This exact time last year, both were still unbeaten prospects. Now each has been defeated twice (and each, in parallel, once by decision and once by KO) and they are looking to rebuild at one another's expense on the Derevyanchenko vs. Culcay undercard this Saturday. Fight night will, interestingly enough, be the first anniversary of when Owens' cherry was popped by freakishly tall (six foot seven inch!) southpaw light middleweight Sebastian Alexander "Towering Inferno" Fundora, on April 13th of 2018 on FS1. He subsequently lost in his sophomore TV appearance, on points to Chordale Booker in Brooklyn this past September on the García vs. Porter undercard. Gaytan has fared a little better against unbeaten opponents: defeating virtual novice (1-0 as of when he fought him) Farhad Arif Oglu Fatulla in a 4-rounder and the more experienced Kendrick Ball Jr. in a 6-rounder before dropping two in a row against Hurshidbek Normatov & Donald Reed. He returned in February to eke out a SD in his first 8-rounder against 12-0 Raphael Chukwuyekwu "Trouble" Igbokwe, so unlike VeShawn he is coming off a win. I'm buddies on FaceBook with VSO, and therefore biased in his favor. If he drops a third in a row, however, I'm going to have to stop believing him when keeps selling the "I'm going to really show more in this one" line.
I think he caught a raw deal being tossed in with a freak like Fundora so early in his career. The guy he subsequently lost to, Chordale Booker, is also quite a good prospect (and VeShawn mentioned on FaceBook they were close personal buddies from back in the amateurs), and incidentally happens to be Wale Omotoso's scheduled opponent for his comeback next month.
