Angelo Santana, the hyped, 24-year-old Cuban lightweight prospect, may have been the true nail in Don King's coffin as a relevant promoter tonight, stopped in the ninth round by Baha Mamadjonov after three knockdowns, halting the rise of King's last somewhat advanced prospect.
2013 has started rough for Don, who saw Tavoris Cloud schooled last month by Bernard Hopkins on HBO, and with Santana losing, King's stable has really thinned out in terms of guys who could be in contention for major fights. Sure, Cloud is still a contender in the jumbled 175 pound division, and Santana could regroup and have a good career, but the latter will require a lot of work and some promotional effort, and King's promotional effort isn't exactly strong these days.
But we all know that, and the more likely thing here is that Santana just isn't as good as advertised, and that'll be the story of his career. We've seen this happen many, many times before with prospects.
In sunnier news, Amir Imam (9-0, 8 KO) scored a sensational second round knockout of Jeremy Bryan (16-3, 7 KO) in the co-feature, flattening him on a left hook-right hand combo, the back end of which Bryan never saw coming. Imam, a 22-year-old junior welterweight from Albany, New York, hasn't been tested yet, but the power exists, and this was a highlight reel KO.