By: Sean Crose

You could tell right away the man meant business. The way he started firing off his left hand in a powerful jab immediately after the opening bell suggested the fight wouldn’t go the full scheduled 10 rounds.  It didn’t even get past the first. A lightning quick flurry, punctuated by a missile to the liver, sent Fernando Castanada to the mat. Fighting through the pain, the game competitor got back to his feet. It was pointless to continue, however, and referee Rafael Ramos wisely stopped the fight. Travell Mazion, the man behind Castanda’s destruction that evening last January, had won for the 17th time in a row, this time at the famed Alamodome. 

Now possessing a record of 17 wins, no defeats and 13 knockouts, Mazion is clearly a fighter on the rise. “If it comes, it comes,” says Mazion good naturedly of scoring a knockout. He’s friendly, Mazion, friendly and engaging to talk to. Combined with his burgeoning resume, it’s little wonder Golden Boy Promotions holds Mazion in high regard.

Just how promising is the 6’2 super welterweight? Promising enough for Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan to possibly be his next opponent. “That’s a big step up,” says Mazion. Indeed. To get to the likes of the popular Irish fighter in less than 20 fights is quite an accomplishment.

“Whatever they throw at me,” Mazion says, “I’m going to take.” Although he has a media friendly personality, Mazion isn’t into being aggressive outside the ring. “I’m not the kind of fighter,” says Mazion, “who’s going to talk crap and call you out.” Hey, the guy’s likeable. “I’m a people person,” he says. “I get along with anyone or anybody.” Not that he can’t lay out a highly trained professional boxer. A quick look at Mazion’s early career fight with Antonio Sanchez shows just how effectively and abruptly the guy can end a fight. One minute Sanchez is fighting well, the next, he’s out on the mat, his body moving about while his mind is unconscious, all courtesy of a Mazion left.

At the moment Mazion is, like everyone else, dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. “I’m back in Arkansas,” he says. Like most who find themselves under self-imposed quarantine, Mazion is eager for life to get back to normal. “Until then,” he says, “its home gym.” Mazion is making it through this strange and dangerous period of time by “just staying active and in shape.” At just twenty-four years of age, he has time on his side. 

Here is a rising fighter worth keeping an eye on.

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