KeAndre Leatherwood and Hugo Centeno: "This is not a game"
By Gabriel Montoya, MaxBoxing (March 8, 2013)
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While there may be bigger, more publicized or divisionally relevant
fights happening this weekend, that doesn’t always equate to being the fight of
the week. For me, the fight between Hugo ‘The Boss” Centeno and KeAndre
Leatherwood televised by Showtime’ Shobox: the New Generation is as intriguing
a match as you can make.
“The Boss” Centeno, 17-0, 9 knockouts, is an Oxnard, CA
native promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and managed by Joel De La Hoya, the
brother of Oscar. Centeno was one of those kids you’d see as an opener on a Golden
Boy Fight Night Club card or at the Marriot Hotel in Irvine card. Trained by
his father with no manager or promoter to speak of early on, Centeno has fought
himself into his contracts with both the manager and promoter De La Hoyas.
Heading into this fight, one opponent after another passed
on the chance to get at Centeno and the position he has earned on cable TV. Perhaps
it’s his unnatural height for junior middleweight or his long reach (6’1” 78”)
or the backing he has but it took some time chasing down an opponent.
“Daquan Arnett, 10-0 6 knockouts,” Centeno said when asked
who turned him down as an opponent on a recent episode of leaveitintheringradio.com. “He is with Al Haymon. From what I know he called me
out. I’d been training with Kid Chocolate [WBO middleweight champ Peter
Quillin) helping him get ready for his world title fight. So I was already
getting the ball rolling. After I signed the contract, they declined it. A few
others declined it. So KeAndre stepped up to the plate.”
“Lightning” Leatherwood, a 12-1-1 with 8 knockouts, is a
prospect out Birmingham, Alabama is on a three-fight win streak. His sole loss
was a December 2011 stoppage loss to John Jackson. Off that performance, New
York-based promotional firm Boxing 360 run by Dr. Mario Yagobi signed
Leatherwood, citing at the time he saw something special in the young fighter.
Four fights, three wins and a draw later, Leatherwood and his promoter jumped
at the chance to face Centeno.
“I don’t really need to know a whole lot about him,” said
Leatherwood on the same episode of LIITR radio. “I’d been in the gym already,
training hard. He really was a mystery to me because I had never heard of this
guy before. But when I got the call there was no hesitation. Soon as I got the
call I told them to send the contract. I let my promoter do his job. When [Dr.
Yagobi] called me, he said it was a great fight for us, a great opportunity. In
the beginning, I thought I was the co-main but now I found out I’m headlining
the card. I am just happy, you know? Happy that I am getting to showcase my
skills on national TV, get a lot of exposure and give a lot of people a chance
to see me who haven’t before. It’s going to be a great performance by me.
Everybody better be on the lookout. It’s going to be an explosive performance.”
Trained by his father Pete, Leatherwood believes in the old
school hard work and dedication mentality. Like Centeno, Leatherwood had been
preparing for a series of fights that had fallen through for various reasons. When
he got the call for this one, he had been prepping for an eight round fight.
This being a ten round fight, Leatherwood saw no problem with extending his preparation
to compensate for the extra rounds. As for his eight round fight, this was
easily a bigger opportunity.
“In all honesty, like my promoter put it to me, He said ‘You
can’t question what God has for us. You weren’t supposed to get those fights.
You maybe could have gotten cut, head butt, or injured and then we wouldn’t be
able to get this big fight that actually meant something, you know what I mean?
The other fights were like career-building types of fights to learn stuff in.
Like you said, you are happy me and Hugo are fighting, I am definitely happy
about it. It’s a fight that could make a statement. I am taking this fight to
make a statement.”
This is not an easy win showcase fight for either man. It is
a chance to show the world they can be contenders by beating someone just as
skilled and hungry as they are. For Centeno, the fight represents the
confidence his team has in him.
“I don’t feel the pressure. I feel more confident because [Joel
De La Hoya] sees something that I might not see,” said Centeno who explained it
was De La Hoya who told him it was time to step up to ten rounders. “He
believes in me that I can go those ten rounds and he has confidence in me. He
sees that and he wants to show the rest of the world.”
Part of that confidence has come from the work Centeno has
gotten in the gyms of boxing’s hot bed known as southern California. In
particular, Centeno has gotten some serious sparring work in at the Wild Card
in Hollywood, CA.
“I feel like I have developed a lot mentally,” said Centeno.
“Before, I feel I used to sell myself short. I am more capable of doing than
what I gave myself credit for. Working with Kid Chocolate, Michael Medina,
[Nobu] Ishida, Lucky Boy [Wale Omotoso] it just gave me the confidence and gave
me that next level of confidence. I have matured a lot mentally.”
