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Kermit Cintron: Quick and Efficient
By Sean Stowell (February 14, 2003)
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After talking to welterweight prospect Kermit Cintron, it’s obvious he gets right to the point, there’s not a lot of messing around. Seeing Cintron fight, it is also obvious he’s not messing around.
If there were two words to describe the 23-year-old from Reading, Penn. they would be “quick” and “efficient.” After 17 professional fights, he has 16 KOs and has fought a tidy 40 rounds. That’s an average of just over two
rounds per fight.
“I’m not looking to carry guys or go rounds to show I have endurance,” he told MaxBoxing.com. “I train hard in the gym, that’s where I do my learning. I’m not in the ring to take chances or show stuff to fans and that means taking guys out as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
Tonight on Telefutura, Cintron will take on Frankie Sanchez in Reading, Penn. He is expecting a large home crowd turn out, even if they only see a couple rounds. In his last fight which took place in Atlantic City, more than 220 fans made the 120-mile drive from Reading.
“It’s good to be home, I’ve been kind of a road warrior lately,” he said. “It motivates be to perform and put on a good show.”
Sanchez, who went the distance with Francisco “Panchito” Bojado in his last fight, dropping an eight-round decision, is 11-4-1 with 7 KOs. Cintron doesn’t care about Sanchez taking the highly touted youngster the distance, because this is a different fight, with a different fighter.
“I know he took Bojado the distance, but I’m not Bojado,” he said. “I have to use a hard jab in the first round and take his will in the first minute of the fight and do my best to take him out in a round or two.”
Cintron is very confident in his punching ability. He had hand surgery last October to correct a ruptured tendon over his middle finger that he hurt as an amateur.
“I found some knuckle guards on the Internet and I’ve been punching as I can to the head and body,” Cintron said. “I’ve caught some elbows from time to time and I haven’t had any problems.”
He’s avoided problems outside the ring as well, putting all his energy into his boxing career.
“I live a clean life,” he said. “I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and I don’t do drugs. I’ve never been in any trouble. Boxing is 24-hours-a-day for me. I am in the gym 5-6 days-a-week. The only day I always take off is Sunday.”
Cintron was first introduced to boxing by his uncle, former middleweight fighter Benjamin Serrano. He started pursuing boxing after his freshman year of college. Cintron was top amateur wrestler at William Tennet High School where he received scholarships to Wisconsin University and Ohio State but he got a full scholarship to Stevens Tech where ultimately ended up attending.
He was ranked 10th in the nation after his freshman year, but Stevens Tech cut the wrestling program, so he turned to boxing.
“I had a friend who knew a boxing trainer in Reading,” he said. “It was something I was always interested in. I tried it since I wasn’t wrestling anymore and it turned out to be the right choice.”
Tonight Cintron hopes to continue his quick and efficient ways in the ring, showing a national TV audience his punching power, making the right choices in order to take out his opponent quickly and efficiently.
“I believe I am the hardest puncher in my division,” Cintron said. “Nobody has seen me box much because the guys I’ve fought can’t take my power shots and I hope that continues.”
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E-Mail Sean Stowell at seanstowell@hotmail.com
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