By Keith Idec
Todd duBoef doesn’t see the need to sugarcoat it.
Top Rank’s president wasn’t impressed by Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington’s most recent performance. The undefeated featherweight contender defeated Sulaiman Segawa by the score of 97-93 according to two judges September 27, but he didn’t resemble the potential star his promoters pegged him to become when he won their 10-round bout by majority decision on the Mikaela Mayer-Sandy Ryan undercard in The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Carrington can quickly atone for how he looked against Segawa (17-5-1, 6 KOs, 1 NC) on Friday, when the featherweight contender who was raised in the same neighbourhood – the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York – as Mike Tyson will square off against Australia’s Dana Coolwell (13-2, 8 KOs) on the Tyson-Jake Paul undercard at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“Obviously,” duBoef told Boxing News, “from a boxing perspective, any of the boxing purists and fans and loyalists that we have, that follow the sport, are going to evaluate his performance and analyze his performance. They’ll say, ‘Hey, he redeemed himself a ton from that New York show. He looked great.’ ”
DuBoef and the rest of Bob Arum’s Top Rank brain trust, who owns exclusive promotional rights to Carrington (13-0, 8 KOs), allowed him to fight on the Tyson-Paul undercard because the 27-year-old fighter stressed how important it would be for him as a lifelong admirer of Tyson. Though duBoef isn’t certain how it will impact Carrington’s popularity because he’ll fight so early on the undercard, he is hopeful that Carrington can regain some momentum heading toward 2025.
“Let’s be honest – I think most people were disappointed by his performance [against Segawa],” duBoef said. “I think he’s had some wonderful performances, and he looked flat. He looked a little off his game. And that happens in the arc of a fighter. That always happens.”
Carrington, who was named ESPN.com’s prospect of the year for 2023, will encounter an opponent in the right-handed Coolwell who has fought exclusively in Australia. Coolwell has dropped only a pair of split decisions to unbeaten boxers – Jake Wyllie (then 4-0) and Ender Luces (then 16-0) – but Carrington is considered a significant step up in opposition for the 25-year-old underdog.
“That was just part of his development,” duBoef concluded in reference to Carrington’s last fight. “There’s no excuses for it – it’s just part of it. It’s very common to see with fighters early in their careers, as they’re learning their way fighting eight rounds, 10 rounds and 12 rounds, fighting right-handers and southpaws, punchers and boxers and counter punchers, all of which they have to get used to.
“And he was flat. It is what it was. He had a flat performance. And I think now it’s on him to change perception, because people judge you based on your last performance. … We’re not very forgiving in the sport. We’re very critical. There’s no grey – it’s either black or white.”
Carrington-Coolwell will be streamed live on the YouTube channels of Netflix Sports and Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. Undercard coverage is scheduled to begin Friday on those platforms at 10:30 p.m. GMT in the UK and 5:30 p.m. ET in the United States.