Brandyn Lynch wins his pro debut by TKO in Texas
photo: Christian Inoferio
On Saturday night, October 8, 2016, super welterweight boxer, Brandyn “Bad News” Lynch (Los Angeles, California) made his professional boxing debut, displaying an overall package of athleticism, solid boxing skills, and power to defeat Nubion Houston (Shreveport, Louisiana) by technical knockout at 53 seconds of Round 4. Lynch-Houston was scheduled for four rounds on a south Texas boxing show, titled, “Fall Fest Fight Night.” The fight card was promoted by Omar Figueroa’s Panterita Promotions, and held at the Brownsville Sports Park in Brownsville, Texas. In the co-main event, Shane Mosley Jr. defeated Omar Rojas by unanimous decision, and in the main event, Brandon Figueroa defeated his opponent, Raymond Chacon, by unanimous decision.
Lynch is a 2013 graduate from the University of Northern Arizona. He is trained and managed by his father Vernon Lynch Jr., and is the nephew of well-known comedians, Eddie Murphy and Charlie Murphy. His grandfather, Vernon Lynch Sr., had a successful professional boxing career and continues to be a primary inspiration to Brandyn in his decision to pursue a career as a professional boxer. In addition to a brief amateur boxing career, Brandyn had a long history of martial arts and various other athletic experiences.
Former WBC Lightweight Champion and promoter of Panterita Promotions, Omar Figueroa, said, “My goal is to be the best promoter in boxing, and this first boxing show was a steppingstone towards that. This Panterita Promotions card featured future stars Brandyn Lynch, Shane Mosley Jr., Rocco, and my brother, Brandon. This show turned out really well, and I’m just looking forward to continuing that success in my next show. I really enjoyed Brandyn Lynch’s performance tonight. I thought he looked really poised in the ring, like a veteran. There were times where his inexperience showed through, but that is expected to happen during a pro debut. Overall, I thought he did an amazing job, and he ended up stopping his opponent in the last round. We were fortunate to have him on our card. It was very short notice, but thankfully, he stays in the gym and stays in shape. His hard work in the gym showed tonight, because he was well prepared.”
Team Lynch’s head trainer and manager, Vernon Lynch Jr. said, “It was a good thing for us to travel and get out of California for Brandyn’s debut. I was interested to see how he would perform outside of his comfort zone. This was Brandyn’s first fight at an outside venue, and south Texas is known for its humid climate, so there were some concerns. Going into the fight, I knew we had advantages in height and reach, but I wasn’t sure if we were going to have advantages in power and speed. We were going to figure that out in Round 1 and begin implementing our strategy in Round 2, where we would gradually pick him apart. He popped his jab and worked the right hand pretty well. I would like to see more head movement and bodywork, even though it is more difficult to dig to the body when the opponent is much shorter than you.
Overall, I think he did a good job, listening and following my direction. Our opponent didn’t capitalize on a few mistakes Brandyn made tonight, but we noticed them in the corner and will be making the appropriate adjustments. We are going to continue working on our defensive skills in the gym. He knows what he’s doing in there, but I’d like him to see a higher guard in certain situations. Our goal was to learn from this experience and get the W. He stopped his opponent in the last round and he did what I asked him to do. We are really grateful to Omar Figueroa and his team, Anna Corina Villarreal, Michael Contreras, and all of Panterita Promotions for helping to make Brandyn’s pro debut a truly memorable experience. They treated us really well and we wanted to deliver a great performance. We can’t wait to come back and display the next level of Brandyn’s development. Panterita Promotions is a great promotional company and we are looking forward to working with them again in the near future.”
Twenty-five year old Brandyn Lynch said, “We arrived in Texas on Wednesday, and right from the start, Omar Figueroa and his promotional team took really good care of us and everyone who fought on this card. They took us around town. We ate at some great restaurants like the Flying Pig, and they housed my team at a really scenic country club location. After the fight, we had a great party set up and were treated to some authentic Mexican tacos at Taquito Express Tacos and Grill, courtesy of Omar and his team.
I didn’t have an extensive amateur boxing career, so I am continuing to learn on the job. Going into my pro debut, I admit that I was a little bit anxious. I trained extremely hard for this, and for a long time. More than anything, I wanted to get in the ring, look great, and just put on a great performance. My opponent was a tough, durable guy. He took a lot of shots, and I kept hitting him with some good stuff. He was able to stay on his feet. In rounds two and three, I started to find my groove and settle in. I started to see a lot of the openings, and as I saw them, I was able to land shots. Each time I landed a punch, I could tell that I was hurting him. In the fourth and final round, I let my hands go, and the referee stopped the fight.
After I won by TKO, I was thinking about the plan that God has in store for me, and what my pastor had actually told me one hour before my fight. He told me to just follow the path that has been set for me, and to give all the glory to God. My team has great chemistry, and we feel blessed to be able to do what we do, give praise to God, and get paid for it. Now that this fight is over, I plan to sit down with my dad, and discuss what’s next. I plan to be back in the ring very soon. Thank you to photographer Christian Inoferio for taking some amazing pics, my boxing gyms – Wildcard Hollywood and Wildcard West, Eric Brown, Shane Mosley Sr., Trista Pisani, Shampoo & Co., Lynch-Dyson Entertainment, and Under Armour. I appreciate everyone who has been there for me, and to my new supporters, get ready for an exciting new journey. The best is yet to come.”
