Cloud will be looking to make another step toward light-heavyweight supremacy as he puts his undefeated record and IBF Crown on the line against Yusaf Mack on June 25
Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud will definitely land a big fight in the light heavyweight division with a victory over the always-ready Philadelphia brawler Yusaf Mack on June 25 at The Family Arena in St. Louis, Missouri. In a fight where Tavoris should have most of the advantages and skills, but against a contender like Mack, anything can happen, particularly if Cloud is looking past him to bigger things.
Tale of the Tape
Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud is 29 years old and is unbeaten, with a boxing record of 22 wins and 0 losses. He stands at 5 feet 10 inches tall, fighting out of the orthodox stance.
Yusaf “Mack Attack” Mack is 31 years old with a good record consisting of 28 wins, 3 losses, and 2 bouts ending in a draw. He stands at 6 feet and 1 inch tall, and he also fights out of the orthodox stance.
Cloud vs. Mack Preview
Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud is the current IBF light heavyweight champion. Before Tavoris Cloud was proclaimed “Thunder”, the Florida native starting boxing at the late-blooming age of 17. Cloud started out competing as an amateur and finished with an amateur boxing record of 46 wins and 8 losses. During that time, he was a part of the 2000 U19 World Championships and 2002 US-championships.
Known for his steadfast aggressive boxing style, Cloud began his professional boxing journey in 2004, and since then his crowd-pleasing style and big power has vaulted him to undefeated status with wins over fighters such as Julio Caesar Gonzalez, Clinton Woods, and Glen Johnson.
In Cloud’s fight with Johnson, he was able to win over a lot of boxing fans, as he withstood the Road Warrior’s aggression and imposed his will, power and strength on Johnson as he was awarded the twelve round unanimous decision victory.
Yusaf Mack is a tough Philadelphia brawler who is looking to crash Cloud’s party on June 25, as he too, has an aggressive boxing style which can be the deciding factor in the fight. Yusaf “Mack Attack” Mack made his professional debut in November 2000 in the Middleweight division. During the first part of his career, Mack jumped around between the Middleweight, Super Middleweight, and Light Heavyweight divisions, and in doing so compiled an impressive boxing record of 22 wins and 2 draws before Colombian boxer Alejandro Berrio stopped Mack in the sixth round of their meeting back in 2006.
Mack has wins over good fighters such as Otis Griffin, Chris Henry and Daniel Judah, but he also has three losses, to Berrio, Librado Andrade, and “Road Warrior” Glen Johnson.
Cloud vs. Mack Prediction
This will turn out to be a great fight simply because of the styles of these two fighters. Both fighters are super aggressive in the ring, so this fight has no choice but to be what the fans want, a crowd-pleasing, barn-burner of a fight.
I expect both fighters to come out and maybe feel each other out for the first minute of the fight, and then after that, it should be a slugfest. Both fighters have good hands and footwork, but this will be an opportunity for Tavoris Cloud to continue to make a statement to the division with a knockout victory.
One thing about Mack, he usually falls short in his matchups with top opposition, as all three of his losses were by way of technical knockout in either the sixth or seventh round. With that said, I expect Cloud to use the power that he has in both of his hands and do what the rest of the top opposition has done to Yusaf Mack. Stop him.
Prediction: Cloud by sixth round technical knockout.
