By Thomas Gerbasi - The fans have spoken in southern California, and Mauricio Herrera has heard them. - “You’re the true 140 champion.” “There’s Herrera, he beat Garcia.” “There’s the man that got robbed.” - All for a 35-year-old junior welterweight who has lost two of his last three bouts. At least that’s what the record says. In the eyes of most observers, Herrera beat Danny Garcia and Jose Benavidez last year, and as he prepares for a Saturday bout with Hank Lundy at the LA Sports Arena, those same observers look at this not as a 10 round NABF title bout, but a world championship defense.
He appreciates that support.
“It’s real satisfying,” Herrera said. “They (the fans) call me the real champ and it keeps reminding me and keeps me positive. That makes me confident, so I have to stay at that level and fight as tough and as hard as in those fights (against Garcia and Benavidez), and I can’t slack off. If they believe I’m the true 140-pound champion, I’ve got to keep training like I really am to stay on top.”
Herrera’s promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, hasn’t looked at the Riverside product as a 1-2 fighter in his last three. Company founder Oscar De La Hoya dubbed Herrera his Fighter of the Year for 2014, and he showed his support by putting Herrera in Saturday’s main event, which airs on HBO Latino. It’s the kind of backing many fighters on three-fight winning streaks don’t get, but Herrera is getting used to being the A side.
“It’s a little different now getting so much attention, but it’s pretty exciting,” he said. “It probably won’t hit me all too much until the day of the fight.”
On the day of the fight, Herrera will be in there with a fighter in Lundy that won’t be too hard to find. That’s the good news. The bad news is that many judges score aggression, not necessarily effective aggression, and rarely reward the subtle things that Herrera does so well under another one of the scoring criteria, ring generalship. But here’s the real trouble for the California veteran. If you’re coming off fights you believed you won and most people agree with you, how do you go back to the gym to fix something you don’t believe is broken? [Click Here To Read More]
He appreciates that support.
“It’s real satisfying,” Herrera said. “They (the fans) call me the real champ and it keeps reminding me and keeps me positive. That makes me confident, so I have to stay at that level and fight as tough and as hard as in those fights (against Garcia and Benavidez), and I can’t slack off. If they believe I’m the true 140-pound champion, I’ve got to keep training like I really am to stay on top.”
Herrera’s promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, hasn’t looked at the Riverside product as a 1-2 fighter in his last three. Company founder Oscar De La Hoya dubbed Herrera his Fighter of the Year for 2014, and he showed his support by putting Herrera in Saturday’s main event, which airs on HBO Latino. It’s the kind of backing many fighters on three-fight winning streaks don’t get, but Herrera is getting used to being the A side.
“It’s a little different now getting so much attention, but it’s pretty exciting,” he said. “It probably won’t hit me all too much until the day of the fight.”
On the day of the fight, Herrera will be in there with a fighter in Lundy that won’t be too hard to find. That’s the good news. The bad news is that many judges score aggression, not necessarily effective aggression, and rarely reward the subtle things that Herrera does so well under another one of the scoring criteria, ring generalship. But here’s the real trouble for the California veteran. If you’re coming off fights you believed you won and most people agree with you, how do you go back to the gym to fix something you don’t believe is broken? [Click Here To Read More]
Respect the CHAMP!!!
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