Bruce Carrington already knows what will be going through everyone’s minds.
“Shu Shu” (12-0, 8 KOs) returns to The Theater at Madison Square Garden on Friday night in a featherweight bout on the Mikaela Mayer-Sandy Ryan card (10:30 p.m. Eastern, ESPN) against Sulaiman Segawa.
Carrington, a 27-year-old Brooklyn native, believes Segawa (17-4-1, 6 KOs) is his biggest, and more important, step-up in competition so far in his ascending career.
Segawa beat the veteran Ruben Villa in his last bout in July by unanimous decision, handing him just his second loss.
Finally on the cusp of title contention, Carrington believes he can get his first championship fight by early 2025.
But Segawa is a test Carrington must first pass to cement that stature.
“It’s a great measuring stick for me, for fans and people that are watching boxing,” Carrington told The Post. “They’ll be like ‘OK, we’ll see what Shu Shu Carrington is. We’ll see how good he is. This guy dominated against a competitor like Ruben Villa. Shu Shu is saying he’s all this and a box of chocolate and whatnot. Let’s see what he really is. Let’s see if he really is everything he says he is, and more.’ It’s a great opportunity for me to showcase everything that I promised.”
Carrington is ranked as the No. 1 contender in the 126-pound division by the WBA, No. 2 by the WBO and WBC and No. 8 by the IBF.
Featherweight is a wide-open division with four different champions.
But Carrington is confident in what will separate him from the pack.
“It’s my intention,” Carrington said. “What I mean by that, my intention with every punch. I don’t feel like everyone punches with bad intentions. They probably just want to do enough to win or look good. Me, I want to cause pain. I like to be able to dominate my opponents. To be able to take a man’s will is a thrill that I get. It gives me a lot of adrenaline. That is something that I really feed into.”
Friday will mark Carrington’s third straight bout at the venue and sixth in his career.
He adores his hometown fans.
And, increasingly, they adore him right back.
“I show my true self in front of the camera and outside the ring,” Carrington said. “I can be a goofball at times. Just that alone, me being myself, gives me that authenticity, that uniqueness that a lot of people don’t bring into the sport of boxing.
“That’s very important to me, to connect with the fans. I want to be able to satisfy the fans. I think a lot of boxers don’t really understand how important that is — to really satisfy your fanbase, because those are the people that are going to help you get to where you want to be.”
