Damani Cato-Cain Is In THE FIGHT To Watch Saturday

Damani Cato-Cain is not a household name, yet, but he is hopeful that after this Saturday night March 18th fight at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California, he may well be just that.

The super welterweight spent the whole COVID-19 pandemic going through all the major gyms on the west coast getting the best work and earning respect.

His manager, Rogelio Delgadillo, understands the importance of training around the best fighters in the world.

Cato-Cain, an Oakland, California resident, isn’t limited to his community, though, as often he will drive four-to-five hours to spar Joeshon James in Sacramento, fighting through rush-hour traffic.

Tudor and Cato-Cain go into the truth chamber Saturday night, to settle things

His gym, The Kennel Boxing Gym, isn’t the closest gym to his house, but it is the best gym for him, and he commutes to train with Arvin Jugarap, the head trainer at the famed boxing institution which has brought along solid professionals like Joel Siapno, who worked with boxing royalty, Herb Stone (RIP).

“I get to go to sleep knowing I had a fulfilling day and I worked hard,” said Cato-Cain to me after sparring James last January one night a little after 9:15 PM at Flawless Boxing Gym in Sacramento, California.

Cato-Cain has been in a few training camps with Terence Crawford. Now, all the gym trips sparring Vergil Ortiz Jr., Billy Joe Saunders, and even Terence Crawford on multiple occasions will go into one fight. Cato-Cain Saturday is facing the recent Golden Boy Promotions signee, Eric Tudor, an undefeated super welterweight from south Florida, who trains with Derik Santos.

The belief of many is that Tudor could be great, but Cato-Cain, an unsigned fighter, is eager to face a marquee opponent, and risk his undefeated record.

It appears the risk equals the reward as Cato-Cain is willing to face such an opponent since it will broadcast on DAZN, a global leader in boxing entertainment. Many of his fans from Northern California can simply drive down to Long Beach, California to see the fight. It is a perfect storm.

Not unlike a recent Thompson Boxing card that saw Louie Lopez facing Angel Beltran, Eric Tudor vs Damani Cato-Cain is two fighters with nearly identical records. This is a moment for both fighters to prove themselves to the powers that be.

Both fighters are 7-0, with the only difference being Cato-Cain had a draw in his last fight to Rashid Stevens, the caveat being Cato-Cain dropped Stevens twice in that fight. It was a very tough weight cut, so Cato-Cain wasn’t at his best.

“I am definitely learning to sit [down on my punches more as well as] be more patient, said Eric Tudor to Tru Schools Sports
Damani Cato-Cain might not be a household name, yet, but he is hopeful that after this coming Saturday night, March 8th, at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California, Cato-Cain’s team believes that will change.

The super welterweight spent the whole COVID-19 pandemic going through all the major gyms on the west coast getting the best work and earning respect as his manager, Rogelio Delgadillo, understand the importance of training around the best fighters in the world.

Cato-Cain, an Oakland, California resident isn’t limited to his community though as often he will drive four-to-five hours to spar Joeshon James in Sacramento, while barring through rush hour traffic. His gym, The Kennel Boxing Gym isn’t the closest gym to his house, but it is the best gym for him, and he commutes to train with Arvin Jugarap, the head trainer at the famed boxing institution which has brought along solid professionals like Joel Siapno, who worked with boxing royalty, Herb Stone (R.I.P.)

“I get to go to sleep knowing I had a fulfilling day and I worked hard,” said Cato-Cain to me after sparring James last January one night a little after 9:15 PM at Flawless Boxing Gym in Sacramento, California.

Now it is time for Cato-Cain to make his name on the sport, and become his own legend. Cato-Cain has been in a few training camps with Terence Crawford. Now, all the gym trips sparring Vergil Ortiz Jr., Billy Joe Saunders, and even, Terence Crawford on multiple occasions will go into one fight. Cato-Cain is facing the recent Golden Boy Promotions signee, Eric Tudor, an undefeated super welterweight from south Florida, who trains with Derik Santos. The belief by many is that Tudor could be great, but Cato-Cain, an unsigned fighter, is eager to face a marquee opponent, and risk his undefeated record.

It appears the risk equals the reward as Cato-Cain is willing to face such an opponent since it will broadcast on DAZN, a global leader in boxing entertainment, and many of his fans from Northern California, can simply drive down to Long Beach, California to see the fight. It is a perfect storm.

Not unlike a recent Thompson Boxing card that saw Louie Lopez facing Angel Beltran, Eric Tudor vs Damani Cato-Cain is two fighters with nearly identical records, as this is a moment for both fighters to prove themselves to the powers that be. Both fighters are 7-0, with the only difference Cato-Cain had a draw in his last fight to Rashid Stevens, the caveat being Cato-Cain dropped Stevens twice in that fight, and had a very tough weight cut, that many believe made it so Cato-Cain wasn’t at his best.

“I am definitely learning to sit [down on my punches more as well as] be more patient,” said Eric Tudor to Tru Schools Sports two months ago, during an exclusive interview. “I was talking [about my boxing career] with Bernard Hopkins in the fighter meeting for [one of my fights]. I was asked if I minded fighting on a little show with no people, and the answer is it is all the same to me. Boxing is what I do. I just enjoy it, I enjoy the sport.”

Tudor signed with Golden Boy Promotions officially via a press release on January 28th, 2023, and now his welcome to the promotion is the toughest fight of his career. That’s a glowing endorsement in the talent they see in Tudor, but also a rude awakening for the young fighter, as this will be far from a victory lap or an easy win to share on social media.

Tudor is fighting a word of mouth fighter from Northern California, who has been getting calls from world champions to be in their camps for the elite level of work he is providing. Tudor needs to prove his pedigree in this fight, and Cato-Cain needs to show the world how he fights in the gym, on fight night.

For this camp, Cato-Cain has pulled out all the stops. His manager, Delgadillo, hasn’t spared a penny, as when Herb Kohler wanted Pete Dye to build Whistling Straits Golf Course, Dye was given an unlimited budget, Delgadillo has given within reason that same budget to Cato-Cain for this fight. The reason why…they believe Cato-Cain is not just a potential world champion, but a potential superstar in the sport of boxing. This is his moment not unlike when Terence Crawford fought Breidis Prescott, Cato-Cain will face a young hungry fighter to make his name for himself.

Will that play out? Well, the great thing about boxing is it is the truth chamber. Where both fighters sit in the sport will be found out on Saturday, March 18th, as the first week of March Madness, the NCAA basketball tournament, might just see Tudor vs. Cato-Cain as the best fight in terms of a match-up of the weekend, eclipsing even the main event of Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez versus the light heavyweight debut of Gabriel Rosado.

We have one fighter who is a word-of-mouth guy, someone who wows everyone in the gym, but isn’t signed to a major promoter, in Damani Cato-Cain. On the other hand, we have a 21-year-old boxing prodigy looking to vault himself to the top of the division quickly. Often we celebrate the big fights being made, the Usyk vs. Fury, the Davis vs. Garcia, the Inoue vs. Fulton et Al. Truth is, the lifeblood of the sport is young fighters risking their undefeated record for a chance at glory and greatness.

Both Tudor and Cato-Cain are going for the #1 spot, how do I know – because that is the only reason you’d take a fight like this. You believe you are great, and this is the mentality that makes boxing so great.

If you watch one fight this Saturday, watch this one.