied. He would go on to
become the top Nigerian amateur heavyweight, winning gold
medals in Pan-African competitions in Ghana, Morocco and
Algeria. He tried to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games but
missed the competition and decided to turn pro instead.
Feder says Kayode has what it takes to make it all the way
and he couldn’t be happier leading the young man’s career.
He predicts it won’t be long now before he is known the
world over and not just in Hollywood. “Even the cops in town
know who he is,” Feder said. “He could talk his way out of a
ticket around there now. He’s a real likable kid. Inside the
ring I wouldn’t want to be in there with him but outside
he’s just a really great kid.”
Franco, currently ranked No. 13 in the IBF, is hoping his
career can go the same way as it has for his former Cuban
Olympic teammate and countryman Guillermo Rigondeaux, a
two-time Olympic gold medalist who recently won the WBA
junior featherweight title on the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio
Margarito undercard in just his seventh professional fight.
Franco had more than 400 amateur fights and was 2-2 in the
amateur ranks against former teammate Yuriorkis Gamboa. He
also has a winning record against another former teammate
Erislandy Lara, a fast-rising junior middleweight.
Franco defected in 2009 and currently lives in Miami. He is
coming off his best win as a pro in his last fight on Sept.
17 on ShoBox -- an eight-round decision win against Wilton
Hilario.
He is managed by Henry Foster, who also manages SHOWTIME
Super Six World Boxing Classic semifinalist Glen Johnson.
“This will be his first 10-round fight, but we’ve always
trained as if we’re fighting 10 rounds,” Foster said. “His
conditioning won’t be a problem.”
Foster said he planned to retire from the sport when Johnson
quit fighting, but Franco has given him a new lease on his
career calling him “the best boxing talent I have ever
encountered at this early of a stage.”
“The chance to manage Franco kept me in the game,” Foster
added. “Luis has great ring generalship acquired through
over 400 fights. He has hand speed equal to or better than
anyone else in his weight class. He is extremely elusive and
hits without getting hit in return. He has no fear and will
fight any opponent. All together, he’s just the whole
package. I feel Luis Franco will challenge for a world title
in 2011, possibly by his 10th or 11th fight.”
Hunter, 24, is a Philadelphia fighter who has won 10 fights
in a row since his only loss in January, 2007. In that fight
he lost a six-round split decision against Carlos Vinan but
said after the fight that he broke his hand in the first
round.
The event is promoted by Gary Shaw Productions.
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