CHRIS ‘2SLICK’ Kongo hopes he has impressed sponsors and promoters after his victory over Edvinas Puplauskas at the weekend brought his professional record to 3-0.
Welterweight Kongo, 24, from Bermondsey, was in imperious form as he stopped Puplauskas in the first round at the Olympia in Kensington.
Kongo, a Millwall fan one of whose ambitions is to fight at The Den, didn’t get into the ring competitively for a year after finding out he wouldn’t be selected for the Team GB boxing squad for the Rio Olympics.
He instead turned professional, concentrating on working in the gym.
He has been relying on securing sponsorship to fund his career, and hopes to secure a six-round bout next. Kongo revealed he had stuck to his game plan on Saturday night rather than go for an eye-catching performance, with the powerful Puplauskas always a threat.
“I was very confident coming into this fight because I knew the hard work had been done, there was no stone left unturned,” Kongo said. “After the fight I was really happy in terms of the way I performed.
“I wasn’t trying to please anybody or go for the KO early, it just came the first round. I was very wary of his power because he had three KOs, so I was trying to go in there and think as much as I could and look for openings.
“In terms of exposure it means a lot. I’ve had a lot of new followers lately on Instagram and Twitter, people are starting to take notice of me now. Some people had heard of the name but couldn’t put a face to it which they have done now, so it’s great.
“I’m sure after that performance my price goes up, as they say, because sponsors and promoters can see what they’re actually working with now.”