Nelson prepares for Cuello

YOUNGSTOWN

Unlike his singing namesake, local boxer Willie Nelson prefers to “belt” out his tune in the ring.

The 26-year old (20-1-1 overall, 12 KOs) next will meet Luciano Leonel Cuello (32-2, 16 KOs) on June 29 at Foxwoods Resorts’ MGM Grand in Mashantucket, Conn., as part of HBO’s “Boxing After Dark” series.

It’s exposure that trainer Jack Loew says could propel Nelson’s career to the next level.

“Willie is the number-three-ranked contender in the WBC and both Ring Magazine and Dan Raphael of ESPN have Willie ranked number 10, pound-for-pound at 154 pounds so HBO will without a doubt be his biggest professional exposure to date,” Loew said.

“It’s like when Kelly [Pavlik] fought [Jose Luis] Zertuche and knocked him out in the eighth-round. That big splash then led to fights with Edison Miranda and Jermain Taylor and we all know what happened after that.”

Nelson, a Cleveland native who was valedictorian of his class at Margaret Ireland Academy, came to Loew two years ago after working with his city’s noted trainer, Renard Safo.

Under Safo he went 16-1, but the knock was that he couldn’t break Willie of his amateur habits and professionally he was stagnating.

“At nearly 6’4” tall and 154 pounds, he’s a gym rat with plenty of God-given talent,” Loew said. “Willie’s a bigger Thomas Hearns and Paul Williams.

“HBO is looking for another star and I believe that Willie Nelson can be that next star. Many in the boxing business believe that he is one of the top-three-ranked junior middleweights overall and that would not have happened under Safo,” Loew said. “It’s all falling into place right now for Willie in much the same manner that it did for Kelly.”

Since joining Loew at his South Side Boxing Gym and training facility, Nelson has gone 4-0 with two TKO’s and two unanimous decisions.

His last time out was against Michael Medina on March 1 when he scored a first-round TKO to defend his NABF light middleweight title.

While Loew and his team have pushed Nelson with the WBC, any offers from boxing’s other sanctioning bodies would be looked at.

“You always look for the best opportunity for your fighter,” Loew said.

Nelson has had a great camp thus far, but will kick his training up a notch beginning this week when Grady Brewer — he fought Kelly Pavlik early in his career — arrives to serve as his sparring partner for the next four weeks.

Cuello, a native of Argentina, went the distance with Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. and was stopped by Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in the seventh round for his only two losses.

“While we do not know much about Cuello, Jack [Loew] and I have watched plenty of tape of him and know that he likes to come forward and is a decent puncher,” Nelson said. “My strategy will be very simple in that I must control the fight.

“I’ll box forward, not backward and keep him at the end of his punches,” Nelson said. “Staying behind the jab, following that up with my right and letting those two punches set everything up will be the key.”

Nelson and Cuello are the opening fight on the card, which begins at 9:45 p.m.

Thomas Oosthuizen will fight Brandon Gonzales in the co-feature. Defending WBA/IBO champion Genady ‘GGG” Golovkin (26-0, 23 KOs) will take on Ireland’s top-rated former world title challenger Mathew “Mack the Knife” Macklin (29-4, 20 KOs) for the middleweight championship.