A Closer Look at Brian Mendoza who Aims to Steal the Show on the Tszyu-Fundora Card

Published

9 months ago

March 21, 2024

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New Mexico native Brian Mendoza seized the moment when opportunity knocked. He has another opportunity next week in Las Vegas when he touches gloves with Serhii Bohachuk. Their fight at the T-Mobile Arena on March 30 will open the curtain on potentially a new era of boxing, marking the first foray of Amazon Prime PPV into the ancient sport.

Bohachuk was supposed to fight Sebastian Fundora who was bumped into the main event when Tim Tszyu’s original opponent Keith Thurman was forced to withdraw because of a bicep injury suffered in training. That left Bohachuk without an opponent, but not for long. Mendoza, who had been training diligently at Ismael Salas’s Las Vegas boxing academy, filled the breach in a hurry. They will compete for the WBC interim 154-pound title that Mendoza had vacated (yes, it’s confounding, but it’s an attractive match-up nonetheless).

Brian Mendoza, who turned 30 last month, grew up in Rio Rancho, a northern suburb of Albuquerque, the city that claims him. As an amateur, he trained at Fidel Maldonado’s Atrisco boxing school, Albuquerque’s most prominent facility. “It was a 40-minute drive each way,” he recalls, and a commitment that he had to juggle with school. Maldonado called Brian “the hardest worker I’ve ever had” and gave him his nickname “La Bala” (the bullet). “I was cool with it because it wasn’t too hokey,” says Mendoza, a late bloomer by amateur standards; he took up the sport at age 16.

Roughly half the population of metropolitan Albuquerque identifies as Hispanic or Latino, primarily Mexican. Mendoza is often pigeonholed as Mexican (“I look like a Mexican,” he says”), but is actually Cuban. Both of his parents were born in that island nation. They met in Albuquerque.

Mendoza grew up bilingual. “I still speak to my father in Spanish,” he says, “but have always spoken to my mother in English.” She has been in the U.S. longer, arriving at age nine after escaping Cuba with family members on one of the last vessels of the Mariel Boatlift.

Mendoza was inactive in 2018, but in the summer of that year made a life-changing decision, moving to Las Vegas to jump-start a career that had stalled after a 16-0 start. His entire family — his parents and a younger brother – made the move with him and they continue to live under the same roof.

In Las Vegas, it was inevitable that Brian would hook up with Ismael Salas. The noted trainer, he came to learn, hailed from the same neighborhood in Guantanamo as Mendoza’s father who found work in the U.S. as a trucker and truck mechanic.

Mendoza suffered his first loss on a Top Rank card in Las Vegas that included Oscar Valdez and Carl Frampton. He lost a split decision in an 8-round fight to a 9-1 opponent from Utah. Two fights later he suffered another setback, losing a 10-round decision to the highly-touted Jesus Ramos on a PBC card in Minneapolis.

Two fights later, back in Minneapolis, Mendoza was scheduled to appear on the undercard of a David Morrell fight. He wound up fighting in the co-feature instead when Jeison Rosario’s opponent fell out. Rosario was formerly a unified title-holder, holding the WBA and IBF versions of the world junior middleweight title.

In a major upset, Mendoza knocked out Rosario in the fifth round. A short right uppercut put the Dominican face-first on the canvas. He attempted to rise, but his legs were spaghetti and he fell back and the bout was waived off.

A much bigger upset would follow.

On April 8 of last year at an outdoor show in Los Angeles County, Mendoza KO’ d the aforementioned Sebastian Fundora. In the seventh round, he buckled Fundora’s knees with a vicious left uppercut and then flattened him with a right-left combination.

Defeating Fundora, then undefeated, was a tall order (pun intended). The “Towering Inferno,” who was comfortably ahead when Mendoza lowered the boom (he had won every round on two of the cards), had an 8-inch height advantage.

“I knew I was up against it going into that fight,” says Mendoza, looking back. “I was fighting a California fighter in a California ring with three California judges. My plan all along was to hang around and then take Fundora into deep water, taking it out of the hands of the judges.”

Mendoza and Fundora fought for the WBC’s “interim” 154-pound title. Brian vacated that title when he went off to Queensland, Australia to fight Tim Tszyu but, by some strange alchemy, had the belt re-instated. (Boxrec currently lists Mendoza and Jermell Charlo as WBC co-champions; don’t ask, we’re as confused as you are.)

Mendoza’s memories of Australia are bittersweet. “The Australians treated us great,” he said. “They made me an honorary Aussie.” Of course, all that congeniality ceased as soon as the bell rang. Widely considered the best fighter in the weight class, Tszyu successfully defended his WBO world super welterweight title with a unanimous decision.

“Man, he’s tough,” said the gracious Tszyu about Mendoza in the aftermath of the fight. “He’s slick, he has power. He’s world class for a reason.”

