British 19-year-old heavyweight prospect Leo Atang scores another KO on US debut
Leo Atang picked up another statement victory on his path to heavyweight glory in California this weekend.
The 19-year-old, signed to Eddie Hearn‘s Matchroom Boxing, knocked out 36-year-old four-fight professional Glen Williams on the undercard of Diego Pacheco’s destruction of Immanuwel Aleem.
Amazing Atang
Atang forced the stoppage in round two, backing Williams up against the ropes with a clean left before unloading shots to the head.
The Yorkshire man kept popping Williams with his right hand and with his opponent unresponsive, referee Ray Armendariz waved off the fight seconds later.
It was the first time Atang had fought on US soil and marked the seventh knockout of his fledgling career as he now sits at 8-0 as a pro.
Hearn will now be tasked with finding the right level of opposition Atang can move up to next.
Atang crashed through 40-year-old Fouad Shaili in one round last time out in Sheffield and has clearly outgrown who is currently being thrown at him.
But the 19-year-old, who has dismissed comparisons to Anthony Joshua at the early stages of his career, is in no rush to make it to the top.
“We’ll take as much time as we need,” Atang told talkSPORT.com back in April.
“People progress at different rates and stuff, but I’m happy with how it’s going at the moment.”
“We’re trying to slowly step up the opponents and the rounds as we go on.
“But eventually we’ll get to where we want to be.”
Pacheco vs Munguia?
Elsewhere on the card at Dignity Health Sports Park, 25-year-old Pacheco boxed Aleem’s ears off to defend his WBC Silver and WBO International super middleweight titles.
Pacheco, now 26-0, stopped Aleem in round 11 of their main event with a flurry of punches, having beaten up his fellow American for the majority of the bout.
The Californian called out WBA champion Jaime Munguia after his victory and described how he went about putting on a clinic against Aleem.
“I controlled with my jab, put my punches together, listened to my corner and we got the job done,” Pacheco said.
“I was just doing what Aleem gave me — I was reading him, studying him every round.
“As the fight went on, I saw different openings and I just took advantage of them.”
Asked what he wants next after the dominant display, Pacheco responded: “The best fight possible.
“Eddie Hearn and I, we’ve been talking about this for a long time, but this is a business and everything has to line up and make sense…
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Jaime Munguia — that’s a guy I’ve looked up to since I was a kid.
“I remember being in Mexico watching him win his first world title at 154lbs and ever since, I knew that was a possible fight for me down the line.”
Hearn added: “We’ve talked about this fight many times.
“For Los Angeles, is there a better fight than Diego Pacheco against Jaime Munguia for the world super middleweight title?
“That is a mega-fight here.”
Hearn said Team Pacheco will be back in November in the same LA arena ‘against another big name.’
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