Alejandro Paulino continues to climb the ladder to contender status at lightweight.
Paulino remained undefeated this past Saturday night, defeating former featherweight contender Toka Kahn by majority decision at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. One judge scored the fight 95-95, while the other two judges submitted scorecards of 96-94 and 97-93 for Paulino, who improved to 19-0, 14 knockouts.
In a clash between fighters based in the New England area, a near sellout crowd saw solid exchanges between the two, but Paulino was the more effective fighter. Kahn did well in spots, connecting with some left hands to the head, but Paulino mixed his attack to the head and body behind a consistent and effective jab.
Roland Estrada, who trains and manages Paulino, was impressed with how Paulino held on and executed an effective game plan until the final bell rang.
“The game plan was always to start strong,” Estrada told The Ring on Sunday night. “I knew what their game plan was and that was to take (Alejandro) in the later rounds and tire him out. Alejandro was in great shape for this fight. Our plan was to force Toka to go backwards as he moves forward more effectively. We did it all night. We pitched him and were wary of the left hand he was throwing, but by the end he was doing all the veteran tricks, like clamping down on the inside and talking.
“I don’t agree with that 95-95 scorecard. I thought 98-92 was more accurate, could agree with that 97-93 scorecard. Toka gave Alejandro the experience of going 10 rounds. I didn’t want Alejandro to go in there and take him out early and then people would say Toka shouldn’t have been there.”
Paulino, who lives in nearby New London, previously fought on Sept. 7, knocking out Luis Porozo in the opening round. On March 23, Paulino overcame a blitzing takedown in the opening round to drop Estivan Falcao in the eighth round en route to a unanimous decision victory.
The 26-year-old, who is originally from the Dominican Republic, fought 15 times this year for the Boston Butchers of the Team Combat League (TCL), which ended at the end of July. Paulino would go on to lose just one fight to the Butchers.
Paulino started boxing at the age of 18 and won four fights this year. What’s next, Estrada will team up with promoter Jimmy Burchfield, Sr. sit down and outline a plan for 2025.
“We’re not ready for those big fights yet,” Estrada said. “We’re not ready for (Gervonta) ‘Tank’ Davis. But I’m sure people are keeping an eye on Alejandro now, especially from the TCL. If there’s one thing he’s done better this year, it’s that he’s greatly improved his defense. His hands are up and he has much better head movements. This is a significant improvement since he started.
“I’m going to sit with Jimmy. I hear he might have fight cards set up in February. If it’s February and March, I’d prefer March because of the rigorous training camps we have. But if there are cards lined up for February and April, I want Alejandro to fight in February. April is too far out.”
Kahn, 32, originally from Monrovia, Liberia and now living in Providence, Rhode Island, fell to 29-4, 19 KOs. Kahn has not fought since a November 2022 unanimous decision over former title challenger Jonathan Oquendo. In December 2020, Kahn lost a one-sided decision to Shakur Stevenson.
The 32-year-old was once a staple on several top-ranked cards before losing by knockout to Jhon Gemino in September 2016. He won his next six bouts before losing by decision to Galahad, a former featherweight titleholder.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at (email protected)
