Former IBF lightweight champion Paul Spadafora, aka "The Pittsburgh kid," kept his unbeaten streak intact and ran his record to a very impressive 46-0-1 with 19 knockouts in a win over Humberto Toledo Saturday night.
Spadafora looked like he hadn’t lost a step after 21 months out of the ring.
The Pittsburgh fighter won the matchup with his slick defense, ring generalship and devastating body attack. His opponent Humberto Toledo, who came into the bout sporting a record of 42 wins with only seven losses and two draws, was no pushover. Yet, Spadafora won by unanimous decision, with scores of 80-72, 80-72 and 79-73.
Spadafora’s trainer Tom Yankello thought that his fighter put on an A-plus performance in the fight. “He’s sitting down on his punches more, his reflexes are still there. There is no decline in reflexes or his speed,” an elated Yankello told B/R after the fight.
Yankello would like to see Spadafora get a chance to fight one of the big names in either the junior welterweight or welterweight divisions. “I am just hoping that these promoters out there will work with TNT Promotions. The big dogs: Golden Boy, Top Rank, they got all their superstars. Let them give Paul Spadafora a chance against one of their superstars and we will see what happens,” said a supremely confident Yankello. “I want to see who can beat this guy when he is on top of his game.”
Spadafora believes there is no need for any tune-up fights and that he’s ready for the top fighters in the world now. “The better the competition is, the better I am going to get. I am 46-0. I am ready now. That’s how I feel,” Spadafora said in an post-fight interview conducted by B/R.
“I want to fight the best in the world, whoever the best is. Here’s how I looked at it: whoever is supposed to be an animal, I want to fight them. If it’s (Danny) Garcia (WBA and WBA Jr. welterweight champion) I want to fight him. If it’s(Paulie) Malignaggi (WBA welterweight titleholder), I want to fight him. Anybody who is supposed to be that dude, I want to fight him,” Spadafora said.
Spadafora’s promoter Roy Jones Jr. was very impressed with Spadafora’s performance. “Spaddy looked wonderful, he got me inspired. He got me to want to go home and get back to the gym Monday,” said the happy promoter to B/R.
According to Jones, the plan is to have Spadafora back in the ring again in early October and then again in late November.
If Spadafora wants to be considered for an eventual shot at the Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao sweepstakes, he will need to get a couple more impressive wins under his belt.
A good test for Spadafora could be the recently rejuvenated junior welterweight gatekeeper and former WBO titleholder DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley. With an impressive win over Corley, Spadafora could serve notice to the boxing world that he is indeed back.
“Listen ‘Chop Chop’ is a great fighter, like I told you, anybody that they tell me to fight, I’ll fight,” said Spadafora. “If it’s ‘Chop Chop,’ if it’s Godzilla, it doesn’t matter who it is, I am ready to fight.”
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