After his destruction of the woefully overmatched Gadiel Andaluz last Saturday night, on the Nonito Donaire-Guillermo Rigondeaux undercard at the famed Radio City Music Hall in New York City, Providence’s undefeated super featherweight prospect Toka “T Nice” Kahn-Clary’s (5-0, 4 KOs) star is shining brighter than ever.
Liberia-native Kahn-Clary dropped Andaluz (4-5-1, 2 KOs) three times in the opening round en route to a victory by technical knockout at the 1:32 mark.
“I wanted to make a statement to fans, friends and my promoter, Top Rank, that I’m a good fighter and will be one of the top fighters in the world someday,” the 20-year-old Kahn-Clary said. “My opponent had been knocked out once in nine pro fights. The plan was for me to out-box him and go four rounds. We knew that he was a pressure fighter and he’d run into a lot of my shots. I stepped back, hit him with a left, and down he went. I didn’t expect that to happen but I knew I hurt him on the first knockdown.”
“We hit a home run, make that a grand slam,” added Kahn-Clary’s head trainer Peter Manfredo, Sr. “He hit a tough guy with some really good shots. We knew he was a tough Puerto Rican kid who would be the aggressor. We had worked in the gym at Toka using his jab and then bringing in the left. He did that right from the start and boom; he hurt Andaluz with a big left. We’d also been working on Toka relaxing when he threw punches, stepping back, being quick, and accuracy. It all paid off last Saturday night.
“Toka jumped on his opponent after the eight-count. Everything comes off his jab, he popped him with another left and put him down again, and then he did it the third time when the fight was stopped. Everybody who is anybody in boxing was there and Toka turned in a great performance under pressure. He proved he could do the job under the bright lights. He’s really matured and that’s what has impressed me the most.”
Kahn-Clary’s fight was the swing bout but Top Rank moved it to the second-to-last fight of the night, right before the high-profile Donaire-Rigondeaux main event, in front of a packed house.
“It was exciting to fight in front of so many people, almost like I was in the co-feature, only not on HBO,” Kahn-Clary noted. “Peter told me to calm down when I’m throwing punches and I did that. I wanted to show all of my skills for people to see what I can do.
“I’m hoping that my next fight is a six-rounder. I’d like to fight four or five rounds. I’ve had five fights now as a pro and I’ve only fought 12 rounds. I need more experience because I know I’m not going to knockout everybody I fight.”
Promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank, Kahn-Clary was a standout amateur who captured a gold medal at the 2010 U.S. National Golden Gloves Tournament. He fights out of the new Manfredo Boxing Sports Fitness gym in Narragansett, Rhode Island.
