| |
|
|
Career-Changing Opportunity For Unbeaten Super
Lightweight Mykquan Williams On Jan. 20 ShoBox
Last month, hours after receiving the disappointing news
that his first fight in 14 months had been scraped, unbeaten
East Hartford (CT) super lightweight prospect "Marvelous"
Mykquan Williams (15-0-1, 7 KOs) received word that instead
of fighting in relatively obscurity in Cancun, he would be
making his ShoBox: The New Generation" debut, January 20th
at nearby Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Williams, 22, will headline against undefeated Colombian
knockout artist Yeis Gabriel "El Tigre" Solano (15-0, 10
KOs) in the 10-round main event on SHOWTIME, airing live at
9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m., to kick off ShoBox's 20th season.
Mohegan Sun is only a 45-minute drive from Williams' home,
but his fan-base won't be there rooting him on,
unfortunately, because COVID-19 restrictions ban attendees.
ShoBox is renowned for building future world champions, 83
to date and counting, including Andre Ward, Errol Spence,
Jr., Nonito Donaire, Deontay Wilder, and Williams' fellow
Nutmeg State fighter, Chad Dawson.
"I was upset to learn a week before my fight in Cancun that
it was canceled," Williams explained. "I've been out of the
ring for a while. I had trained hard and was in the zone.
But the same day I found out that my fight in Cancun had
been canceled, I learned that I'd be fighting on ShoBox at
Mohegan Sun. It was a curse and blessing. The opportunity to
fight on ShoBox only a few weeks later, on a bigger and
better platform, is a great opportunity for me.
"At least I don't have to travel now and my opponent's
coming in, I believe, from California where he's training.
Fighting on ShoBox completely elevates my exposure. I have a
chance to show the nation, if not the world, who I am and
how good a fighter I am. I'll be showcasing my skills on a
great platform. It just came about. I think I'm the B side
fighter, but that doesn't bother me."
Williams' head trainer since he was an amateur and
throughout his 4 1/2-year pro career is Paul Cichon. "This
is like a blessing in disguise," Cichon commented. "We went
from losing the fight in Cancun and to Mykey now fighting in
the main event on ShoBox, It's great for Mykey and our team.
This change is perfect for us. If Mykey performs like he
think he will, doors will open-up for him once the gates
open for boxing, after he beats this kid who has a good
record. This is the right time!"
The 28-year-old Solano is a southpaw who is a former World
Boxing Association (WBA) Fedebol lightweight champion. He's
fought only once outside of Columbia or Mexico, back on
September 6, 2019 in his most recent action, when he won an
8-round split decision against 20-1 Elias Damien Araujo in
Iowa. Solano's other 14 opponents had an accumulative record
of 67-227-12.
"Mykey has fought better opponents," Cichon noted. "Solano
is a strong southpaw with a 15-0 record and 10 knockouts. We
expect him to come out blazing. I don't think he's fought
anybody of Mykey's caliber. Mykey has been moved much
better."
"I don't know too much about him other than he's a lefty and
coming up in weight," Williams added "They wanted to fight
at 135 and agreed to fight at 138. I don't have any issues
fighting southpaws. I've fought five left-handers."
Williams had been frustrated but he became more patient in
terms of being unable to fight during the pandemic. Because
he turned pro at 18, he's had 16 pro fights to date, and
he's still only 22, and experiencing a lost year doesn't
adversely affect him as much as older fighters.
"I'm still young and don't think about running out of time,"
Williams concluded. "There's nothing we could have done
differently during the pandemic.
Williams is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and managed by
veteran Jackie Kallen.
"I am thrilled that Showtime is giving Mykquan this
opportunity to show the boxing world what he can do," Kallen
remarked. "This is his coming out party and I think he'll
now begin to make some serious noise in the 140-pound weight
class. This is an important step on his journey toward a
world title. I'm very excited and proud of him."
If you believe in things happen for a reason, Mykquan
Williams could very well be "Marvelous" on Jan. 20th, and
his already bright career will be even more illuminated.
|
|
|
