At the age of 23, Paul is a talented prospect at 154 pounds. He was an amateur standout before his debut, and also had two fights in AIBA’s World Series of Boxing.
In his last fight on November 16 in Oklahoma City, he won by second-round TKO against Antonio Wattell.
ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael reported from ringside [excerpts]: Junior middleweight Paul Kroll, of Philadelphia, stopped Antonio Wattell, 29, of Houston, in the second round.
Kroll had a big first round, dropping Wattell with a straight right hand and having his way for the final minute or so.
He immediately blasted Wattell with a series of clean head shots to open the second round and [the] referee stepped in at 13 seconds. [End Rafael item]
Paul made his debut on August 10, 2018, in Philadelphia and won by first-round knockout against DeAngelo Alcorn.
SecondsOut.com’s J.R. Jowett reported from ringside [excerpts]: A big local sensation was the debut of Olympic amateur Paul Kroll, who blasted out DeAngelo Alcorn in 2:33 of the first of four.
The rangy underdog tried to run while offering little offense and permitting the hero to bail out to the crowd’s delight.
Finally trapping him in a neutral corner, Kroll smartly leaned in with his left shoulder to block Alcorn’s escape to his own right, then crossed a booming right to the head that leveled the underdog. [The referee] waved it over without count as cornermen poured into the ring. [End Jowett item]
Paul said, “I’m in the gym every day. When I had my first fight, I was back in the gym the next day. I’m in the gym six, seven days a week. I’m not one of them fighters that gets ready for a fight – I stay ready. I’m always locked in. I’m always training like I got a fight. I could get a call any day – I’m always ready to fight.
“I train at Fast Lane Boxing Gym in West Philly. I spar the whole gym. I spar everybody, anybody that wants to spar.
“I train to box – I’m a boxer – but I’m versatile. I can box, I can bang, I can do it all. In the amateurs, I had to brawl a lot, so a lot of people think I’m a banger. But I’m really a boxer – I can fight forward, backwards, side to side.”
AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Paul said, “I was born and raised in Philadelphia. I’ve got two older brothers and one little sister. My mom is a caregiver – she takes care of old people. My dad manages an electrical supply store. I’m the first one from my family to box.
“I grew up in the projects – I grew up fighting. I always wanted to box, but I’m happy that I started when I started ’cause I met the right coach and he gave me everything I didn’t have – I was a natural, I was a street fighter. Growing up, I always fought – fighting was always normal to me. When I started boxing, I stopped fighting in the street.
“I started boxing when I was 15. I moved onto the same block that my coach lived on. He was training his son, and I asked him to train me. At first, he didn’t really want to train me – you know how some kids come and go. But I sat outside on his step every morning at five in the morning to go running – it was cold! After two weeks of that, he opened the door for me and I haven’t stopped.
“I had 140 amateur fights. I lost 17. In 2015 I fought, what – 62 times? – and I only lost four fights that year.
“I was an honor roll student in school, A’s and B’s. I get my work ethic from my dad. Ever since I was young – my dad took me to work when I was eight years old and he instilled that I work hard for everything in life. My dad was my role model. He supported me throughout my whole life, he made sacrifices to send me to all those tournaments. He taught me how to be a man. When I was growing up and trying to be a man, my dad and my coach always told me the difference between a man and a boy – ‘A man always does what he has to do. A boy does what he wants to do.’
“My dad and my mom are my biggest fans and my support system. Anything I need, they support me – my family supports me 110 percent. Without my family, I wouldn’t have been the amateur I was or the fighter that I am.
