BRUCE Carrington proved his worth as a fringe world-level boxer by defeating Brayan De Gracia in round eight of their 10-round featherweight bout. Carrington, also known as ‘Shu Shu’, was the main support for Xander Zayas’ dominant win over Patrick Teixeira in the main event.
The Brownsville native utilized his strong jab early in the fight to gauge De Gracia, who took the fight on short notice. De Gracia, hailing from Panama, had legendary boxer Roberto Duran cheering him on from ringside.
In round two, Carrington landed a powerful left hook followed by a calculated body attack in round three. ESPN pundit Mark Kriegel described Carrington as having a mix of “Brownsville swagger and Olympic pedigree.” Carrington knocked De Gracia down in round five with a precise shot to the head.
Prior to his recent defeat to Edward Vazquez, De Gracia had a five-fight knockout streak but had been inactive since mid-2023. Carrington dominated the pace, causing De Gracia to bleed from his nose in the sixth round. Carrington continued to pressure De Gracia and scored another knockdown in round seven.
De Gracia had no answer for Carrington’s onslaught, leading to a referee stoppage in round eight at 2:56 of the round. Carrington acknowledged Naoya Inoue’s presence in the crowd and expressed his desire to fight him in the future.
With this victory, Carrington’s record improves to 12-0 (8 KOs) while De Gracia’s record drops to 29-4-1 (25 KOs). Carrington may face minor prospects in future Top Rank shows. The judges for the fight were Ken Ezzo, Max DeLuca, and Bernard Bruni.
Recognized as ESPN’s prospect of the year in 2023, Carrington is ranked fourth by the WBO. He eyes a potential showdown with Ruben Villa to test his skills at the top level.
In addition to his WBO ranking, Carrington is also ranked 12th with the IBF. Luis Alberto Lopez holds the IBF title. Rey Vargas and Brandon Figueroa hold the WBC title and interim title respectively. Carrington sits at seventh with the WBC.