Bruce Carrington is one of the sport’s most promising prospects and the featherweight known as “Shu Shu” is just waiting for a breakthrough opportunity to prove himself.
The Brooklyn-born Carrington (11-0, 7 KOs) will get another shot at showing his potential in a homecoming fight against Enrique Vivas (23-3, 12 KOs) on June 8. The fight will be the co-main event on ESPN for the card headlined by Xander Zayas vs. Patrick Teixeira at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York.
“This is a big step up for me,” Carrington told BoxingScene. “It's the best thing for me at this stage of my career to put the world on notice and let them know who I am. The co-main event slot shows that I am made for the big lights. This will help me grow and get comfortable. I show up under pressure. I want to cement myself in the featherweight division. I want people to look at me and say, ‘That is a guy to watch out for.’
“By next year any of the world champions are feasible for me. Next year, I will take over and establish myself as a world champion. I have enough star power to be headlining by next year as well. I have a good fan base. I am hoping that's the case.”
Carrington, trained by Kay Koroma, is signed to Top Rank and is already ranked No. 4 by the WBO, No. 7 by the WBA, and No. 12 by the IBF. He has been a professional for only three years.
Carrington, 27, can solidify his status by being the first to stop Vivas – a feat he accomplished against the last two fighters he faced (Bernard Torres and Jason Sanchez both encountered their first inside-the-distance losses to Carrington). The durable Vivas has previously lost decisions against former title challengers Ruben Villa, Joet Gonzalez, and Eduardo Baez.
“Vivas is a great opponent. He comes out to you non-stop like a terminator,” said Carrington. “He’s a really tough guy, but I love fighting tough guys and exposing how tough they’re not when fighting me. I am not underestimating him but I am super confident that I will get him out of there. I am definitely going to break this guy down and stop him.
“I am an old-school fighter with a menacing mentality. I go in there looking to put the hurt on and dominate in dramatic fashion and not just get a win. I want to leave my opponents broken and mentally scarred from fighting me. That's what separates the boys from the men and the champions from the great icons.”
Carrington has grandiose plans to win titles from 126 pounds up to 147 pounds.
He believes that winning a featherweight belt will make him a more attractive dance partner to Naoya Inoue, when and if the super bantamweight champion makes his move up to 126 pounds.
“That is the fight that a lot of people would want to see for Inoue at 126 pounds because of how our styles match up,” said Carrington. “It's going to be a match made in heaven. I'll stay at 126 pounds and wait for him just to have my time. That can be one of those big fights for me in my career that I can see happening.
“I'm ready for him right now. I've been calling him out, but not in a disrespectful way. I'm a competitor and 100% believe in my abilities in the ring and I know what I'm capable of. I see what he's lacking and I know how I can expose it and easily capitalize off it because of what I have in my arsenal. It's just that simple, and I want my chance whenever the right time comes. I obviously know it's a little premature right now. But when the time comes, I'll be ready. It will be one of those big fights that people will remember and be talking about to their grandchildren for decades.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
