Sanchez focusing on his boxing future
Guillermo Sanchez hasn't always been focused in the boxing ring, but that changed during the summer of 2007.
It was then the Buffalo southpaw via Puerto Rico realized what he could accomplish so long as he put his mind to it and trusted the people working his corner. He captured a gold medal at the Empire State Games and began to think he had a future in the sport.
The 21-year-old Sanchez will find out if he does Friday night. The unbeaten featherweight will fight for his first professional championship belt when he squares off with Jose L. Guzman (5-5-1) for the New York State title. Sanchez (10-0, 5 KOs) is one of four Western New Yorkers expected to be on the six-fight card that begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.
"I understand what I have to do," Sanchez said. "That's my goal, to win that title and keep going step by step all the way to the top."
Niagara Falls junior welterweight Nick Casal (19-4-1, 15 KOs) fights in the main event against Christopher Fernandez (18-7-1, 11 KOs). Former state Golden Gloves champions Lionell Thompson (1-0) and Excell Holmes (1-0) of Buffalo also will be in action. Thompson faces Michael Montoya (2-0), while Holmes meets Montoya's brother Joe (1-0).
In the co-feature, Meacher Major (16-3-1, 14 KOs) faces veteran Dorin Spivey (35-6, 28 KOs) for the North American Boxing Association lightweight title, and junior welterweight Geoffrey Spruoell (8-7) meets Broderick Antoine (7-8). Tickets, starting at $25 for general admission, can be purchased at www.championsofboxing.com or by calling (877) 772-5425.
While Casal is expected to be the star attraction, Sanchez hopes to steal the show with a championship performance. Sanchez has KO'd four of his last five opponents after going the distance in four of his first five bouts.
"I've noticed something about Guillermo," said Jimmy Ralston, Sanchez's trainer-manager. "He rises to the occasion. The more pressure on him, the better he fights and the quicker he's going to knock a guy out. It doesn't matter what the guy's record is. It's the threat that comes from the other side that motivates him."
Sanchez has always been motivated by threats. He has been boxing since he was 6, when his uncle made him take up the sport after he got into one too many school-yard scuffles in Puerto Rico with kids who didn't believe he could fight.
The disciplinary act was a life changer. Sanchez, who moved to the area as a 13-year-old after his grandmother was injured in a fall, fell in love with the sweet science and has come into his own since hooking up with Ralston three years ago.
Including his professional record, Sanchez is 17-0 with Ralston in his corner.
Sanchez won via knockout in his last Buffalo Niagara Convention Center appearance last June, flooring Washington D.C. native Ron Boyd twice in the final minute of the first round. Sanchez ended the fight at 2:59 when he dropped Boyd after trapping him in the corner and nailing him with a flurry of combinations.
"If I win the title, I've got to keep getting better and better to get the other [regional and world titles]," Sanchez said.
"He's got a lot of ability," Ralston said. "He knows it now — not that he didn't know it before. With anybody he goes in with he handles the situation. ... He can be very, very good. ... He's really gotten serious. His ability has just really risen. He sees a future now. [Boxing] is the first thing in his life."
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments