AFTER suffering an early career setback, Texas native Tristan Kalkreuth is now enjoying an eight-fight winning streak. The latest fall guy, Devonte Williams, fell pretty easily when barely a punch landed flush in the second round.
As the bell sounded to signal round three, Williams decided he had had enough. He was a late replacement after all, stepping in during fight week, to save the contest. Kalkreuth, meanwhile, dealt with him accordingly and now visualises himself as a cruiserweight contender.
“Absolutely, and I want the best. Zurdo, Badou Jack, Jake Paul. Hey, they call him the problem child, and I’m the solution,” beamed the 23-year-old.
DAZN interviewer Chris Mannix praised the ambition, and ambition is what it is, given that Kalkreuth is way down the pecking order when it comes to Jake Paul’s choices. He’s young, hungry, and dangerous, which ticks pretty much no boxes.
The win on last night’s Duarte-Sims Jr undercard will likely be one of the easiest of Kalkreuth’s career, even though he copped a couple of surprise right hands in the opening session. Once Kalkreuth found his range, it was all over.
“I was prepared for a lot tougher opponent, but something happened, so I came here. My job is to kill, sweep, and repeat. I did my job, and much respect for my opponent coming in the last minute,” said the winner, before rallying the appreciative crowd, as his father is from Chicago.
Kalkreuth praised his wider corner team, which now includes fight veteran Ismael Salas, for helping put the strategy together. Making quick adjustments, Tristan executed the game plan perfectly. Kalkreuth was complimentary of the new training methods and also of Salas’ godly attitude compared to Kalkreuth’s old set-up, described as “ghetto”.
One thing that went right was the finishing shot on Williams. It was landed so well that he simply turned away to celebrate the moment, knowing that Devontae’s body would be feeling the aftereffects.
“Salas, he’s a believer in Christ, I feel here that my talents were recognised.”
And on the finishing shot: “It made a pretty sound. Usually when it makes a pretty sound like that, it hit the sweet spot.”
