Clayton Laurent Readies For Bout With Kenny Cruz Carasquillo

V.I. heavyweight champ Clayton Laurent, Jr. is looking to improve his record to 3-0 with a win December 7th over Kenny Cruz Carasquillo (3-2-1), a release issued Saturday makes known.

The bout was finalized this week through Laurent’s promoter, Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment, who has been looking at ways to keep the hometown heavyweight active in the ring. Mr. Laurent will face Carasquillo at Cancha Ruben Zayas Mantanez in Truillo Alto, Puerto Rico in four, three-minute rounds.

“The opportunity arose to have this fight and Clayton has been in the gym, so we all saw this as an offer too good to refuse,” Mr. Laurent’s manager Matt Clark said Friday. “Whilst his opponent does compete usually at cruiserweight, he’s coming off a very credible win against Prince Badi Ajamu, who fought Roy Jones, Jr. Still, that means nothing to Clayton, whose focus is honestly one of his most impressive attributes.”

Mr. Laurent has kept up a regimented training routine since his August bout against Sherman Artis, Jr., which he won by technical knockout early in the second round, according to the release.

“I struggled to get from 330 pounds to 291 pounds this last fight, but since then, I’ve been constantly training to lower my weight and get ready for the next opportunity,” he said. “My upcoming opponent is not someone I’m looking to just get past – it’s someone I’m going through. And while I’m still learning about him, but my team has a plan and I trust they’ll guide me to a win. My goal is to be a world champion, and with a victory on the 7th, that’s what I’ll continue to push for.”

Mr. Clark added Friday that the constant competition will help Laurent continue to improve;

“It’s absolutely vital for a young prospect to be constantly competing, to keep learning his craft and since we signed with DiBella Entertainment, Clayton has been active,” Mr. Clark said. “I’m looking forward to seeing Clayton’s improvements in each and every contest and this will be no different. It will be tremendous for him to round out the year with a good win and quite possibly inside the distance.”