Thompson Boxing’s lightweight power punching contender, Miguel “Explosivo” Madueno (28-1, 26 KOs), got back in the world title picture after scoring a knockout over Juan Huertas (16-4-1, 12 KOs), last night at the Whitesands Events Center in Plant City, FL. The scheduled 10-round bout served as the co-main event on the ProBox Last Chance Tournament.
After slowly breaking down Huertas over four full rounds, Madueno landed a series of powerful left hooks in round five that send Huertas to the canvas, forcing him to take a knee. Huertas, considered a dangerous opponent from Panama who just defeated Jonhatan Cardoso (14-1, 14 KOs) by TKO, couldn’t continue, and the fight was stopped at the 2:15 mark, crowning Madueño the new WBO Latino champion.
“I felt really strong and composed in this fight.” said Madueno, who bounced back from his first loss as a professional. “I had an incredible training camp up in the mountains of Mexico, where I was isolated from any distractions. I wanted to take my time and pick my shots wisely, and everything camp together. I could see all his punches coming. Everything slowed down and I was able to lands some powerful punches. I got him out of there and that was the plan going in.”
With the victory, Madueno, who is promoted by Thompson Boxing, is back in the world title picture at lightweight. The division is loaded with big names and Madueño feels he can compete with all of them.
“Right now, Devin Haney is the king of the lightweight division, and hopefully I will fight him one day,” continued Madueño. “There are many other big names like Ryan Gacia, Tank Davis and Shukur Stevenson, who are all potential opponents for me down the road. I feel I’m one of the biggest punchers in all of boxing and with a few more victories, I’ll be right there ready to fight for a world title. I’m still working my way up, but everyone better take notice, because I’m coming.”
“Madueno showed a lot of growth and maturity in this fight,” stated Alex Camponovo, General Manager for Thompson Boxing. “Words can’t describe how big this win was, and we are going to work endlessly to get Madueño into a big fight. His punching power has to be respected by everyone in the lightweight division. We have big plans to get him right back in the mix to fight for a world title.”