Leo Atang justified the hype in his skilled debut.
The 18-year-old from York has repeatedly been in comparison with Anthony Joshua all through the build-up, and he lived as much as that billing with a formidable first-round stoppage in his maiden bow.
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His opponent, Bulgarian journeyman Milen Paunov (7-16), proved no match for the teenage sensation, who blasted the veteran away in two minutes and 29 seconds.
Atang was on his adversary like a rash from the off and dropped Paunov early doorways with a sickening physique shot.
The travelling fighter made his means again to his toes, however not for lengthy, as Atang continued to pour on the strain to power the stoppage in opposition to the ropes.
Atang’s debut will not have proved a lot about his inventory, given the extent of opposition he was in with.
Nevertheless, it did present that he can maintain his nerve underneath strain.
Hearn has repeatedly branded Atang ‘the subsequent Anthony Joshua’ within the lead-up to combat night time, whereas the Matchroom Boxing promotional machine has been put into overdrive for the teenager.
On Tuesday, at a Matchroom rebranding occasion in London, he joined Joshua and Frank Bruno on stage for a Q&A session the place he was launched as ‘the way forward for the heavyweight division’.
Atang admitted that there have been nerves heading into his first professional combat, however you would not have identified by watching his mature show.
“From assembly AJ on Tuesday to all of the build-up, there was quite a lot of strain, however I’ve embraced all of it,” mentioned Atang.
“Hopefully, I impressed everyone on the market.