JONAS SULTAN will face undefeated Puerto Rican Carlos Caraballo on Sunday in a non-title bantamweight fight organized by Top Rank’s Bob Arum as co-main event of the Jose Zepeda-Josue Vargas bout at the Hulu Theater of the Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“I’m very excited for this fight. I’m proud to be here again in a Top Rank card,” the 29-year-old Sultan said during the card’s news conference on Thursday in New York City. “This is going to be a great fight between me and Caraballo. May the best man win—and maybe I’ll be the best man.”
Sultan (17-5 record with 11 knockouts) is supported by the MLV Group of Michael Venezuela, Zamboanga City sports patron Junnie Navarro and her mother Kings CEO Cory Navarro. He will be taking on the knockout specialist Caraballo who decked all of his previous 14 opponents.
“If I beat Caraballo, it would have a big impact on my career,” Sultan said. “I would be looking for another world title fight.”
Sultan thanked International Boxing Federation super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas and head trainer Joven Jimenez for helping him train at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, California.
“Jerwin Ancajas is my friend and a sparring partner for this fight. He gave me the confidence and motivated me to win this fight,” he said. “He taught me a lot of technique…let’s get ready to rumble for this fight.”
Sultan is coming off an impressive seventh-round technical knockout win against American Sharone Carter last August 14 in Carson City, California.
A victory by Sultan will line him up for a possible world title bout next year. Caraballo, an up-and-coming superstar in Puerto Rico who fights under former world champion Miguel Cotto, said he would be the next superstar from his country.
“It’s motivating for me to know that big names in Puerto Rican boxing like Miguel Cotto and Felix Trinidad and other great champions have performed here,” he said. “I’m ready to put on a great performance and be the next fighter to come out of Puerto Rico.”