Rising undefeated junior middleweight prospect Alantez Fox (10-0-1, 4 KOs) will be making his third appearance of the year on April 20th against Djolevi Ballogou (8-4, 6 KOs) at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. The Maryland native Fox will square off with Ballogou in a scheduled 6 rounder.
The plan has always been to keep Fox busy and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Treading the line between dedication and over exertion can be rewarding and Fox feels totally in control of his physical nature.
“I am in great shape and being able to stay busy has been a huge benefit for me, that is unfortunate for my opponent because he’s going to have to find a way to outwork me, which isn’t happening,” Fox said.
Fox went on to explain how the physical and psychological benefits of maintaining a high work rate can be a motivating factor.
“Keep serving them up, that’s how I feel because a closed mouth don’t get fed and I’m fighting like I’m starving. I’m trying to fight as many times possible. It just feels right being in training camp and preparing for a fight. Each time I go out there I try to improve and work on the things that will make me a better fighter, so it’s important for me to go out there and make every fight count,” Fox said.
Boxing 360’s Mario Yagobi, Fox’s promoter, said keeping his fighter busy is a smart way of bringing a fighter along and his schedule will slow down as the opponents become more difficult.
“He’s right where we want him in terms of progression, it’s the strategy we’ve discussed and we’re sticking to it. You have to find the balance between challenging your fighter and allowing him to come up without being rushed. Right now the difficulty of the opponent is increasing but we’re still staying active, we just have to be aware,” Yagobi said.
Yagobi is right about the toughness of Fox’s April 20th opponent; Ballogou possesses some power and can be a very dangerous puncher at any moment in a fight, scoring stoppages in early and late rounds. He’s also gone the distance in 12 round fights, whereas Fox has fought 6 rounds the majority of his career, with the exception of his one and only 8 rounder back in September of last year.
