LAS VEGAS – A big deal is being made about Curmel “Big Deal” Moton, who has been dubbed one of boxing’s fastest-rising stars.
The Mayweather Promotions hotshot is now 3-0 (2 KOs) after the 17-year-old Las Vegas prodigy dazzled and excited against brave Californian Anthony Cuba, who drops to 7-1-2 (3 KOs).
Cuba was game throughout, landing a left-right-left hook combination in the opener, but Moton is both sharp and vicious, and his aggressive bursts are hard to contain. One such attack finished with a left hook to the body and one upstairs, and both probably hurt in the early going.
Cuba guzzled a hard right early in the second and both tumbled to the deck momentarily, but Moton flashed in another right after two minutes of the round and the teenager looked relaxed, poised, and certainly in control.
The wonder kid had never needed to go beyond the first round in his two previous pro fights, but tales from Mayweather's gym lend one to believe that Morton is not fearful of the deeper waters, and he had Cuba in survival mode and in real bother for the final 45 seconds or so of the third.
Moton was on a mission in the fourth and set a hectic pace, working well behind both hands, controlling the center of the ring and then using his jab more as he explored different avenues in his pursuit of a stoppage.
Cuba’s jab was effective at times. He could stem Moton’s tide and thwart his attacks on occasion, and the fifth-round was lit up by a glorious spell of infighting that brought roars of approval from the crowd.
With a minute to go in the sixth, Moton began to find the distance with his right hand once more, landing three in quick succession. Cuba came out with a right of his own to open the seventh, although Moton soon had Cuba in reverse gear, landing rights that drew gasps from the audience.
Cuba was not short on courage. Moton nailed him with several lefts to the body as Cuba’s work became a little more ragged, and the eighth, for Cuba, was about survival and making it to the final bell.
That sound was greeted with a warm applause from around the T-Mobile Arena, and deservedly so.
After two first-round stoppages, going the distance over eight with a gallant and plucky opponent like Cuba is experience money can’t buy.
"It was great. Big respect to Cuba. He's a hell of a fighter. He was able to stand in there and trade with me and last all the rounds," Moton said in a post-fight interview. "I learned that I'm in shape. I can go even 12. I was still ready to go more rounds after eight."
Moton won 80-72 across the board, which didn’t do Cuba’s efforts justice, despite being an accurate reflection.
Cuba said he wanted a rematch, and Moton paid tribute to what Cuba had been able to take throughout the contest.
"Big respect to Cuba. He's a hell of a fighter," Moton said. "He was able to stand in there and trade with me and last all the rounds."
After the fight, Moton took a FaceTime from mentor Floyd Mayweather.
“He was telling me that he was proud of me, that I looked great, and I’ll be back in the gym on Monday and keep working,” said Moton.
Moton-Cuba, originally scheduled as a swing bout, was added to the Amazon Prime Video preliminary broadcast after middleweight contender Elijah Garcia fell ill yesterday ahead of his bout with Kyrone Davis. It was a good way to kick things off.