On Saturday, November 7, 22-year-old light welterweight Mike “Yes Indeed” Reed (16-0-0, 9 KOs) will take on Oscar “Raton” Cortes (25-2-0, 13 KOs) in an 8-round non-televised fight on the HBO card held at The Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, headlined by Timothy Bradley against Brandon Rios, and in the co-main event, Vasyl Lomachenko against Romulo Koasicha.
In his most recent fight on September 11 at The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, Reed defeated Antonio “Aztec God of War” Canas (Chicago, Illinois/pro record: 10-2-1, 4 KOs) by TKO in Round 5 (scheduled for 8 rounds). Highlights of Reed-Canas were shown during “The Metro PCS Friday Night Knockout on truTV” telecast on Mexican Independence Day Weekend. In the early rounds of the fight, Reed countered Canas’ offensive attack with a variety of uppercuts, jabs and body shots. In Round 5, Reed threw a combination to Canas’ head that dropped him to the canvas. Canas beat the count, but moments later, Reed backed him up against the ropes and unloaded a straight left hand, followed by a right uppercut and a left hook, forcing the referee to stop the action at 1:28 of Round 5.
“Yes Indeed” Reed discussed his upcoming fight on November 7. He said, “My fight with Cortes will definitely be a step up in competition, even though I haven’t been taking easy fights before this one. Since the start of my career, I’ve never been spoon-fed easy ducks that some of the other prospects get. Every fight I’ve had so far, I’ve learned from it, and that’s what it’s all about. I know Cortes is relatively short for this weight class, kind of like myself, so the normal difficulties of being the shorter guy with the shorter arms are pretty much a non-factor in this match-up. My team has a real good game plan as usual, and we’ll be ready. My main focus for this camp has been to stay explosive. Slowing some punches up while speeding up others could allow me to get more knockouts from here on out, because my opponents will have difficulty with the changes of speed. Cortes has an advantage as far as experience in the ring, and I’m sure he has learned tricks over the years that he will try to implement in his fight with me. Winning this fight and picking up a trick or two in the process will put me in the position to become a contender in the very near future.”
Reed is excited about his return to Las Vegas. He said, “The reception that I received from the media and fans in Las Vegas for my last fight was amazing, so I’m glad to see that there was a strong demand for Top Rank to have me out there again on November 7. As we all know, Las Vegas is where all the big fights are held, and if you can build a solid fan base out there, you can become a draw in this sport. I want Top Rank to continue showcasing my talents in front of the fans, but in order for that to happen, I must perform well. During training camp, I’ve been sparring with world-class boxers, Lamont Peterson and Adrien Broner, and I’ve learned a lot from working with them. Win #17 is where you normally start to see prospects move into the contender stages of their career. This stage is just as important as the championship stage.”
He continued, “I want to thank my Team Reed supporters that have been there for me since day one. You were there for me when I was unsigned, attended my fights, or just helped get my name out there. If you all wouldn’t have supported me the way you did, I wouldn’t have been able to get on all the cards I did, which means it would have taken that much longer to get where I am today. Thank you to my promoter Top Rank, Shane Goodell, Nike Boxing and Athlete Performance Solutions, Everlast, and everyone that continues to support our team. Yes Indeed!”
