By Ryan Burton
Ashley Theophane (33-5-1) will return to the ring for the first time in almost a year when he faces Pablo Cano (26-3-1) on the Floyd Mayweather-Canelo Alvarez pay-per-view undercard that takes place on September 14th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. Theophane recently signed with Mayweather Promotions and is looking forward to making his debut under their banner.
"I am excited. It is a great opportunity and a great card that I am going to open up. You have three world champions. You got Ishe Smith. You got Danny Garcia and you got Floyd Mayweather. I have been given a great opportunity to open up the show. I have been putting in the work because I have a good opponent. He has only lost to three world champions in Shane Mosley, Erik Morales and Paulie Malignaggi. To add my name to that list I will be very pleased," Theophane told krikya360.com.
Cano is a very aggressive fighter who comes forward and has power in both hands. Theophane said that type of style suits him perfectly and will make for a great fight. He knows that a lot of the crowd will be made up of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans but said that he isn't worried about that and expects to have plenty of support as well.
"I love that Cano comes to fight. He is a Mexican and 99% of them do come forward. I am happy about that. It is a Mexican holiday but at the same time they (the fans) can't fight for you in the ring. There will be a lot of British fans too. Floyd has a lot of British fans and I am bringing a lot of support as well. Boxing fans in general like me. I have been fighting all over the world and I have faced guys in their own backyard so I am used to it," Theophane explained.
The 33-year-old Theophane has a lot of respect for Cano but feels that his advantage in experience will lead him to victory. Cano has lost his three biggest fights while Theophane has defeated DeMarcus Corley and Delvin Rodriguez, who faces Miguel Cotto on October 5th.
"Oscar De La Hoya thinks he can be a world champion so that says a lot about him. He is young. I think he is 23 or 24 years old but I think me being smart and being experienced will be a big factor in this fight. I fought some good fighters as well. I fought Danny Garcia when he was knocking everyone out. I fought Chop Chop Corley right after he fought Devon Alexander and I fought Delvin Rodriguez who has a big fight coming up. I have fought my share of great fighters but the difference is I have beaten two of them and the third one was a split decision (loss).
Send questions or comments to ringsidewriter@gmail.com. Follow Ryan on Twitter @ringsidewriter and tune in to BoxingScene Radio, BoxingScene's official audio show on Tuesdays from 6-8PM PST. The show is hosted by Ernie Gabion, Luis Sandoval and Ryan Burton.
ADD COMMENT VIEW COMMENTS (3)