El Pasoan Abie Han, scored the biggest win in his young professional boxing career last Saturday night. The middleweight won a key 10-round decision over 9th ranked WBC prospect Marcos Reyes in Carson, California. Han (23-1, 14 KOs) won the fight on two of the three judges’ scorecards by a 97-91 margin. The third judge had the match scored even at 94-94. The loss dropped Reyes to 32-2, but more importantly will drop him out of the WBC Top 10 rankings. Han should now propel himself to a WBC Top 10 ranking with the win and get bigger fights in the near future.

Despite his impressive performance in the ring against Reyes, Han’s trainer Louie Burke was not completely satisfied with the victory. “Abie only fought 60 percent of how he performed in the gym,” Burke told me earlier this week. “So I’d have to give him a C, knowing how really good he is. However, he did show a ton of heart, digging deep after the knockdown and hitting a wall in the later rounds. He also moved around the ring beautifully in the first five rounds and against during the ninth and tenth to secure the fight. I am extremely proud of him because he’s one to make the sacrifices that it takes to be a champ.”

Louie Burke.
Louie Burke.
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The El Paso native admitted that Reyes hurt him with a body shot that knocked him down in the eighth round, but he was able to get up and actually won the round on the judges’ scorecards. Although my boxers are at or past the prime of their career by 30 years of age, Han is different. He turned pro just three years ago, and has not suffered the physical punishment that most pro fighters already have by 30. As for what is next for Abie, Burke explained that we might not know that answer for a while. “We’ll have to wait until he recoups from this one,” Burke said. “He received several stitches over the right eye and it’s still a little early to assess what might be realistically available. But IBF champ Jermaine Taylor would be a great opportunity for Abie. But we’ll take what’s offered to him as far as fighting for a title.”

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