No one would seem more qualified to handicap the Tszyu-Fundora fight than Brian Mendoza who has shared the ring with both. Who does he like? “It’s an extremely interesting fight,” he says, “but I have to go with Tszyu who has a better base and is a more skilled counter-puncher.”

Brian has been in the ring with Tim Tszyu for more than 12 rounds.

Team Tszyu arrived in Las Vegas in mid-February and commandeered a private gym in the border town of Henderson. Brian Mendoza has been one of Tim’s regular sparring partners. “I’m a better fighter because of it,” he says.

This reporter caught up with the affable Mendoza several days ago at the Salas Boxing Academy. Before our chat, we watched him train. He ended the session with a rope skipping routine with a twist; he bounced up and down between skips to the rhythm of the Latin music playing on the loudspeaker, magnifying the cardiovascular benefit. It was mesmerizing.

We were reminded that when the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson skipped rope, everyone in the gym stopped to watch — so we have read. The Sugar Man subsequently incorporated a jump skipping routine into his nightclub act.

Robinson worked the nightclub circuit to keep his creditors at bay. Brian Mendoza, who attended the University of New Mexico, taking classes in nutrition and business and psychology (“I chose nutrition and business because I saw a tie-in with boxing and psychology just because I liked it”) isn’t likely to wind up in debt after his career is over. “I can promise you,” he says, “that I will not be another stereotype; I will be smart with my money.” When Mendoza references “my team,” he includes his accountant.

His accountant will have a much bigger stash to work with if Mendoza (22-3, 16 KOs) can get past Serhii Bohachuk (23-1, 23 KOs). A rematch with Fundora, should he upset Tim Tszyu, would be huge.

Mendoza-Bohachuk is a tricky fight to handicap, reflected in the fact that the oddsmakers were slow to develop a betting line. Although Mendoza has fought stiffer competition and has shown the ability to take a man out with one punch, Bohachuk is rated the harder puncher. The LA-based Ukrainian knockout artist is promoted by Tom Loeffler who previously handled the Klitschko brothers and Gennadiy Golovkin, among others.

Brian Mendoza is the “B-side” here and, if the opening line holds up, will go to post the underdog. But he’s been in this situation before and is brimming with confidence.

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Arne K. Lang

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L.A.’s Rudy Hernandez is the 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year

Published

2 days ago

December 16, 2024

Arne K. Lang

L.A.’s Rudy Hernandez is the 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year

If asked to name a prominent boxing trainer who operates out of a gym in Los Angeles, the name Freddie Roach would jump immediately to mind. Best known for his work with Manny Pacquaio, Roach has been named the Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America a record seven times.

A mere seven miles from Roach’s iconic Wild Card Gym is the gym that Rudy Hernandez now calls home. Situated in the Little Tokyo neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles, the L.A. Boxing Gym – a relatively new addition to the SoCal boxing landscape — is as nondescript as its name. From the outside, one would not guess that two reigning world champions, Junto Nakatani and Anthony Olascuaga, were forged there.

As Freddie Roach will be forever linked with Manny Pacquiao, so will Rudy Hernandez be linked with Nakatani. The Japanese boxer was only 15 years old when his parents packed him off to the United States to be tutored by Hernandez. With Hernandez in his corner, the lanky southpaw won titles at 112 and 115 and currently holds the WBO bantamweight (118) belt. In his last start, he knocked out his Thai opponent, a 77-fight veteran who had never been stopped, advancing his record to 29-0 (22 KOs).

Nakatani’s name now appears on several pound-for-pound lists. A match with Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue is brewing. When that match comes to fruition, it will be the grandest domestic showdown in Japanese boxing history.

“Junto Nakatani is the greatest fighter I’ve ever trained. It’s easy to work with him because even when he came to me at age 15, his focus was only on boxing. It was to be a champion one day and nothing interfered with that dream,” Hernandez told sports journalist Manouk Akopyan writing for Boxing Scene.

Akin to Nakatani, Rudy Hernandez built Anthony Olascuaga from scratch. The LA native was rucked out of obscurity in April of 2023 when Jonathan Gonzalez contracted pneumonia and was forced to withdraw from his date in Tokyo with lineal light flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji. Olascuaga, with only five pro fights under his belt, filled the breach on 10 days’ notice and although he lost (TKO by 9), he earned kudos for his gritty performance against the man recognized as the best fighter in his weight class.

Two fights later, back in Tokyo, Olascuaga copped the WBO world flyweight title with a third-round stoppage of Riku Kano. His first defense came in October, again in Japan, and Olascuaga retained his belt with a first-round stoppage of the aforementioned Gonzalez. (This bout was originally ruled a no-contest as it ended after Gonzalez suffered a cut from an accidental clash of heads. But the referee ruled that Gonzalez was fit to continue before the Puerto Rican said “no mas,” alleging his vision was impaired, and the WBO upheld a protest from the Olascuaga camp and changed the result to a TKO. Regardless, Rudy Hernandez’s fighter would have kept his title.)

