Junior featherweight Angel Barrientes sees himself in the perfect position heading into a step-up fight on Friday night.
Barrientes will fight Alexander Castellano in an eight-round bout at the Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto in Canada.
Barrientes, 22, might be most known for an unfortunate circumstance. He lost his fourth pro fight, knocked out by Travon Lawson in 2020. Since that fight, Barrientes has won nine straight and recently signed with BoxLab Promotions. Now Barrientes, 12-1 (7 KOs), is at a point where he hopes to enter into 10-round, contender-like bouts by the end of the year.
“I feel like this next fight coming up is a good stepping stone for me to look good,” Barrientes told BoxingScene. “I see myself in the perfect position. I have got a great team. I feel like every fight they put me in is perfect for me.”
For this camp, Barrientes sparred featherweight contender Luis Nunez and was around the likes of welterweight titleholder Mario Barrios and former super middleweight titleholder Caleb Plant. Castellano enters with a record of 11-1-2 (2 KOs) and has won two in a row since a draw last March with Sharone Carter.
“I think he’s a solid opponent,” Barrientes said. “He has got a good record, and I think he’s going to come to fight. He’s solid, but I don’t think he's nothing to be worried about, because I’ve been working hard.”
Barrientes is trained by his father, Richard Barrientes, as well as Bob Santos. He is looking for a big performance that can lead to an active 2025. Though his career might not have played out exactly how most expected, a win on Friday sets the stage for Barrientes to enter into a division that could be changing in the near future.
“My last fight was in July and I’ve been working hard ever since,” Barrientes said. “I’ve been getting good sparring and just working hard.”