Many of us had our first glimpse of him earlier tonight against Emmanuel Lucero in the FNF co-feature. He made quite an impression. He did get hit a bit more than it seemed he needed to, but at the end of the night he got the job done and showed some terrific offensive skill, speed, and power in the process. He's only boxed fifteen times as a pro, clocking fifty rounds in two years. Before that he was a Golden Gloves winner at lightweight, with almost 200 amateur fights. That is where the skill comes from. The speed, power, and instincts look natural. There's a lot to be excited about. Unfortunately, he'll need to seek out world-class training if he's to really harvest his potential and not get derailed along the way. He is trained by the same Renard Sefo who failed to prepare stablemate Willie Nelson (of comparable amateur pedigree) for his first step up against Vincent Arroyo. Sefo might be a very good regional-level coach in Cleveland, but Evans seems bound for greener pastures than Cleveland. He'll need someone who can teach him more than Sefo is capable of (if Nelson's shortcomings are any indicator).
I think with proper coaching he could beat Adrien Broner (the other standout super featherweight out of Cleveland).
Evans is a KO waiting to happen. He does have Raw Talent, Speed and the Ability to throw crisp punches in bunches. But he stands straight-up during exchange, when he does show movement, he pulls straight-back (a no-no in Boxing) and at times he allowed a smaller fighter to just closed distance without poppin' his nice jab. Offensively Talented, But Defensively FLAWED.