Centeno’s growth showed that more than ever in his last
fight against Allen Conyers. It was a surgical performance from the most
professional prizefighter version of Centeno this writer had seen to date. He
broke down Conyers, a veteran who gave James Kirkland his first knockdown on
Shobox in 2007. Conyers is a solid proving ground. Centeno dropped him in the
first round and thoroughly dominated until Conyers his corner ended things
after the sixth frame.
“That was a very significant fight,” said Centeno. “[Allen
Conyers] is a veteran fighter and he is been up against tough opposition. And
you know, after I hurt him in the first round and he still came back and
survived. He was going pedal to the metal every single round. He caught me a
few times, nothing to where I was buzzed or hurt but it taught me to never let
my guard down no matter how hurt an opponent is.”
When asked to break down the other, the answers were very
different. Centeno has a quiet confidence. He’s just discovering how good he
can be. Out of the ring, he is gentleman who prefers to let his fists do the
talking.
“He’s a strong fighter,” said Centeno of Leatherwood. “He comes
out and leaves it it’s all in the ring. He’s got a lot of experience. He knows
what he is doing up there. He’s not some bum or a journeyman. He is coming to
win and I know he is coming for my undefeated record. But I’m ready.”
On the flipside, Leatherwood is not shy with his assessment.
Also a gentleman, the fighter in him comes out readily.
“I am looking at his physical attributes. He got kind of a
frail frame. He’s long and lanky. His punching power is very subpar. His speed
level, he has decent speed but I don’t feel like if we get in there and
exchange, he‘s going to be able to really keep up with me. I am going in there
to break this guy down,” assessed Leatherwood who stands 5’10”.
While veteran fighters like Conyers can help a fighter
learn, they don’t always provide the full adversity needed to grow into a full-blown
contender or champion. Leatherwood recognizes that lack of experience in
Centeno and hopes to exploit it.
“In all honesty, I don’t see this fight going the distance.
The guy is frail, he can’t punch. He really has nothing to keep me off his ass
and I got to see if he can take what I got to give,” said Leatherwood. “I want
to see if he will be able to take the punishment I am going to put on his body.
I am going to see if he can take a shot on the chin because nobody has seen how
this guy reacts to a nice chin shot. Nobody has really tested this guy’s heart.
I am going to put him through some adversity. I am not going to go through and
just put on a good show. I’m not going to California for that. I could stay
home and do a decent fight on a local show. This is not a show. This is
serious. I got mouths to feed. So I am getting in there to take care of my
kids. I am putting my life on the line and I am taking it as that. This is not
a game.”
Both men have the ability to box and brawl. But for Centeno,
who is 6’1” to Leatherwood’s 5’10”, his zeal for brawling will only benefits
the smaller man who wants to get inside.
“Definitely I love to mix it up,” said Centeno. “Boxing
would be a smarter and easier way out sometimes to make that easy win. But
something in my blood, I like to exchange. Get in my three or four punches and
then get back to boxing.”
Shobox is about taking prospects to the next level by
pitting them against each other. Winner moves on. Loser rebuilds at a lower
level depending on how the fight plays out. Both men clearly understand that
preparation so as to be able to jump on every opportunity created or presented will
be the keys to success.
“We’ve put together a game plan, “said Leatherwood. “We are
going to expose a lot of things. We are going to put him in a lot of uncomfortable
situations and see how he reacts. His chin still hasn’t been tested. Whether he
has it up in the air or wherever, if I touch him on it he’s going to feel it.
They don’t call me ‘Lightning” for no reason. I feel like I got some of the fastest
hands in the division, I just haven’t gotten a chance to really show it yet,
you know what I mean? I’m definitely declaring war. I am not coming to play. I
am coming to handle business. I am going there like my life is on the line. I don’t
know what Hugo fights for but I got two kids. I got mouths to feed. So you got
a lot to come up against because that’s personal. If somebody coming to take
food off your table, that’s personal to you, right? Hugo is trying to take food
out of my kids’ mouth because if I lose this fight, I am going in the other
direction. I can’t let that happen. Hopefully when I put on this clinic, Showtime
will have me back real soon.”
Centeno fought six times last year and then had a full training
camp to prepare him for this his first ten round distance fight. Like
Leatherwood, he is staring through an open door. It’s time for one of them to
walk through it.
I feel like this past year has helped me find myself more
and what my craft is,” said Centeno. “Early in my career, I fought a lot of
fighters who would help me build my record per se. It didn’t really teach me as
much you know with knockout after knockout. Then when I started putting in
those rounds and started learning little things, little tricks in the ring, I
started learning my craft a little more of what I am capable of doing and I
feel it is taken me to the next level.”
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