
Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington is no stranger to pressure. The Brooklyn native metaphorically carries the weight of the Brownsville neighborhood every time he steps into the ring at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Thus far, with a perfect record of 15-0, he’s met those expectations and even exceeded them at times. However, his latest test may prove to be his most difficult yet.
Fighting for the interim WBC Featherweight Championship, Carrington will put his unblemished record on the line against another unbeaten fighter, Mateus Heita. While Heita doesn’t have a fan base in the U.S. or major promotional backing like Carrington, he does have the same goal in mind — to become a world champion. Heading into the highly anticipated showdown, Carrington said that his upcoming fight with Heita is the “biggest” of his career.
“[This is your] first 12-round [fight]. Let’s talk about it,” Top Rank’s Crystina Poncher said to Carrington. “I mean, this is [your] goal. This is what we talked about [at] your pro debut. [This is] where you wanted to be. You want to fight for a world title. This one is an interim title opportunity, which very well could be elevated to a world title in the future, depending on how things play out, but this [fight] has the biggest stakes thus far in your career. Would you agree?”
“[I’d agree], 100 percent,” Carrington answered. “This is the thing I’ve been begging for over the last year and a half. I just wanted to have an opportunity to fight on the championship level. Now, we’re here. We’ve prepared overtime. Like, I’m already ready to hop on the scale today, get in this ring, and get into a fight right now. Like, I’m just so locked in mentally.”
Carrington will have an opportunity to show the world how ready he is to fight on the championship level this Saturday. The Brooklyn native will duel Heita for a dozen rounds as he tries to make his hometown fans proud on ESPN.