Alejandro Paulino is eager to prove that he is a lightweight on the rise.
The undefeated Paulino will face Toka Kahn Clary on November 2, manager Roland Estrada confirmed to The Ring. The 10-round bout will take place at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Kahn Clary will be a step up in opposition, but Estrada is confident that Paulino can rise to the occasion and make a statement to the rest of the fighters at 135 pounds.
“This will be the biggest fight of Alejandro’s short but aggressive career,” Estrada told The Ring on Sunday night. “Toka Kahn Clary is a great fighter who has fought and trained with a who’s who of boxing legends. His reputation is highly regarded in our sport and especially in New England. We have set up our camp as if Alejandro is fighting for a world title, so there will be no excuses.
“Come Sunday morning (November 3) we will either know if this kid (Paulino) is just another fighter or if he should be called one of the top fighters in the lightweight division.”
Paulino (18-0, 14 knockouts), who lives in nearby New London, last fought on Sept. 7, knocking out Luis Porozo in the opening round. In his previous fight on March 23, Paulino overcame a blitzing takedown in the first round to knock down Estivan Falcao in the right 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, which ended at the end of July. Paulino would go on to lose just one fight.
Paulino began boxing at the age of 18 and is promoted by longtime New England promoter Jimmy Burchfield.
Kahn Clary (29-3, 19 KOs) has not fought since November 2022 and defeated former world junior lightweight title challenger Jonathan Oquendo by unanimous decision. In his previous fight in December 2020, Kahn Clary would lose by decision over 10 one-sided rounds to Shakur Stevenson.
The 32-year-old fought on many top cards before losing by knockout to Jhon Gemino in September 2016. Southpaw Kahn Clary would win his next six bouts before losing by decision to former world featherweight titleholder Kid Galahad.
Kahn Clary is originally from Monrovia, Liberia and now lives in Providence, Rhode Island. He does have three wins over three undefeated prospects in Jose Haro, David Berna and John Moralde.
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)
