[Previous entry: "Joe Mesi-Shannon Miller and Olympian Jason Estrada heavyweight headliners in Oct. 12th “Clash of the Titans” at Twin River in Rhode Island"] [Main Index] [Next entry: ""]
09/21/2007 Archived Entry: "Roger Cantrell Prepares to Face His Biggest Challenge"
Roger Cantrell Prepares to Face His Biggest Challenge
By Ricardo Ibarra
Photo by Mike Blair
Courtesy of boxingprospects.net
Climbing the boxing ranks can be a long and tedious journey for a fighter. Boxing politics can stifle the growth of a young prospect very quickly and keep him, or her, from getting an opportunity to show their worth as a fighter.
For one young prospect that opportunity will come sooner than many expected. After a relatively short career as a pro, undefeated Northwest prospect Roger Cantrell will take a major step up November 16th. Cantrell, who has racked up a record of 12-0 and 8 KO's, faces former Olympic gold medallist Andre Ward on the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia on Showtime's ShoBox series. This will be by far the biggest challenge Cantrell has had to face since turning pro two years ago. The bout marks a potentially life changing moment for him. After an excellent amateur career, he's confident that he has the experience and skill to defeat Ward and make the victory the first of many successes as a professional prize fighter.
As an amateur fighter Roger Cantrell was a northwest stand-out, racking up close to eighty victories, losing only three. His efforts as an amateur almost led to a spot on the American Olympic Team. A disappointing defeat at the hands of Vanes Martirosyan squashed his Olympic dreams and led him to an early entry into the professional ranks. Although he's been successful so far in his pro career, when asked about his loss at the Olympic trials he still remembers it with disappointment.
"I was devastated" said Cantrell, "But at that time I was living on my own. I was living at the gym pretty much. This guy named Bill Hunt, he helped me out a lot. I needed money so instead of waiting around for the next four years I just turned pro"
To read the rest of the article, click on the link below:
http://boxingprospects.net/cantrell.htm
