By Jackie Kallen
Boxing fans have been clamoring for an American Heavyweight champion since the Tyson era. Wladimir Klitschko has dominated the division for over 14 years and is considered the #1 man in that weight class. He is from Kazakhstan.
Tomasz Adamek fights out of New Jersey, but is from Poland. Chris Arreola is American, but few see him as the next Ali. Deontay Wilder is being touted and, at 30-0, he certainly looks promising. He has a solid fan base already. Bermane Stiverne is living in Vegas, but is Haitian. He beat Arreola, which helped his stock rise, but he is already 35 and is not the future of the division.
Jonathan Banks is as American as a hot dog, but he already has a couple of losses (Adamek and Seth Mitchell). That certainly doesn’t rule him out, but he needs some big wins to climb the ladder all the way to the top.
Which leads me to a guy from California named Dominic Breazeale. He is 28 years old, stands over 6’6″, and is undefeated (8-0 with 8 KOs.) His nickname is “Trouble” and he could very well spell trouble for anyone who stands in front of him.
A former QB for UNC, he turned to boxing and succeeded immediately. I first saw him at The Rock, a gym in Carson, CA. He was part of the AAH program and impressed a lot of people. He won the Nationals at Super Heavyweight in 2012 and then turned pro in November 2012. None of his 8 opponents so far have left the ring on their feet. All were stopped.
Trained by John Bray, this guy might be the real thing. Obviously it’s hard to predict greatness after just eight fights. Admittedly, his early opponents have not been top names in the sport. But there is something appealing about Breazeale. He has a great smile, a powerful right hand, and is articulate and has a positive outlook.
This Friday night at Fantasy Springs Casino, Breazeale will fight 10-6-3 Homero Fonseca on an ESPN2 card headlined by Cornelius Bundrage and Joey Hernandez. Fonseca is not much of a puncher, so he will try to out-box Breazeale. Bray feel confident his man will prevail. He is, of course, looking for a KO. He is very high on Breazeale.
“Dominic is a great human being, a real pleasure to work with. I think Dominic has the
goods, athletic and a fighter at heart. I believe that he’s got all the
ingredients to be the heavyweight champion of the world. He’s a work in progress
and he’s got a lot to work with. Hands down the most teachable kid I’ve ever
worked with.”
I wish Breazeale (and Bray) all the luck in the world. They are
both classy men who share the same dream. Bray had a 15-3-2 record as a fighter,
so he really wants to see Breazeale do what he never did–become world champion.
Remember the name.