“I’m naturally right-handed, but I can fight both ways – right-handed and left-handed.”…
AMATEUR HIGHLIGHTS:
2016 APB/WSB WORLD OLYMPIC QUALIFIER – Vargas, Venezuela, 152 pounds: in the quarterfinals (his first fight) on 7-4-16 he lost a 3-0 decision against Arayk Marutjan of Germany…
2016 WORLD OLYMPIC QUALIFIER – Baku, Azerbaijan, 152 pounds: in his first fight on 6-16-16 he won a 3-0 decision against Dimitrios Tsagrakos of Greece; in his second fight on 6-18-16 he won a 3-0 decision against Lester Martinez of Guatemala; in his third fight on 6-20-16 he lost a 2-1 decision against Balazs Bacskai of Hungary…
2016 WORLD SERIES OF BOXING – 152 pounds: on 2-5-16 in Miccosukee, Florida, he lost a 2-1 decision against Francisco Armenta of Mexico; on 4-1-16 in Miccosukee he won a 3-0 decision against Mohamed Rabii…
2016 AMERICAN OLYMPIC QUALIFIER – Buenos Aires, Argentina, 152 pounds: in his first fight on 3-14-16 he won a 3-0 decision against Hopkin Ebanks of Cayman Islands; in the quarterfinals on 3-16-16 he lost a 3-0 decision against Rosniel Iglesias of Cuba…
2015 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS – Reno, Nevada, 152 pounds/double elimination tournament – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight on 12-7-15 he lost a 2-1 decision against Joey Alday; in the Challengers Bracket on 12-8-15 he won by walkover against Mark Dawson; in the Challengers Bracket on 12-9-15 he won a 3-0 decision against Vardges Vardanyan; in the Challengers Bracket on 12-10-15 he won a 2-1 decision against Ferdinand Kerobyan; in the Challengers Bracket on 12-11-15 he won a 2-1 decision against Brian Ceballo; in the finals on 12-12-15 he won a 3-0 decision against Ardreal Holmes Jr.; in the Finals Rematches on 12-13-15 he won a 3-0 decision against Ardreal Holmes Jr.…
2015 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS QUALIFIER 2 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 152 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight on 9-8-15 he won a 3-0 decision against Andrick Robinson; in his second fight on 9-9-15 he stopped David Rodriguez in the 2nd round; in the quarterfinals on 9-10-15 he won a 2-1 decision against Michael Montgomery; in the semifinals on 9-11-he won a 3-0 decision against Javaune James; in the finals on 9-12-15 he won a 2-1 decision against Mark Dawson…
2015 NATIONAL GOLDEN GLOVES CHAMPIONSHIPS – Las Vegas, Nevada, 165 pounds – SILVER MEDALIST: in his first fight on 5-11-15 he won a 4-1 decision against Brandon Clark; in his second fight on 5-13-15 he defeated Trevor Lattimore; in the quarterfinals on 5-14-15 he defeated Alex Rincon; in the semifinals on 5-15-15 he defeated Isiah Jones; in the finals on 5-16-15 he lost against Charles Conwell…
2015 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – Spokane, Washington, 152 pounds – BRONZE MEDALIST: in his first fight on 1-20-15 he stopped Chaz Mince in the 3rd round; in his second fight on 1-21-15 he won a 3-0 decision against Javaune James in the quarterfinals on 1-22-15 he won a 2-1 decision against Burim Beqiri; in the semifinals on 1-23-15 he lost a 3-0 decision against VeShawn Owens…
2014 U.S. NATIONAL TEAM TRIALS – Chattanooga, Tennessee, 152 pounds – BRONZE MEDALIST: in his first fight on 12-1-14 he won a 3-0 decision against Kenneth Thompson; in his second fight on 12-2-14 he won a 3-0 decision against Jamell Brown; in the quarterfinals on 12-3-14 he won a 3-0 decision against Fabian Alvarado; in the semifinals on 12-4-14 he lost a 3-0 decision against Joey Alday…
2014 RINGSIDE WORLD TOURNAMENT – Kansas City, Missouri, 152 pounds/elite division – SILVER MEDALIST: in the quarterfinals (his first fight) on 7-31-14 he defeated VeShawn Owens of the United States; in the semifinals on 8-1-14 he defeated Quincey Lavalais of the United States; in the finals on 8-2-14 he lost against Quontez McRath of the United States…
2014 NATIONAL GOLDEN GLOVES CHAMPIONSHIPS – Las Vegas, Nevada, 152 pounds: in his first fight on 5-13-14 he won a 5-0 decision against Trent Wilson; in his second fight on 5-14-14 he lost a 5-0 decision against Samuel Valentin…
2014 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – Spokane, Washington, 152 pounds: in his first fight on 1-21-14 he lost a 2-1 decision against Timothy Lee…
2013 NATIONAL PAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – Oxnard, California, 152 pounds/youth division – BRONZE MEDALIST: in the quarterfinals (his first fight) on 10-1-13 he defeated Terrance Reed; in the semifinals on 10-3-13 he lost against Kareem Martin…
2012 NATIONAL PAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – Toledo, Ohio, 152 pounds: in his first fight on 10-9-12 he won a 17-14 decision against David Rodriguez; in his second fight on 10-10-12 he was stopped in the 3rd round against Darwin Price Jr.…
