Young Sunset boxer wins first match at Barclays Center by KO

January 19, 2016 Jaime DeJesus

Photo courtesy of Jovita Sosa

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A young Sunset Park boxer makes his neighborhood proud.

On Saturday, January 16, 20-year-old junior welterweight boxer Julian Sosa made his Barclays Center debut, leaving the ring victorious and making the night by far his biggest bout yet.

Entering the evening with a record of 3-0-1, Sosa faced Bryan Timmons from Missouri, with a record of 3-6. Although Timmons is considered by Sosa to be an unconventional fighter, he was ready for the fight.

“He has a lot in his arsenal. He was able to fight both stance lefty and righty and I’ve seen clips of him,” he said. “All of his wins were by knockout. We had to adapt any way possible.”

During the scheduled four-round bout, Sosa took control early and often, stating that both the crowd and his adrenaline gave him the edge during the match. “I took control and showed my presence while in the ring,” he said. “While fighting, I felt very confident that night. During the fight, I thought I would take my time, but as soon as bell rang, I was the aggressor right away. I felt the adrenaline rush.”

The game plan was to go for a knockout, but towards the latter stages of the match.

“I thought it would happen in the fourth, but the environment pumped me up and gave me more energy and focus. When I did that, I did a lot of damages with my punches,” said Sosa, who knocked out Timmons in the second round.

Over 425 of Sosa’s family and friends attended the match, cheering the Sunset boxer on. “ In my head, just knowing they’re there to support me and are happy to see me do well just made me emotional,” he said. “They were screaming loud and rushed to look for me after the fight to take pictures.”

There were plenty of highlights for the rising fighter. “As soon as the referee waved his arms and the fight was over, I thought of the six weeks of training camp,” he said. “It took a really hard strain on my body. I knew it was all worth it. In my mind, I thanked God that it paid off.”

The weigh-in conference before the fight was another memorable moment for Sosa. “The weigh in the day before the fight was so surreal,” he recalled. “My previous ones weren’t really this type of caliber. There were lots of cameramen, reporters and fans. It was quadruple the size of what I’ve been used to. I was feeling great and thankful. I made sure to soak it in and I embraced the moment very much and appreciated it.”

Despite the confidence he absorbed from the crowd and help from coaches and his family, Sosa did feel some nerves.

“When it was my time to fight and I was getting closer to the ring, I heard the crowd roar. It was such a new experience. At that point, I was getting this nervous wrecking feeling,” he recalled. “It’s not every day I’m able to do this. I took it in, looked around and appreciated what I was watching and what I was about to experience. This could be the only time this is happening — take advantage of it. And that’s what I did.”

At the end of the day, Sosa was thrilled to represent Sunset Park.

“I’ve been here whole life. When the announcer says that I’m from Sunset Park, it was a very proud moment for me,” he said. “It’s a one-of-a-kind neighborhood and I try my best to keep representing it.”