What promised to be an intriguing matchup between George Lo (1-0) and David Collins (1-1) has fallen through due to Collins catching the flu. Cody Reece, the undefeated 8-0 amateur fighter out of Team ROC Charlotte has stepped up to fill the vacancy, making his professional debut in the process.
Standing 5-feet, 6-inches tall, Reece will be giving up a significant reach advantage against the 6-foot southpaw Lo. As our fight analayst Ses Stevenson noted previously, “George Lo has incredible one-punch power in both hands… Lo’s frame will allow him to be more fluid and agile to avoid grappling exchanges and force Collins into a firefight, where Lo can capitalize on his ability to set traps with his footwork.”
Reece will need to work inside of Lo’s range, but once there may be able to dominate exchanges in the pocket and the clinch, or transition to grappling and negate some of the benefits of Lo’s length.
Both men have proven themselves to be well-rounded competitors, however, so there’s no simple path to victory for either man. Reece’s zero-hour challenge could prove confounding to Lo’s gameplan — modeled on striking against Collins, also a tall southpaw. But coming off an abbreviated training camp can also pose challenges. There are no safe bets here, except that it will prove an exciting bout to welcome Reece into the professional ranks.
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