Kenney cruises to 2nd victory

SAN FRANCISCO — For a day, Casey Kenney wasn’t sure he’d get to fight. But come Saturday night, he cruised to his second professional win.
Kenney, a 2008 Jay County High School graduate, dominated Paul Amaro for a win by unanimous decision Saturday during Dragon House 20 at Kezar Pavilion.
“I dominated in the striking aspect,” Kenney said Sunday. “I took him down every round. I was on top of him, landed some good shots. He didn’t really do a whole lot of damage to me. He was backing up a lot of the time. I definitely was confident when it went to a decision.”
The two-time state medalist as a wrestler at JCHS nearly didn’t get to fight, as he was originally scheduled to take on Matt “The Machine” Ramirez on Saturday’s card. Ramirez (1-1) suffered and injury Tuesday evening, and had to pull out of the fight.
But Amaro, who had also been training for a fight this weekend, stepped in after his scheduled opponent also backed out.
Kenney was in control from the start against Amaro (3-4), coming out as the aggressor. He repeatedly put Amaro on the defensive with punches, and then did the bulk of his damage with kicks and knees.
“I was trying to basically just pick him apart throughout the whole fight,” said Kenney. “I was looking for the finish the whole time, but he was a tough kid.”
At least once in each period, Kenney came close to ending the contest. So when it went to a decision, marking the first time the 24-year-old has gone the 15-minute distance in a professional fight, he earned the unanimous decision.
“It was awesome,” he said. “I was having a blast out there. I was smiling from ear to ear all the way up until the fight, until it was game time. It’s one of the most fun things I’ve ever done.”
Kenney won all six of his amateur fights before going pro in December, when he topped Elijah Muhammad by submission. He said he hopes to fight again in August, but doesn’t have anything definitive set.