The junior middleweight division is filled with top talent, and one fighter coming up the ranks is looking to add his name to that list in the future. 27-year-old junior middleweight Jordan Panthen (8-0, 7 KOs) will face Victor Toney (8-2-1, 6 KOs) this Thursday at The Hanger in Costa Mesa, CA on Triller TV. Panthen’s road to becoming a pro was filled with twists and turns, but he is now on the straight path, hoping to become a world champion one day.
Panthen, from Coldspring, NY, was raised in NY until he was 13, when he moved to Hawaii. Going from NY to Hawaii was a drastic move but necessary because his father was in the Navy. Panthen’s father served for 40 years, so Hawaii became his home after a while. He was introduced to boxing in Hawaii as it was “the thing to do” there. Panthen was always an aggressive kid and enjoyed contact sports, so boxing felt like the natural fit for him. Although his first sparring session gave him a slap of reality, Panthen immediately loved it.
“I did my first sparring session and got my as* kicked and said, ‘aight, bet, run that back.’ The guy beat me up, but in a couple of weeks, I got him back.”
Panthen would stick with boxing and hooked up with Coach Kay Koroma, but something was missing from his life. He would satisfy that empty feeling, but it would cost him five years as a fighter. “I was in Virginia with Coach Kay, Shakur Stevenson, and Troy Isley, and everything was going well, but I had other passions as a kid. I had a passion for horses when I was four years old, grew up on John Wayne, and thought to myself, if I don’t do it now, I’ll never do it. I had connections, so I went out and lived that life. I didn’t make any money, but I did rodeo, traveled around, and worked on a ranch. I literally lived the life of a cowboy,” said Panthen.
After living that cowboy life, Panthen returned to Virginia, and instead of going to college, he decided to get into business. Panthen looked into joining the military like his father, but they didn’t get back to him until a year later. By then, Panthen was doing well for himself, doing sales and running gyms. Right before COVID hit in 2020, Panthen, who was about 210 pounds, walked into a gym to spar after years of inactivity. “I was in a great spot personally and financially, but I went to a gym one day, overweight, hadn’t sparred in years, and faced an undefeated pro. I beat the crap out of the guy. I felt like I got better and decided then to make another run at boxing.”
That run included hooking up with the “Hawaiin Punch” Brian Viloria. After about a year, Panthen was introduced to Julian Chua at Brickhouse Boxing in Los Angeles, CA, and they have been together ever since. Panthen fought five times in 2023; this will already be his third fight this year. He looks to match or surpass last year’s activity as he knows there is a level of catching up that has to be done to make up for that five-year break.
On Thursday, Panthen looks to put on a great performance and beat Toney, who’s only two losses were against Troy Isley and Sebastian Fundora. Panthen is a confident young fighter and is not shy about his intentions. “I’m here to get sh*t done. I’m going to shove my name down people’s throats.” Thursday on Triller TV, we shall see if Panthen is a prospect to watch or if he will be a slow build.
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