Kumar Prescod & The Journey To Turn Pro

“I am excited about turning pro. I am a little bit done with the amateurs,” said Prescod during a private workout at an unspecified gym. “I still want to take a few more fights in the amateurs than I am going to turn pro as a light heavyweight.”

At five feet, eleven inches, Prescod is always underestimated. He looks like a child and punches like a full-grown mull. The first time I saw him spar, he retired a fighter in their 20s. He landed a crushing blow in sparring, and blood started to spew from his nose. Weeks later, that fighter was never to be seen again. 

Prescod fights like a veteran. Patience, poised, and composed. It’s one of the best jabs I have seen for a young fighter, which is up there with the great Charlie Sheehy of Brisbane, California. It is his flurries that are the thing of beauty and fear. Thudding combinations sounded like blasts from tanks in the Iraqi War. 

Prescod, who is trained by his father, Kuma Prescod, is focused on one thing – a promise. 

“I promised my grandma before she passed away that I would become a world champion,” Prescod told FightsATW.com. “I attended on living up to that.”

At this year’s Olympic Trials, the 17-year-old, who was unable to compete for the USA Boxing Olympic team based on age, put on a clinic—stoppages, standing eight counts. Prescod was a fighter that those in attendance made sure to watch. It was comparable only to Najee Lopez’s run at the 2019 Olympic Trials in Oxnard, California, in which people circled his bout for the amount of excitement he brought. Prescod had that same type of excitement around his fights. 

Light heavyweight lacks depth. You have two all-time greats in this era, Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, and then you have the guys looking to lay claim to the next era, Callum Smith, Joshua Buatsi, and many others. Prescod looks to add himself to that list.

Poetically, he is coming out of the same gym and following in the footsteps of the last great American light heavyweight – Andre Ward. Sometimes, great things come to those who wait. Prescod might not have the name yet, but good things come to those who wait. 

If you are a fight fan, Prescod is worth waiting for.