It’s been an exciting time for Clifton based Seconds To Go Boxing Inc.
With a bevy of fights on the horizon including a heavyweight title bout, perhaps the greatest news George Cuozzo, President of Seconds To Go received was the addition of a legendary trainer to his arsenal in Freddie Roach.
“Freddie is one of the greatest trainers in boxing and I feel honored to have him train one of my fighters,” said Cuozzo. “I had sent him a DVD of my fighter, Ashley Alvarado and he was impressed enough with her abilities that he agreed to train her. It really validates everything I saw in her (Alvarado).”
Roach, a former professional boxer, is a four time Trainer of the Year and has trained numerous world champions including Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan and UFC champs Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre.
“Words can’t describe how big this is for us,” Cuozzo said. “Freddie is a very polite person whose corner work is unmatched. It’s a dream come true to work with someone of his stature and I’m confident he will get Ashley to the top of her game. She improved tremendously in her last fight. I see a bright future for her.”
Hailing from Texas, Alvarado is a 20 year old flyweight with a professional record of 3-0 who, according to Cuozzo has a tremendous amount of speed and power. She stands at 5-foot, 2 inches and weighs 113 pounds.
As an amateur, she went 6-0-7
“She’s attending college right now for nursing and is a wife and mother,” Cuozzo said. “When she gets in the ring however she knows exactly what to do and how to do get it done. I think that’s what drew Freddie to her, he as do I, see great ability in her.”
Alvarado is scheduled to fight Alex Luck on Sept. 16 in Houston, TX.
A little less than a week before that however, Seconds To Go will be fighting for one of boxing’s most prized titles, the heavyweight championship.
Crystal Davis out of Florida, who has a 4-2-1 record, will attempt to bring home the WIBA belt against Gwendolyn O’Neil on Sept. 16 in Fort Myers, FL.
“A victory here would bring us the heavyweight crown and solidify Crystal as a top competitor,” said Cuozzo. “A loss however would be very disappointing and set us back quite a bit. If Crystal loses she does not deserve to be a fighter.”
Davis, according to Cuozzo, has many advantages over O’Neil including speed, power, endurance and youth.
“Gwendolyn brings the fight straight to you so we need to get to her early,” Cuozzo said. “This is the first time one of our boxers is fighting for the heavyweight title. It should be a great show and I’m confident Crystal will come out on top.”
Seconds To Go also signed Global Boxing Union flyweight champion Anastasia Toktaulova, who recently became a US citizen. With a 13-10 record, Toktaulova is set to fight on Oct. 15 in Kansas City.
“Anastasia is a veteran fight who has a great right hand,” said Cuozzo. “She stands at 5’2 and weighs between 108-112 pounds but has some nice power to her punches.”
One of Cuozzo’s newest additions is Evette Collazo out of Chicago who will also fight on Oct. 15. With a record of 4-0-1, Collazo is a featherweight who weighs 126 pounds and has a height of 5’4.
“Evette is fighting a former boxer of mine, Jenna Shiver,” said Cuozzo. “That’s never happened to me before so it should be interesting.”
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