Carrington vs De Gracia Predictions: Late replacement won’t stop Bruce
Top prospect Bruce Carrington gets a late replacement this Saturday, June 8 as he faces Panama’s Brayan De Gracia. The featherweight scrap takes place at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York. The card will be screened on Sky Sports Action.
Here are my Carrington vs De Gracia predictions ahead of a new chapter in the career of ‘Shu Shu’.
Carrington had a standout amateur career, winning the 2017 New York City Golden Gloves and in the 2020 Olympic trials. He didn’t get to go to the games, deciding to turn pro when the Tokyo tournament was delayed due to COVID-19. 11 fights, all victories, have followed.
The man they call ‘Shu Shu’ picked up the Prospect of the Year award from The Ring last year, a symbol of his rapid rise. Previous recipients include Mike Tyson, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Anthony Joshua. No pressure, then.
Carrington looks more than capable of living up to the hype. The WBC, WBO and IBF already have him in their world rankings. The 27-year-old is yet to secure a truly eye-opening pro win, though his fourth-round knockout of the decent ‘La Maquina’ Bernard Torres bodes well.
What we do have to go on are a series of dominant performances against the sort of fighters designed to bring a prospect along. In that sort of company, Carrington has acquitted himself well, picking up seven knockout victories along the way.
Enrique Vivas would have been a big step-up in class. The Mexican has only been beaten by quality fighters. Even then, he extended world title challengers like Joet Gonzalez and Ruben Villa the full 10-round distance. Vivas would have been an educational evening for Carrington.
However, ‘El Ejecutor’ has had to pull out due to a visa issue. Brayan De Gracia steps in and isn’t a bad opponent considering the short notice period. He dropped a points decision last time out to Edward Vazquez, who extended Joe Cordina in an IBF title challenge last year. Those in the Carrington business will be hoping he can give their man some lightly testing rounds without springing a shock.
This is the danger of the late replacement. De Gracia only signed on earlier this week. Carrington has had a whole camp spent studying Enrique Vivas. On the one hand, this is a potential banana skin for the touted Brooklynite. On the other hand, this is an excellent facet in his education. If Carrington wants to be world champion one day, he will have to adapt. Here is a superb opportunity to prove he can do just that.
I think he will, too. Carrington has too much in his tank for the solid but unspectacular De Gracia. All credit to the Panamanian fighter for taking a fight with one of boxing’s hottest prospects with almost no prep time. That shows the sort of warrior spirit that should be rewarded by his promoters in the near future, no matter the outcome here.
Carrington is on a two-fight knockout streak, and I like him to keep that going here. I think it will take a little longer than the fourth and second-round stoppages he has notched in those bouts. I fancy ‘Shu Shu’ to get this one into the history books in round seven at 8/1. Let’s see how well boxing’s next big thing adapts.
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