Hernandez, 62, is the brother of the late Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez. A two-time world title-holder at 130 pounds who fought the likes of Azumah Nelson, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr., Chicanito passed away in 2011, a cancer victim at age 45.

Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez was one of the most popular fighters in the Hispanic communities of Southern California. Rudy Hernandez, a late bloomer of sorts – at least in terms of public recognition — has kept his brother’s flame alive with own achievements. He is a worthy honoree for the 2024 Trainer of the Year.

Note: This is the first in our series of annual awards. The others will arrive sporadically over the next two weeks.

Photo credit: Steve Kim

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A Shocker in Tijuana: Bruno Surace KOs Jaime Munguia !!

Published

3 days ago

December 15, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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It was a chilly night in Tijuana when Jaime Munguia entered the ring for his homecoming fight with Bruno Surace. The main event of a Zanfer/Top Rank co-promotion, Munguia vs. Surace was staged in the city’s 30,000-seat soccer stadium a stone’s throw from the U.S. border in the San Diego metroplex.

Surace, a Frenchman, brought a 25-0-2 record and a 22-fight winning streak, but a quick glance at his record showed that he had scant chance of holding his own with the house fighter. Only four of Surace’s 25 wins had come by stoppage and only eight of his wins had come against opponents with winning records. Munguia was making the first start in the city of his birth since February 2022. Surace had never fought outside Europe.

But hold the phone!

After losing every round heading into the sixth, Surace scored the Upset of the Year, ending the contest with a one-punch knockout.

It looked like a short and easy night for Munguia when he knocked Surace down with a left hook in the second stanza. From that point on, the Frenchman fought off his back foot, often with back to the ropes, throwing punches only in spurts. Munguia worked the body well and was seemingly on the way to wearing him down when he was struck by lightning in the form of an overhand right.

Down went Munguia, landing on his back. He struggled to get to his feet, but the referee waived it off a nano-second before reaching “10.” The official time was 2:36 of round six.

Munguia, who was 44-1 heading in with 35 KOs, was as high as a 35/1 favorite. In his only defeat, he had gone the distance with Canelo Alvarez. This was the biggest upset by a French fighter since Rene Jacquot outpointed Donald Curry in 1989 and Jacquot had the advantage of fighting in his homeland.

Co-Main

Mexico City’s Alan Picasso, ranked #1 by the WBC at 122 pounds, scored a third-round stoppage of last-minute sub Yehison Cuello in a scheduled 10-rounder contested at featherweight. Picaso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) is a solid technician. He ended the bout with a left to the rib cage, a punch that weaved around Cuello’s elbow and didn’t appear to be especially hard. The referee stopped his count at “nine” and waived the fight off.

A 29-year-old Colombian who reportedly had been training in Tijuana, the overmatched Cuello slumped to 13-3-1.

Other Bouts of Note

In a ho-hum affair, junior middleweight Jorge Garcia advanced to 32-4 (26) with a 10-round unanimous decision over Uzbekistan’s Kudratillo Abudukakhorov (20-4). The judges had it 97-92 and 99-90 twice. There were no knockdowns, but Garcia had a point deducted in round eight for low blows.

Garcia displayed none of the power that he showed in his most recent fight three months ago in Arizona and when he knocked out his German opponent in 46 seconds. Abudukakhorov, who has competed mostly as a welterweight, came in at 158 1/4 pounds and didn’t look in the best of shape. The Uzbek was purportedly 170-10 as an amateur (4-5 per boxrec).

Super bantamweight Sebastian Hernandez improved to 18-0 (17 KOs) with a seventh-round stoppage of Argentine import Sergio Martin (14-5). The end came at the 2:39 mark of round seven when Martin’s corner threw in the towel. Earlier in the round, Martin lost his mouthpiece and had a point deducted for holding.

Hernandez wasn’t all that impressive considering the high expectations born of his high knockout ratio, but appeared to have injured his right hand during the sixth round.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Ringside in Ontario where Alexis Rocha and Raul Curiel Battled to a Spirited Draw

Published

3 days ago

December 14, 2024

David A. Avila

Ringside in Ontario where Alexis Rocha and Raul Curiel Battled to a Spirited Draw

ONTARIO, CA -Two SoCal welterweights battled to a majority draw and Ohio’s Charles Conwell wowed the crowd with precision and power in his victory.

In the main event Alexis Rocha sought to prove his loss a year ago was a fluke and Raul Curiel sought to prove he belongs with the contenders.

Both got their wish.

After 12 rounds of back-and-forth exchanges, Rocha (25-2-1, 16 KOs) and Curiel (15-0-1, 13 KOs) battled to a stalemate in front of more than 5,000 fans at Toyota Arena. No oner seemed surprised by the majority decision draw.

