An 'O' Had to Go; Kennedy Impresses Peltz

An 'O' Had to Go; Kennedy Impresses Peltz
By Steve Kim (Aug 13, 2008)

It's not often in today’s game that you see two young, undefeated prospects battle it out. But that's precisely what you had on July 18th at the New Alhambra in Philadelphia when super bantamweight Teon Kennedy (8-0) faced off against Thomas Snow (10-0).

Nowadays, you see this about as often as non-title fights, 15-rounders, boxers without their whole entourages in the ring before bouts, and rosin on the canvas. But there was a time when managers and promoters weren't nearly as hesitant or fearful of matching their young prospects against other promising fighters.

"Sure, you see it less because it's like every high school and college basketball player thinks they're going to play in the NBA," explained veteran promoter Russell Peltz, who handles the career of Kennedy. "Every kid who turns pro thinks they're going to get on HBO. So they get these managers and accountants and lawyers who just feed them a succession of easy opponents, managers who buy fights on promoters’ cards and then get the opponent themselves. Because all they can see is HBO, and the fighter’s development is stagnated.

"And the only reason - and I've said this before - that some of them actually succeed is because by the time they get to HBO, the guy in the other corner was brought up the same way."

Snow, who hails from Capitol Heights, Maryland, was a two-time National Golden Gloves semi-finalist. His early record was built up against rather soft opposition, but as Peltz pointed out, just about every fighter today is matched soft early on versus cannon fodder. And on this night, Snow became the cannon fodder, as he was blown away in two rounds in impressive fashion by Kennedy, who showed off his vast array of skills that have some in Philly comparing him to the likes of Jeff Chandler.

One observer that came away impressed was Peltz, who throws around compliments (even towards his own fighters) like manhole covers, as they say.

"I think it was a breakout fight for him and it was a breakout fight for me because he put everything together that people had been telling me about him, that I hadn't really felt since his first two or three fights," admitted Peltz. "And I'm not saying that Thomas Snow's the greatest fighter that ever lived, but he did have a good amateur background. Even though the guys he had beaten as a pro were not much, you couldn't ask anymore from Kennedy than what he did."

Kennedy's focus and preparation had concerned the promoter in the past. The lure of the streets and outside temptations are always lurking, and it was just a few fights ago that Kennedy was about an hour late to the arena for one of his fights.

But for this outing, Peltz says, "He got in top shape and he got the guy out of there right away. If it weren't for the fact that you need 12 fights to be ranked by the USBA, I would put him in for the vacant super bantamweight title tomorrow."

This performance was a far cry from his eight-round decision victory over Castulo Gonzalez in early March, which was televised nationally on Telefutura.

"Absolutely," agreed Peltz. "He started off terrific in the first round and then he just wore down. That was one of my biggest concerns about Teon, his life outside the gym, that he wasn't taking it seriously, he wasn't in the best condition."

Peltz makes no bones about it, having a smaller fighter on the east coast means they have to move quickly and take some risks.

"A black, east coast fighter," he clarifies. "Let's be straight about this. Boxing east of Chicago is not that healthy, and in the lighter weight classes, it's all controlled by Hispanics and Asians. It's not like in the days of Jeff Chandler, where you had network TV and a guy could actually be built up against solid opposition. These guys have to be on the fast track.

"With a guy like Teon Kennedy, for me to get any return we basically have to win a world title. So who wants to fuss around maneuvering a fighter in that weight class? Let's find out if he can fight."

The immediate plan is for Kennedy to fight in September in Delaware and to come back to the New Alhambra in October.

“I gotta get him as many fights in as short a period of time as possible. He's willing to fight a six-rounder off TV in his next fight, just so he can get up to 12 fights and get rated," says Peltz. "And if we can get him rated by the USBA, if I can get him in the fight for the USBA title, that gets him ranked in the world. It's gotta be quick."

(Kennedy-Snow can be viewed on Max-TV)

MID-WEEK FLURRIES

Heavyweight Kevin Johnson's supposed 'step-up' fight will come against 'The Atlantic City Express', Bruce Seldon, on September 5th in AC. I wonder after that if his next 'step-up' will come against Jersey Joe Walcott....Seriously, I'd rather watch soccer than Olympic boxing. I'm dead serious.....I'm already hearing complaints over the judging in the Olympics. All I can say is, well, you can't blame the Koreans this time around....I hear that Chris Arreola will perform in late September before his Thanksgiving weekend appearance on HBO.....Is the theme song for the Spanish Olympic basketball team, "I Think I'm Turning Japanese”?.....Young heavyweight Travis Kauffman will headline a show at the Riveredge Hotel and Restaurant in Reading, PA on September 13th. His nickname on the press release is 'GW Hope'. I'm assuming that doesn't stand for Great Western.....Just my opinion, I can't wait to see light heavyweight Tavoris Cloud against the likes of Chris Henry and Adrian Diaconu in the future. But for now, I think a bout against Yusaf Mack would be a good solid test.....So is Rau'shee Warren for or against open scoring in the Olympics now?

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E-Mail Steve: k9kim@maxboxing.com

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