Teon Kennedy To Face Tough Comeback Test Against Carlos Vinan
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Correspondent
Teon Kennedy (17-2, 7 knockouts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, versus Carlos Vinan, 10-9-5, 2 knockouts, Newark, New Jersey by way of Zamora, Equador, Junior Lightweights
Fight fans, stay in your seats, and don’t leave for popcorn. Teon Kennedy is going to knock Carlos Vinan out within three rounds. I predict an early finish as Teon wins.
Veteran super bantamweight and fan favorite Teon Kennedy, inactive for a year after his unsuccessful WBA world title challenge against Guillermo Rigondeaux in Las Vegas, will return to the ring on June 1, 2013, against the always dangerous Carlos Vinan, in the ten round main event of an eight bout Peltz Promotions card at Bally’s Event Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on June 1, 2013.
Three large questions loom on the horizon with regards to Teon’s comeback attempt: one, how will Teon fair at the higher weight division of super featherweight at 130 pounds, eight pounds higher than his last bout, and the heaviest weight of his career; two, what style changes and self realizations has Teon made in terms of adjustments to better prepare himself for this bout; and three, will Teon regain the emotional state of mind he had before he stopped Francisco Rodriguez in the tenth round in 2009 at the Blue Horizon in Philadelphia, as Teon has not been the same since Rodriguez died 48 hours after the bout, a tragedy which must be overcome.
First, Teon is going up in weight class against Vinan. All 24 of Vinan’s pro bouts have been between 128 and 136 pounds, so he knows the higher weights better. Teon has got to be ready to fight as a full fledged 130 pound super featherweight / junior lightweight, which is two divisions higher than he fought in the past. Switching weight classes is a major adjustment for Teon, so his game plan will be important.
Secondly, Teon Kennedy’s people underestimated Guillermo Rigondeaux’s experience. Rigondeaux, it can be said, had more fights in one year in the amateurs than Kennedy and most other fighters have had in the pros. Teon was not ready for Rigondeaux, that’s the way it was, that’s the way I see it. Against Rigondeaux, referee Russell Mora should have stopped it after the fifth knockdown and he wisely did stop it, that’s the way it was. Teon wasnot hurt, but he did not have enough experience to go up against a seasoned fighter like Rigondeaux in a world title bout.
Teon’s opponent, Carlos Vinan, is a veteran ‘B’ lightweight fighter who’s been around the block, who is going to test the fighters he faces to see what they’ve got. Vinan has faced a who’s who from Reymundo Beltran to John Molina. Eleven of Vinan’s opponents had a combined record of 86-0-6 at the time he fought them between 2005 and 2011, a high level. Vinan’s going to know what you’ve got and what you don’t in short order, so a fighter has to be prepared to do battle with him.
Vinan’s strategy is to walk forward and force an inside war while smothering his opponents and not giving them room to breathe, or get to the outside to box at a distance. Vinan’s flaw is he is strictly a one dimensional fighter who walks forward, tries to walk his opponents down and box them-without even walking behind the jab. Vinan tends to punch wide on the inside, and can be picked apart inside by a very precise puncher who can land heavy right hands like John Molina did.
To win early, Teon has got to dance and move on his feet, give Vinan angles and outbox him, and not stay in front of him and be susceptible to left hands. If Teon outboxes Vinan but does not move well, the fight could drag the distance with a lot of clinches (as Vinan did with Rasheem Jefferson), especially if the fighters tire in the later rounds and the pace slows. Teon has to keep the pressure on and land more quality punches, but he should avoid a toe-to-toe war on the inside with Vinan, where Vinan likes to fight.
Kennedy has to distinguish himself offensively, and he has to do it early, and not let Vinan get into the fight. His jabs have to be consistent, and his body shots have to set up overhand head shots in order to beat Vinan. Teon has to move to succeed, and work his jab from the outside. If he doesn’t, Vinan will throw the sort of short precise punches which will give Teon trouble if it evolves into a technical inside war.
Third and finally, Teon Kennedy lacked the killer instinct in his last three bouts against Alejandro Lopez, Christopher Martin and Guillermo Rigondeaux. It occurred because Teon outboxed and killed another fighter in the ring, Francisco Rodriguez, an opponent with boxing skill. The truth be known, the referee should have stopped that bout much earlier but he didn’t, which was not Teon’s fault, and what happened unfortunately happened.
Sugar Ray Robinson, Emile Griffith, Lupe Pintor, and Ray Mancini are among the many other fighters to have fought a ring battle in which the opponent ultimately died. The issue cannot be avoided. Whenever somebody dies in professional sports, of course it is a tragedy, and we feel for the loss and resulting situation. In this world things happen, not always the way we want or plan for. Whatever happens in this world, we have to deal with it, and at times overcome it, which makes us stronger inside. Teon Kennedy has to get over it.
To win this bout, and move forward with his career, Teon Kennedy has to regain his fighting killer instinct and fighter’s eye of the tiger. The fighter’s killer instinct is part of the competitive spirit and soul of the professional boxer. You have to have it before you enter the ring, and when you enter the ring. If Kennedy has settled the emotional issues regarding the Rodriguez fight, he will do fine in his comeback.
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