“We got one for the people It was a Rocha landed impressive blows while Curiel just could not seem to get the motor running.

Things turned around in seventh round.

During the first half of the fight, it looked like Rocha’s experience in big events would be too much for Curiel to handle. Rocha landed impressive blows while Curiel just could not seem to get the motor running.

Things turned around in seventh round.

Maybe trainer Freddie Roach’s words got to Curiel. The Mexican Olympian who now lives in the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, suddenly planted his feet and ripped off five- and six-punch combinations. It was do or die.

The change of tactics forced Rocha to make changes too especially after absorbing several ripping uppercuts from Curiel.

Back and forth the welterweights exchanged and neither fighter could take charge. And neither fighter was knocked down though each both connected with sweat-tossing blows.

The two fighters battled until the final seconds of the fight. After 12 blistering rounds, one judge saw Rocha the winner 116-112, while the two other judges scored it 114-114 for a majority draw.

“I respect this guy. It was 12 rounds of war,” said Santa Ana’s Rocha.

Curiel felt the same.

“I respect Rocha. He is a good southpaw,” Curiel repeated. “Let’s do it again.”

Battle of Undefeated Super Welterweights

Few knew what to expect with undefeated Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) facing undefeated Argentine Gerardo Vergara (20-1, 13 KOs). You never what to expect with Argentine fighters.

Conwell, a U.S. Olympian, showed why many consider him the best kept secret in boxing with a steady attack behind impressive defense. He needed it against Vergara, a very strong southpaw.

Vergara seemed a little puzzled by Conwell’s constant pressure. He might have expected a hit-and-run kind of fighter instead of a steamroller like the Ohio warrior.

Once the two fighters got heated up in the cold arena, the blows began to come more often and more powerfully. Conwell in particular stood right in front of the Argentine and bobbed and weaved through the South American fighter’s attack. And suddenly unleashed rocket rights and left hooks off Vergara’s chin.

Nothing happened expect blood from his nose for several rounds.

For six rounds Conwell blasted away at Vergara’s chin and jaw and nothing seemed to faze the Argentine. Then, Conwell targeted the body and suddenly things opened up. Vergara was caught trying to decide what to protect when a left hook jolted the Argentine. Suddenly Conwell erupted with a stream of left hooks and rights with almost everything connecting with power.

Referee Thomas Taylor jumped in to stop the fight at 2:51 of the seventh round. Conwell finally chopped down the Argentine tree for the knockout win. The fans gasped at the suddenness of the victory.

“We broke him down,” Conwell said.

It was impressive.

Other Bouts

Popular John “Scrappy” Ramirez (14-1, 9 KOs) started slowly against Texas left-hander Ephraim Bui (10-1, 8 KOs) but gained momentum behind accurate right uppercuts to swing the momentum and win a regional super flyweight title by unanimous decision after 10 rounds

Bui opened the fight behind some accurate lead lefts, but once Ramirez found the solution he took the fight inside and repeatedly jolted the taller Texas fighter with that blow.

Ramirez, who is based in Los Angeles, gained momentum and confidence and kept control with movements left and right that kept Bui unable to regain the advantage. No knockdowns were scored as all three judges scored the fight 97-93 for Ramirez.

A battle between former flyweight world champions saw Marlen Esparza (15-2, 1 KO) pull away after several early contentious rounds against Mexico’s Arely Mucino (32-5-2, 11 KOs). Left hooks staggered Esparza early in the fight.

Esparza always could take a punch and after figuring out what not to do, she began rolling up points behind pinpoint punching and pot shots. Soon, it was evident she could hit and move and took over the last three rounds of the fight.

Mucino never stopped attacking and was successful with long left hooks and shots to the body, but once Esparza began launching impressive pot shots, the Mexican fighter never could figure out a solution.

After 10 rounds two judges scored it 98-92 and a third judge saw it 97-93 all for Esparza.

Victor Morales (20-0-1, 10 KOs) won by technical knockout over Mexico’s Juan Guardado (16-3-1, 6 KOs) due to a bad cut above the right eye. It was a learning experience for Morales who hails from Washington.

Left hooks were the problem for Morales who could not avoid a left hook throughout the super featherweight fight. Guardado staggered Morales at least three times with counter left hooks. But Morales turned things around by controlling the last three rounds behind a jolting left jab that controlled the distance.

At one second of the eighth round, referee Ray Corona stopped the fight to allow the ringside physician to examine the swelling and cut. It was decided that the fight should stop. Morales was awarded the win by technical knockout.

A super bantamweight fight saw Jorge Chavez (13-0, 8 KOs) score two knockdowns on way to a unanimous decision over Uruguay’s Ruben Casero (12-4, 4 KOs) after eight rounds. Chavez fights out of Tijuana, Mexico.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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