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| UNCASVILLE, CT – Blue chip lightweight prospect Alejandro “El Abusador” Paulino (18-0, 14 KOs) takes on the toughest test of his young career on Saturday, November 2nd, when he faces seasoned veteran Toka “T-Nice” Kahn (29-3, 19 KOs) at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The bout headlines “CES Autumn Classic,” a stacked 12-bout card presented by CES Boxing that features the best contenders, prospects and future world champions from all over New England. Tickets are priced starting at $77 and are quickly selling out. Purchase yours now at the Mohegan Sun Box Office, CESFights.com or Ticketmaster. The bout is a classic matchup between an established contender and a young lion on his way up the rankings. The boxers met face to face recently with CES Boxing’s Director of Operations, Pat Sullivan. If the verbal exchange is any indication of how this fight will unfold, the fans are in for a real treat this Halloween weekend. The fighters and their camps had been trading words for months before the showdown materialized. In fact, it was Paulino who urged Kahn to “sign the contract” after his first-round blowout of former Olympian Luis Porozo on September 7th. Kahn quickly obliged, believing that despite the hype, the young Paulino is in over his head against him. “Who did he beat?” asked Kahn when told that Paulino has knocked out most of his opposition to date. “I don’t know anybody that he beat. I’m a student of the game and I do my homework.” “I can ask you the same question,” countered Paulino. “Who did you beat? Every time you stepped up, you lost, so you haven’t beaten anyone yet.” While Kahn has 3 losses on his record, 2 of those defeats have come against elite opposition. The Providence, RI resident by way of Liberia won his first 19 bout before being shocked in one round against unheralded Filipino Jhon Gemino in 2016. Kahn’s only other losses are to the likes of pound-for-pound star Shakur Stevenson and former world champion Kid Galahad. His best wins include decision victories over Irvin Gonzalez, who faces Kevin Walsh in the co-feature on Saturday, and his latest win against Jonathan Oquendo in November 2022. While this will be Kahn’s first fight in almost 2 years, Paulino has been actively learning his craft. The Dominican, who lives in New London, CT and trains out of the Big Six Boxing Academy in Providence, RI, has fought 18 times since turning pro in 2021 after a brief amateur career. “I’ve been active because I had a late start,” explains Paulino, who didn’t pick up boxing until he was 18. “He’s been doing this for a long time. When he was a pro, I wasn’t even boxing, so the activity helps me gain experience. It’s gonna help me to do what I have to do to be victorious on November 2nd.” For his part, Kahn quells any concerns that inactivity will hurt him on the night. “I stay in the gym,” says Kahn. “They’re saying that all I’m doing in camp is losing weight. Well, keep banking on that. Call around the gyms in New England or look on social media. You’ll see me in the gym 24/7. I’m sparring, working and I’m in a great place right now. I’m sparring the best fighters getting ready for Alejandro.” While Paulino has only been a professional for 3 years, he has quickly developed into a power punching, exciting prospect whom many are tapping as the next big thing out of New England. “Alejandro is a decent fighter, but I see a lot of green in him,” says Kahn when assessing the 26-year-old. “It’s obvious. He’s a strong kid, but the boxing game is not just about being strong. This is the fight game. At the end of the day, when nobody else is in there but me and you, that’s when your tools and your conditioning will show. That’s when all that you didn’t learn is going to show. You can’t cheat the grind. We can sit here and talk all that XYZ but in the ring is when we’re gonna see who really is the man in there.” “If you see green in me, go ahead and take the chance and try to expose me,” countered Paulino. “I want you to come and try to expose those weaknesses, but I know you’re not going to do that. I know what you’re going to do. You’re going to box and move around in there, but you won’t fight me.” And with that, an entertaining verbal exchange kicked off between the two: Toka Kahn: “What do you want me to do? You want me to be in your face and brawl with you?” Alejandro Paulino: “No, if you do that, you’ll get knocked out. You do you. I’ve got 10 rounds to knock you out. I’m going to punish you steadily.” Toka Kahn: “You think you’re going to knock me out? You better watch out that you don’t get knocked out. The hunter is going to become the hunted. Don’t sleep on me. I have 19 of those things too.” Alejandro Paulino: “I’m not going to get hunted. You have to fight to hunt. You’re going to need to let your hands go for that, but you’re going to use your legs instead.” Toka Kahn: “I’m going to use all my tools to beat you. All of my tools. Everything you talk about, I’ve seen already. The aggression, those body shots. You better not throw those punches so wide, or you’ll get clipped.” When the two finally settled down, each gave a prediction of how this fight will play out. Not surprisingly, they both predicted a conclusive ending. “I’m going to beat the brakes off him,” said Kahn. “If he tries too hard, he might get clipped in 5 or 6, you dig?” “I expect Toka to run around, not let his hands go, hold and use his legs,” said Paulino with a smirk. “At the end of the night, Mohegan Sun Arena is going to be electric when I knock him out in front of my people. It’s going to be beautiful.” Don’t miss Paulino vs. Kahn this Saturday from the Mohegan Sun Arena. Purchase your tickets now at the Mohegan Sun Box Office, CESFights.com or Ticketmaster. For more information on these cards and all other CES Boxing events, visit cesfights.com. INFORMATION ABOUT CES BOXING CES Boxing is one of the top promotions on the East Coast. Founded in 1992 by Jimmy Burchfield Sr., CES Boxing has promoted many world class fighters, including Jamaine Ortiz, Juiseppe Cusumano, Hank Lundy, Vinny Paz, Peter Manfredo, Mariusz Wach, Jason Estrada, Matt Godfrey, Chad Dawson and Ray Oliveira. CES Boxing has promoted such super fights as “The Thriller on Triller: Tyson v Jones Jr.”, “Mayweather vs. Gotti III” and “The Contender: Manfredo v Pemberton”. ABOUT MOHEGAN SUN ARENA Mohegan Sun Arena finished 2021 with its first “#1 Indoor Arena” ranking for its capacity in the world according to Pollstar and VenuesNow, ranked among the top 10 venues in the U.S. regardless of size based on ticket sales, and was named “2021 Innovator of the Year” by Celebrity Access for its ViacomCBS residency. In recent years, the “Most Beloved Venue in America” has also been the “#1 Casino Venue in the World,” “#1 Social Media Venue in the World” and a seven – time national award – winner for “Arena of the Year.” For more information on concerts and other great events, visit Mohegan Sun. For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711. |
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