DAZN boxing host Lauren Blake was not only surprised that Henry Cejudo was set to make his Misfits boxing debut, but after Deen the Great pulled out of their scheduled bout, she’s even more intrigued about his new opponent.
Cejudo is now set to face 20-year-old Wanna Walton in the main event of Saturday night’s card at the James L. Knight Center in Miami. Blake, who will be one of the hosts of the card, gave her reaction.
“It was just absurd,” Blake told MMA Fighting. “Like, imagine, it’s just such an unusual fight, and two weeks before fight night, Deen the Great drops out and they put Wanna Walton in, who is completely different. 20 years old, southpaw, has been professionally developed as a boxer, and has this acting credit behind him too.
“But stylistically, the entire fight changes. So I think it’s a really interesting move. It’s definitely a curveball for everybody.”
Blake found her way into the combat sports broadcasting world after studying biochemistry at Arizona State, and has since been part of a lot of massive fight cards. Most notably, the host and entrepreneur held the microphone was a focal piece during the Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul event this past December.
Not only that, she found herself in some incredibly raw moments with Paul before he was brutally knocked out, and suffered a broken jaw at the hands of Joshua.
“That experience was bananas,” Blake explained. “It was absolutely electric. ”It was such a huge fight, and I had the honor of covering it. I was on the Netflix red carpet, interviewed a bunch of celebrities, got their takes, had some fun questions there. And then also I’m going into the locker room with Jake, and being there in the moments before. The silence, the intensity, and I actually walked out to the ring with Jake.
“Then you’re getting to see the fans and everyone, the lights, and it was just an incredible experience. And then, also, I was right behind Jake when Anthony threw that last punch that broke his jaw, so I heard the crack, and I remember, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what was that?’ I have video of it, too. So the whole experience is definitely just, it was one of a kind.”
