It is the fight of their lives.
Luis Feliciano and Mykquan Williams put their perfect records on the line in a junior welterweight 10-round contest taking place January 17, in the main event of Wednesday Night Fights live from Plant City, Florida, on ProBox TV.
The journeys the two took to get here are so different.
Though both have signed to major promoters, they meet in a somewhat similar place.
Feliciano at one time was signed to Golden Boy Promotions, but left the promotion in 2022. Since then, he has taken three fights, none of which have gotten national attention.
Williams, meanwhile, is signed to Lou DiBella’s DiBella Entertainment.
His prospect run seemingly was set for 2020, then the COVID-19 shutdown hit.
He headlined a ShoBox: The Next Generation card, and won the fight, but didn’t get the traction one might have hoped. A car accident after the fight further delayed his return. Since the car accident, he has fought four times, with his last fight being a draw to Paulo Cesar Galdino.
Here are some thoughts heading into this bout.
A look at their records
Feliciano has a record of seventeen wins, and no losses with eight wins by knockout.
Williams has a record of eighteen wins, no losses, and two draws, with eight wins by knockout.
Let’s go deeper into the numbers.
Feliciano has gone 108 rounds, whereas Williams has gone 112 rounds. Williams has had 21 pro fights, whereas Feliciano has had 17.
The combined record of Feliciano’s opponents is 164 wins, 122 losses and 7 draws.
Williams' opponents tallied 203 wins, 150 losses and 17 draws.
Before entering the bout Feliciano has been in four 10-round fights, and Williams has been in three.
Williams’ two draws come in eight-round bouts and have never come in a ten-round fight.
How will size factor in?
Williams is 5-foot, 6-inches. Feliciano is 5 feet, 9-inches.
Williams looks to be near his ceiling in terms of weight. Feliciano seems like he could fill into the welterweight division, and even junior welterweight.
Two things arise from this.
One, will Feliciano make the weight comfortably? Two, will Williams be able to offset Feliciano's size and physical gifts?
They both have fought in competitive bouts recently
Two fights ago Feliciano fought Alejandro Frias Rodriguez to a majority decision win.
Williams, as mentioned above, fought Galdino to a draw in his last fight.
Both seem to imply at the very best an off night in the squared circle. This battle of undefeated sees both prospects at a crossroads despite being unbeaten.
It appears both have had trouble getting televised fights and even more so, have struggled with possible motivation for these smaller shows.
This is a moment in which one fighter can announce themselves on the world-class level by defeating a fighter with a similar pedigree and accolades.
Will age matter?
Feliciano is 30-years-old. Williams is 25-years-old.
There are two ways to look at this.
Will Williams be fresher as a 25-year-old entering a prizefight coming into his athletic prime?
The other is whether Feliciano is able to take his life experience beating him up and use the wisdom of being 30-years-old to defeat the younger fighter.
Neither is old, but it might be something to watch for.
Gym culture
Mykquan Williams has sparred with Jahmaine Ortiz who is fighting Teofimo Lopez on February 8 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Feliciano is training with Ismael Salas and has a handful of top contenders and world champions he spars and trains beside.
Williams trains with a very well-regarded east coast coach called Paul Cichon. The two have been built from the ground up. Everything Williams knows in boxing is because of Cichon. Will the bond matter in this fight?
On the other hand, Feliciano has moved trainers after his amateur career, and once again as a pro. Feliciano is training with a world-famous boxing coach, who has had several world champions over the past few years. He is around some of the best fighters daily and the gym culture is nothing short of greatness.
Will the preparation for this fight be more about fundamental training or the emotion of the moment? These are two young fighters who could change their life with a win on Wednesday night.
The coach and culture of coaching could be a hidden story of this bout.
They have both fought prospects, but Feliciano has fought more ‘a-side’ fighters
Luis Feliciano felt one step away from stardom in 2019.
He beat undefeated Genaro Gamez and followed that up with a win over Herbert Acevedo.
These were two fighters promoted heavily or shown heavily on Golden Boy telecasts.
Both had won a lot of fights from the a-side corner. Feliciano dominantly won both fights, even dropping Acevedo in round three.
Now add that Feliciano fought Miguel Rodriguez in his sixth fight, who is 7-0, with 2 KOs. Feliciano stopped him in the seventh round of a tightly contested bout. Rodriguez would never fight again as a pro after this contest.
Contrast that to Williams.
Williams has fought one undefeated Yeis Gabriel Solano who outpointed in a 10-round contest. He also dropped Solano in the eighth round.
Yet, he got a majority draw with Tre’Sean Wiggins a tough regional fighter who is similar to the skill level if not better than Herbert Acevedo.
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