By David Finger
It is a popular urban myth that if you stumbled upon a group of kids paying a pickup game of baseball in an empty field somewhere in the Dominican Republic, that there would most likely be a major league scout for the Yankees or Rangers sitting on a trash can in the corner to see if he could find himself a future All-Star. Well, for one night in October, the urban myth became a reality, only this time for the sport of boxing. Shaun Boxing Promotions hosted an action packed card with free admission for the attendees of the 36th Annual Congress at the Barcelo Bavaro Convention Center in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. With eight fights in total, and six being for WBO regional belts, it was the perfect opportunity for sixteen young fighters to make a statement in front of some of the most important boxing “scouts” on the planet. From major promoters, to nearly every WBO official, and even undisputed world champion Terrance Crawford, there was no question that this was going to be a great opportunity for all of the young fighters on the card.
And perhaps no young star shined quite as bright as 17-year old prospect Kaipo Gallegos of Las Vegas. Gallegos, an amateur standout, elected to turn pro young and take the Vasyl Lomachenko route, jumping right into the deep end of the pool. In only his second professional fight he fought seventeen fight veteran Misael Vasquez and then followed it up with a bout with Maryl Cabrera, who came into that fight with a 27-7 record. Continue reading “Four fighters win WBO regional belts”