Tyson Cave Hits Pay Dirt: Signs with Major Boxing Player – Boxing News
By Lou Eisen
Recently, one of Canada’s top fighter’s signed a major promotional deal in the United States with one of the movers and shakers in the world of professional boxing. Canadian super bantamweight fighter Tyson Cave greatly improved his chances of getting a world title shot in the very near future by signing a promotional deal with Sampson Boxing. The very successful boxing manager, agent, advisor, matchmaker and talent scout, Sampson Lefkowicz owns and operates the eponymously named company.
Lefkowicz is well known and highly respected in professional boxing circles. Lefkowicz serves as an advisor to the former undisputed world middleweight champion, Sergio Martinez. Lefkowicz is widely admired for his ability to scout and develop boxing talent. It was Lefkowicz who famously discovered Manny Pacquiao on a scouting mission to the Philippines in 2001.
Lefkowicz believes he has struck gold again by “discovering” Cave (W24, KO8, L2), a talented southpaw who hails from Halifax, Nova Scotia and goes by the nom de guerre “Prince of Hali.” Signing with Lefkowicz is no doubt the major career boost that Cave has required for some time now. If Cave can keep winning, Lefkowicz will get him a shot at the WBA super bantamweight world title, currently held by the seemingly unbeatable Guillermo Rigondeaux. Lefkowicz already has Cave’s first fight lined up.
Cave’s inaugural fight under the Sampson Boxing promotional banner will be against stable mate Oscar Escandon who has one less pro fight than Cave but twice as many knockouts against only one loss by split decision. Escandon is rated number two in the world by the WBA. Upon signing for the fight, Cave couldn’t resist tooting his own horn.
Cave brashly remarked, “To be totally honest, Escandon is lucky to be number two in the world. He’s done his career the easy way. I’ve done it the hard way. I’m down here in Nova Scotia where nobody’s ever heard of me. He gets these easy fights to build his record up and I’m here grinding (it out). He better learn how to move and be ready for some unbelievable speed. I think he’s flat-footed and it’ll be a big problem for him that night.”
Hopefully Cave is aware that he will have to back up his words once he steps into the squared circle to take on Escandon. Lefkowicz has a large roster of top-rated talent and thus has a lot of leverage in the sport. Lefkowicz will no doubt endeavor to put that leverage to good use while attempting to further Cave’s career. Cave was a highly regarded five-time Canadian amateur champion and is presently ranked by the WBA at number five in their most recent super bantamweight ratings. Cave is 32 years old and is widely considered by most boxing experts to be in his prime. Cave’s decision to sign with Sampson Boxing was a smart move primarily because it is hard to become a legitimate world title contender while based in the Canadian Maritimes.
Cave will pleasantly find that one of the many benefits of signing a promotional deal with Lefkowicz is he will now be working with a much higher quality and wider variety of sparring partners, many of whom can perfectly mimic his upcoming opponents moves. In Canada, Cave had one fighter, Dan Trenaman, that he used all of the time as his main sparring partner. Cave held the WBC Continental Americas super bantamweight title. He is the current NABA super bantamweight champion. Of course, Cave would happily trade his NABA belt for a world title strap if and when the opportunity presents itself.
Cave’s ring generalship is as good as any other contender in his weight class. Cave is an exciting boxer to watch and usually puts on a great show for his fans. Cave should prove to be a good fit with Lefkowicz, who has done very well for his large stable of fighters. Lefkowicz is always signing hot prospects from all over the world, including Canada, Poland, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Panama, the United States and the Dominican Republic just to name a few.
Cave signing with Lefkowicz instantly puts the young Canadian in the upper echelons of pro boxing. If there is any downside it is that Cave will now be part of a much deeper and more formidable talent pool. In other words, as Cave rises in the super bantamweight world rankings, the fighters he will have to face along the way will be much more difficult and dangerous in every respect.
The super bantamweight division is stacked with talent and loaded with fighters that like to trade power for power and that is not Cave’s game. The current three super bantamweight world champions are Leo Santa Cruz (WBC), Carl Frampton (IBF) and Guillermo Rigondeaux (WBA). Between the three of them they have 59 victories with 37 knockouts, no losses and one draw. Cave would be in tough with all three of them.
Cave’s longtime trainer Bunny Phillips is also happy with Cave signing a promotional deal with Sampson Boxing, believing it will help to eliminate any remaining hurdles in his path to a world title shot. Cave always had some trouble getting fights previously because no one wanted to face him and his unique blend of hand speed, educated feet and overall ring generalship. However, before Cave or his trainer can even begin to think about a world title shot, he must first get by Escandon in spectacular fashion.
Cave will find out that from now on his fights will begin to get exponentially tougher with each successive fight on his way to the top of the division. This is exactly what Cave has desired for a long time now. He wants to be in fights that are meaningful and can help his career. Well, his wish has come true. Now, all he has to do is win, win, win and to keep on winning until he gets his chance at a world title strap. The road ahead will be bumpy but the potential payoff makes it all worthwhile.