CARLOS BALDERAS RETURNS TO THE RING ON AUGUST 14th
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 12 Aug 2021
Carlos Balderas, the pride of Santa Maria, CA and a member of the US Olympic Team in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will make a comeback after a long layoff partly due to the Covid pandemic, promotional changes and a minor hand injury.
Balderas started his pro career after signing with Richard Schaefer of Ringstar. He quickly racked up nine straight wins until Schaefer initiated changes perhaps in an effort to speed up his climb to the ladder of success. Some say it was for him to recover his investment of the young Olympian, something that is far too common in the dark game of boxing.
Schaefer took Balderas away from his regular trainers since he was 7 years old, his father Zenon and moved him to Las Vegas with a Cuban trainer. This moved broke up the “old team” that included his uncle David and his regular cutman. Schaefer apparently felt that a new atmosphere would hasten the growth or Balderas.
But, lo and behold, on Balderas’ first fight under the new team, he got badly knocked out by Juan Rene Tellez Giron in Ontario, CA., dropping his record to 9-1-0, 9KO. Apparently it seems Balderas did not synched well with the new trainer as well as a new cutman that Schaefer believes could tape the hands of Balderas better! Thereafter, Schaefer dropped him off his stable of fighters.
After a careful soul searching and family meetings it was decided that Balderas take a rest, heal his hand and go from there. Then Covid 19 came about further delaying his return to the ring.
In the interim, Team Balderas decided that a new and a better promoter be selected. After going over his options, they decided that Bob Arum of Top Rank is the best choice.
During the Covid lockdown Balderas kept in shape at their family gym in Santa Maria, CA. Then Team Balderas opted to pick a new primary trainer and they hooked up with Buddy McGirt at Van Nuys, CA. His Dad Zenon and his Uncle David will still be part of the Team.
Bob Arum quickly found a suitable opponent for Balderas. That person is Fidel Cervantes (9-1-1, 4KO) of Kansas City.
The fight will be an undercard of an exciting fight card that also features Filipino Genesis Servania vs. Andres Cortez, and a trilogy between WBA super flyweight champion Joshua Franco and Australia’s Andrew Maloney. It will be shown live on ESPN+ direct from the Hard Rock at Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Before leaving for Oklahoma Balderas dropped by our offices to get a new custom mouthguard designed and fabricated for him.
Balderas (R) poses with the author.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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