January 31, 2017 at 6:20 p.m.
Round two, fight
After August cancelation, Kenney to get another title shot
Round two, fight
He said it before.
He’ll say it again.
“I’m walking away with that belt.”
Casey Kenney, a 2009 Jay County High School graduate, first uttered those words this summer, days before he expected to win the Tachi Palace Fights flyweight championship. But that fight was canceled because his opponent, Jared Papazian, failed to make weight.
Six months later, he’s scheduled to get his chance again.
In the co-main event at Thursday’s Tachi Palace Fights 30, Kenney will square off against veteran Alvin Cacdac for the vacant flyweight title.
“I am beyond ready for this to come,” said Kenney. “August, I thought the belt was gonna be mine. … I’ve been ready to fight since then. … I’ve been waiting.”
He will compete in the second-to-last of the nine fights scheduled for TPF 30, with the lightweight title bought between Danny Navarro and Cain Carrizosa to follow. The card in Lemoore, California, begins at 9 p.m. EST and will be streamed live online at http://www.sherdog.com.
Cacdac will be by far the most experienced fighter Kenney has met in his young career.
Fighting out of San Jose, California, he has a 17-12 record and is a former two-time champion, having held flyweight belts for both Pacific Xtreme Combat and Dragon House. He’s 5-2 in his last seven fights, the most recent of which was a 31-second TKO of Steve Gruber at Bellator 165 in November.
“He’s going to try to just wear me out, put me up against the cage, beat me up … hit me with some big punches,” said Kenney, who is undefeated in five professional bouts. “It’s a good fight for me. Against the cage, wrestling kind of stuff, is where I like to be.”
He’ll say it again.
“I’m walking away with that belt.”
Casey Kenney, a 2009 Jay County High School graduate, first uttered those words this summer, days before he expected to win the Tachi Palace Fights flyweight championship. But that fight was canceled because his opponent, Jared Papazian, failed to make weight.
Six months later, he’s scheduled to get his chance again.
In the co-main event at Thursday’s Tachi Palace Fights 30, Kenney will square off against veteran Alvin Cacdac for the vacant flyweight title.
“I am beyond ready for this to come,” said Kenney. “August, I thought the belt was gonna be mine. … I’ve been ready to fight since then. … I’ve been waiting.”
He will compete in the second-to-last of the nine fights scheduled for TPF 30, with the lightweight title bought between Danny Navarro and Cain Carrizosa to follow. The card in Lemoore, California, begins at 9 p.m. EST and will be streamed live online at http://www.sherdog.com.
Cacdac will be by far the most experienced fighter Kenney has met in his young career.
Fighting out of San Jose, California, he has a 17-12 record and is a former two-time champion, having held flyweight belts for both Pacific Xtreme Combat and Dragon House. He’s 5-2 in his last seven fights, the most recent of which was a 31-second TKO of Steve Gruber at Bellator 165 in November.
“He’s going to try to just wear me out, put me up against the cage, beat me up … hit me with some big punches,” said Kenney, who is undefeated in five professional bouts. “It’s a good fight for me. Against the cage, wrestling kind of stuff, is where I like to be.”
Kenney’s most experienced opponent prior to this week was Paul Amaro, who was 3-4 before they met in June 2015.
He has been waiting patiently for an opportunity like this — a chance to win a belt and in the process catch the eyes of the promoters at the next level in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He hasn’t fought since May, when he scored a first-round submission victory over Angel Hernandez. His fight before that also resulted in a first-round submission win as he needed just 1 minute, 48 seconds, to tap out Anthony Torres.
On one hand, Kenney would have liked to have been fighting during that time, continuing to climb the ladder. On the other hand, he’s been trying to be smart about choosing his fights and in the process using his time off to get better.
“It was almost good for me,” he said. “I took a step back and kind of just got to work on some stuff, almost expand my game. … I’ve taken some time and added some new weapons to my arsenal.”
That includes work on boxing for the fighter who has a judo and wrestling background. (He was a three-time national champion in judo in his youth and a two-time state medalist in wrestling at JCHS.)
He hopes all of those skills can help him walk away with the title he had hoped to claim six months ago.
“It’ll be great. It’ll be kind of a big relief really,” said Kenney. “Especially in my weight class, it’s a pretty prestigious belt.”
He has been waiting patiently for an opportunity like this — a chance to win a belt and in the process catch the eyes of the promoters at the next level in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He hasn’t fought since May, when he scored a first-round submission victory over Angel Hernandez. His fight before that also resulted in a first-round submission win as he needed just 1 minute, 48 seconds, to tap out Anthony Torres.
On one hand, Kenney would have liked to have been fighting during that time, continuing to climb the ladder. On the other hand, he’s been trying to be smart about choosing his fights and in the process using his time off to get better.
“It was almost good for me,” he said. “I took a step back and kind of just got to work on some stuff, almost expand my game. … I’ve taken some time and added some new weapons to my arsenal.”
That includes work on boxing for the fighter who has a judo and wrestling background. (He was a three-time national champion in judo in his youth and a two-time state medalist in wrestling at JCHS.)
He hopes all of those skills can help him walk away with the title he had hoped to claim six months ago.
“It’ll be great. It’ll be kind of a big relief really,” said Kenney. “Especially in my weight class, it’s a pretty prestigious belt.”
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