BoxingScene.com
Daquan Arnett has looked impressive so far as a pro.
A pair of unbeaten prospects with crowd-pleasing styles will find themselves in uncharted territory on Saturday when Daquan Arnett and Chris Pearson travel to Sacramento for the first time to face separate foes.
The Fox Sports Net-televised card will take place in the city’s Memorial Auditorium, and both men spoke to BoxingScene.com about their upcoming appearances on the undercard in the California capital city.
FLORIDIAN ARNETT
FACES RODRIGUEZ
Arnett (7-0, 5 KOs) has blown away his last three opponents
with a daring style, standing in front of them and slipping shots en route to
devastating finishes with the help of a heavy right hand and left hook to the
ribcage.
Heading into his next six-round assignment against Arturo
Rodriguez (12-12, 8 KOs)—a man 17 years his senior—the 19-year-old junior
middleweight still feels that there’s room for improvement, even after his last
bout, a fourth-round stoppage of Jesus Tavera.
“I’ve been working on taking my time a little more, and
picking my shots better,” Arnett said.
“I understand that every guy isn’t going to get out of there with one
shot. I have to go to the body better
and break guys down. If I use my levels
and go up and down, eventually, I’ll get them out of there.”
For this fight against Rodriguez, Arnett hasn’t done
anything special in training camp except continuing to sharpen the tools he
already has at his disposal.
“I need to just keep getting better, faster, stronger,” he
said. “I have to keep tightening up on
punches and working on different styles.
Overall, I’d say [I need to work on] changing my pace and getting better
as an all-around fighter.”
With the Golden Boy and television executives likely to
attend Saturday’s show, Arnett is aware of the impetus to put on a memorable
performance.
“Of course,” he said.
“This is a sport where you don’t want to just win, you want to entertain
while doing it. You want to give the
fans knockouts because that’s what they pay to see, and I understand that. I know a lot of people are going to be there
in Sactown watching this card and I definitely want to impress.”
A native of Winter Park, Fla., which is located in the
Orlando metro area, the teenage sensation has drawn motivation from another
local fighter.
“I grew up watching Andre Berto go from amateur to a world
champion,” he added. “He’s a pretty good
friend of mine. I definitely look up to
him as a fighter. I represent Orlando,
so come out and watch me. I put on a
good show.”
OHIOAN PEARSON MEETS
GEDEON
Pearson has also blown through his opposition to date.
Pearson (5-0, 4 KOs) has enjoyed a similar trajectory so
far, utilizing a destructive right hook out of the southpaw stance to score
stoppages in all but one of his first five pro bouts.
“Every day I’m trying to develop,” said the 21-year-old
native of Trotwood, Ohio. “I’ve been a
lot more seasoned since I turned amateur.
The pace is a lot different, especially moving up to six rounds. I’m looking forward to becoming a world
champion, but it’s up to me to put in the work to be in a position to
accomplish these goals.”
The former U.S. national amateur champion will face fellow
undefeated fighter Frank Gedeon (4-0, 3 KOs) in a six-rounder after knocking
out Christian Nava last month.
“I’ve actually seen him fight in the amateurs before,”
Pearson said. “He’s a tall guy, southpaw
like me. He seems to have some good pop
in his left hand.”
Training at The Rock Boxing Gym in Carson, Calif., Pearson
has made the Golden State his second home after competing in the World Series
of Boxing for the Los Angeles Matadors before turning pro.
“I think seven fights a year is a decent pace,” he
said. “I’d like to fight every
month. There’s only so much you can do
in the gym, so I want to stay busy and step up.
I’m not really interested in fighting four and six-round fights. I want to fight eight and ten-rounders, so
I’ll be ready for title fights when they come around.”
Pearson’s last two displays of power have taken place near the
middleweight limit, but he wants to make it clear where he plans to ultimately
campaign.
“I’m definitely a ’54-pounder,” he said. “The guys they’ve been finding for me lately
are fighting up at 160, so I’ve been fighting there, but I can make 154 pretty
easily.”
With his trip to Northern California imminent, Pearson is
preparing himself for a multitude of scenarios on fight night.
“My past few fights, I’ve been getting in top condition with
my coach Manny Robles, so I’m ready to get him out of there or if it goes all
six [rounds],” he said. “Overall I’m
looking forward to the opportunity to fighting in Sacramento and making some
new fans. I appreciate all the support.”
Daquan Arnett can be found on Twitter and Instagram:
@Daquanarnett. Chris Pearson also has a
Twitter account: @_Chrispearson.
Ryan
Maquiñana writes a weekly boxing column for CSNBayArea.com. He is a full member of the
Boxing Writers Association of America and the Ratings Panel for Ring Magazine.
E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com,
check out his blog at Norcalboxing.net, or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.
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