Former Olympian Shawn Estrada Fights Dangerous Cruiserweight Tonight

Former U.S. Olympian Shawn Estrada steps into the ring today at 185 pounds. But that’s just today says the East L.A. native.

Estrada (14-0, 12 KOs) faces Felix Piedra (8-0-1, 5 KOs) at the cruiserweight level tonight at the Sportsman’s Lodge in Studio City. Goossen-Tutor Promotions are presenting the fight card that will not be televised.

Weight and conditioning have been somewhat of an obstacle for the flamboyant and hard-hitting super middleweight. Aside from various injuries and other anomalies Estrada has not been as visible as necessary to put himself in the contender mix.

“Four years passed quickly,” said Estrada, 27, who participated in Beijing as a representative of USA Boxing.

Piedra is a legitimate undefeated cruiserweight from Weslaco, Texas. If you know anything about that region those guys come to fight. The only blemish on his record (if you can call it a blemish) is a four round draw against a boxer named Rodrigo Mejia three years ago.

Estrada usually has a speed advantage but relies on power to take guys out of there quick and nasty. But Piedra is accustomed to heavy hitters so it should be an interesting test for the East L.A. bomber.

“I feel great right now,” said Estrada. “But I will be returning to super middleweight after this fight.”

Dan Goossen, the president of Goossen-Tutor, says Estrada’s conditioning for now and the future depends on him.

“Shawn has all the talent in the world,” Goossen says, adding that the East L.A. boxer has conditioning problems. “The future is up to Shawn. We can’t advance without him making that commitment.”

Estrada recently moved his training camp to the San Fernando Valley and is now trained by Joe Goossen.

Recently, Estrada watched the Olympic boxing tournament and realized that time had moved swiftly.

“It went by so fast,” he said.

Now, the usually lanky Estrada faces a dangerous foe in a weight class he’s not really suited to engage.

Goossen believes Estrada has the talent.

“He could be one of the next super middleweight world champions but it’s up to him,” Goossen says.

Other bouts

Light heavyweights Anatoly Dudchenko (15-2, 11 KOs) vs. Alfredo Contreras (12-13-2, 5 KOs)

Lightweights Jesse Villanueva (4-0, 3 KOs) vs. Benjamin Briceno making his pro debut.

Junior welterweights Leon Spinks III (2-0) vs. Eduardo Melendrez (0-2).

Plus three other bouts.

First fight begins at 7 p.m.

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