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Brandon Glanton still focused on title shot ahead of clash with Carlos Formenta

Brandon Glanton
Fighters Network
18
Oct

Brandon Glanton could easily be an unbeaten fighter.

After coming up short in his last two fights, Glanton is not giving up on his goal of becoming a cruiserweight world titleholder.

Glanton will face once-beaten Carlos Formenta Romero tonight at the Whitesands (also known as the ProBox TV) Events Center in Plant City, Florida. The 10-round bout will headline a card that will stream live on the ProBox TV app and YouTube page (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).

At Tuesday’s weigh-in, Glanton weighed in at 199.4 pounds. Formenta came in at 199.6 pounds.



The 31-year-old Glanton (17-2, 14 knockouts), who resides in Atlanta, Georgia, has lost both of his last two fights by decision. In a world title elimination fight on December 2 featuring unbeaten cruiserweight contenders, Glanton dropped David Light of New Zealand once, but lost by split decision in a fight many boxing insiders thought Glanton did enough to win.

Light would go on to challenge WBO world cruiserweight titleholder Lawrence Okolie almost four months later, losing by decision.

In his last bout on March 18, Glanton would lose by majority decision to unbeaten Soslan Asbarov of Russia. Again, a majority of boxing insiders thought Glanton did enough to win, including Floyd Mayweather, who was providing color commentary from ringside.

Glanton is now back to square one. After looking back on those two fights, Glanton learned he must take more the initiative and be more aggressive, utilizing his power and now have to rely on the judges, especially for the Formenta fight.

“Every fight for me is a must-win,” Glanton told The Ring on Monday afternoon. “Unfortunately, I had two unfortunate decisions. Anytime, I step inside the ring, the goal is to win, and to win by knockout, if I could pull it off. I would say (the Formenta fight) is more than a crossroads fight. I’m still fighting. I’m still here. This fight means a lot to me.

“I’m not going to say the judges have anything against me. Maybe the judges didn’t see clearly what was actually going on. Maybe because of my style, those judges gave credit to those who they thought landed punches, but those shots actually hit my arms. A lot of people don’t see my style as often. For my own safety, I think it’s best to take the fight out of the hands of the judges. Every fighter feels a little intimidated by the judges. Get this fight stopped, go home, and go on to the next fight.”

The 31-year-old will face Fromenta (12-1, 7 KOs), a Cuba-born fighter who currently resides in South Florida. The 25-year-old last fought on June 17, stopping journeyman Lamont Capers in the second round.

Fromenta has not lost since his pro debut in March 2021, but two of his wins have come against fighters with winning records.

A victory over Fromenta could put Blanton in world title contention. He is willing to face any cruiserweight contender in the division in an elimination fight.

“Fighting Carlos (tonight), I don’t know if (a win) will set me up for a world title elimination fight or not,” said Glanton, who is trained by Jason Jones and is co-managed by Elliott Amoakoh and Merah Vodianova. “This fight is for me, my own mental fortitude. Just to remind everybody of who I am and what I’m capable of.

“If you look at my career, boxing has been good to me. Bottom line is, the last two fights obviously wasn’t my best. I definitely have plans on reminding everyone what I’m capable of. If an elimination fight comes my way after this fight, I’ll take it. But I’m focused on my fight against Carlos. Anything comes my way afterwards, then I’ll focus on that.”

Despite the back-to-back defeats, Glanton believes he is amongst the best fighters in the division. He hopes to end matters quickly against Fromenta and send a message to the other cruiserweights in the division of what awaits next year.

“I sincerely know that I am, hands down, the best cruiserweight in the world. Unfortunately, this is the show-me sport. Maybe, every time out hasn’t been my best. When you compare apples to apples, oranges to oranges, I’ve got these guys beat. I have to show what’s different in me on Wednesday night.

“We had some special guys (who I sparred against). Not taking anything away from Carlos, but my sparring partners are better than Carlos. A litter sharper. They prepared me very well for this fight.”

 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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