Under The Radar Fight of The Week: Montana Love VS Kenneth Sims Jr
An interesting bout takes place on Friday night in Sloan, Iowa on the undercard of Showtime Boxing’s telecast. Rising Junior Welterweight prospects Montana Love (11-0, 5 KO’s) and Kenneth Sims Jr (12-1, 4 KO’s) square off for the vacant Junior Welterweight WBC Youth Silver title.
It’s a crossroads bout for both young fighters. For Love, it represents probably his toughest opponent to date. For Sims, it’s a chance to resurrect his career after suffering his first loss last July. For boxing, it’s a fresh of breath air. You rarely see two young prospects this early in their careers take such a risky fight.
Sims was a highly touted prospect heading into 2017. However, his momentum and confidence were all brought to a halt when he dropped a majority decision to Ronaldo Chinea. A large number of hot prospects run into a roadblock along the way and Sims is no different. Sims hasn’t fought since, and when he steps through the ropes on Friday night, he’ll have his hands full with the ultra talented Montana Love.
Love was more of a YouTube sensation before he became a sizzling prospect in the boxing world. Love is well known for his flashy outfits and mitt routines. That all changed in February when he defeated Samuel Teah on Showtime in a close, competitive fight. Love proved he was more than sizzle and bling as he dug deep in a fight he was considered the underdog. Love isn’t sitting back and enjoying the victory as this will be his 3rd fight since and 4th of 2018.
A win for Love could possibly make him one of the must-watch prospects in all of Boxing. At only 25, he’d be in the prime of his career coming off his biggest win. He has the charisma, albeit just a tad bit cocky, to become a name worth keeping an eye on. And with a loaded 140-pound division 1-50, it could make for some interesting future matchups.
For Sims it’s a make or break fight for his career. A loss, his second in a row, will have promoters and managers looking to line him up for their prospects. A win, and Sims’ budding career would be back on track. Whatever the outcome, when Sims steps through ropes on Friday, he’ll have the weight of the world on his shoulders.
All photos by Rosie Cohe/SHOWTIME
