The Sultan of Slug: Jonas Sultan slugs his way to an upset win Saturday in New York

Last Saturday night, live from the Hulu Theatre, in Madison Square Garden, rough and rugged Jonas Sultan (18-5, 11 KO’s), upset previously undefeated, power punching, bantamweight contender Carlos Caraballo (14-1, 14 KO’s) via UD 10 in a thrilling slugfest that saw Caraballo up and down like a fiddler’s elbow throughout the night.

While Sultan would himself see the canvas, he dropped Carlos Caraballo 4 times, in rounds 2,3 6 and 9, to win the WBO Intercontinental bantamweight title. Despite the 4 knockdowns, the cards were tight with Sultan winning 94-93 across the board.

While the fans were certainly the winner on this night, witnessing an exciting back and forth war, the fight didn’t play out as scripted on paper. Sultan was never going to be an easy out for anyone. But, at 3-2 in his last 5, he was supposed to be a good test for the previously undefeated Puerto Rican, but nobody was betting their house he was going to pull off the win. Well, apparently Sultan didn’t get the memo because he didn’t show up to get a cheque and be on his way, he showed up to gut it out and win - and that he did.

Sultan, showing little regard for the fact he was facing a fighter who had stopped all 14 of his previous opponents, simply kept his foot on the gas all night and unloaded solid and left and right hooks that drilled and dropped Caraballo.

Despite vastly different records going into the fight, Sultan had a wealth of experience against world champion fighters that certainly played a role in his win Saturday night. He displayed the work ethic and confidence of a fighter who had logged rounds with some of boxing’s best.

Despite a glossy record, there was nothing on Caraballo’s resume that was going to rattle Sultan who had beaten current IBF world bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero and gone the full 12 with current IBF super fly champ Jerwin Ancajas, in a title shot back in 2018.

After the fight, Sultan, who trained alongside former foe Ancajas, under coach Joven Jiminez, said he felt his power and strength were going to be the difference in this collision.

"He was good, but I felt I’m stronger. This is boxing. This is war. And I came to win tonight. Caraballo is a tough man, but I wanted this one," said a happy Sultan.

Sultan, guided by MP Promotions’ Sean Gibbons, had Sean’s son Brendan working his corner, and the younger Gibbons was thrilled with the outcome.

“It was a great fight and a great win for Sultan”, said (Brendan) Gibbons, who was in camp with Sultan in preparation for the bout. “It was a gritty and gutsy performance after a really good camp, and he has put himself in line for a big fight down the road. Everyone is calling it an upset, but it wasn’t an upset to us. We came here to win, and Jonas did exactly what he came here to do,” he said.