Cletus "The Hebrew Hammer" Seldin is a decided underdog in his upcoming fight against Kevin "Alfa" Hayler Brown. Seldin will be traveling to Brown's home turf for their bout on Saturday at the Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Florida, USA. The undefeated Brown has fought all of his contests at the same venue.
Despite the odds that favor Brown as heavily as -1800, the 39-year-old Seldin has a real opportunity to upset the decorated amateur from Camaguey, Cuba. But these odds haven't materialized out of thin air. There's a decent chance that Brown shuts out Seldin in their twelve-round affair for a WBA trinket as part of that organization's annual conference.
The 31 year old has the faster hands and sharper skills than the New York slugger. Brown escaped to the United States to pursue a professional career just before his homeland Cuba revoked the ban on prizefighting. Since, the Las Vegas-based Brown has won all eight of his paid bouts with three knockouts.
Conversely, Seldin hasn't been at his best in recent performances. He
won a war against Patrick "Yam Mallet" Okine by sixth round TKO in 2023. "I didn't expect all the bombs he threw," Seldin told
The Jewish Boxing Blog after the battle of the blunt instruments. In March of 2024, Seldin
started strong against Jose Angulo, scoring two heavy knockdowns before uncharacteristically fading down the stretch and holding on for a majority decision win. After the Angulo fight, Seldin proposed to his girlfriend in the ring.
This past March, Seldin
looked unimpressive in another majority decision victory, this time against Yeis Solano. After the Solano bout, Seldin and his new bride announced the coming of their first child.
Now a dad, Seldin will need to recapture the devastating knockout power the Hammer has possessed throughout his 31-fight career (29-1, 23 KOs, 1 NC). It will be tough to catch Brown, who constantly varies his guard and uses unpredictable upper-body movement to dissuade his opponent's attack. Brown has a quick jab and his hands are so fast, he can land lead rights from the outside and get out of harm's way in time. "Alfa" can box on the backfoot, but he is also adept at applying subtle foot pressure when he wants to come forward.
Brown can be hit, though. He's susceptible to counter rights, and opponents have been able to land the occasional left hook on him. Though Seldin has 23 more pro fights than Brown, Brown actually has fought at least ten rounds more times (five-three). Because of Seldin's power and the accelerated pace of Brown's progression, Seldin's experience advantage is only 140 rounds to 63 despite the 31-8 fight differential. Yet, Brown does seem to fade in his ten-rounders with lacunas in the consistency of his attack.
Seldin can either go for broke early, not allowing Brown to settle into the fight and pick apart Cletus, or he can lull Brown into a sense of overconfidence. Kevin was knocked down against Idalberto Umara in the fourth round of his fifth fight. Brown sometimes keeps his left low, which could open the door for Seldin's best punch: the overhand right. Seldin needs to make it a rough fight, pounding Brown's left biceps, hip, and thigh to wear down the Cuban's guard and slow his movement. Remember, a shot to the thigh is only illegal if the ref sees it. A right to the arm, left hook to body could be an effective combo for the new dad. On the other hand, Brown will want to box on the outside and remain away from the mire to follow form.
The twelve-round Seldin-Brown battle will be streamed on BoxLab Promotions' YouTube channel.
