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Mauricio Herrera: BOXING SPOILER AIMS FOR UPSET

Exclusive Interview by Marc Anthony

“To me it means as much as a championship fight. You only get one shot up there and I have to give it all.” — Mauricio Herrera

Mauricio Herrera, 18-1, 7 KO’s, is going to square off against the undefeated top ten contender, Mike Alvarado, 32-0, 23 KO’s, a known big power with an aggressive style. Mauricio has played a spoiler to formerly undefeated Ruslan Provodnikov (which was a very exciting fight) in Vegas back in January 7th of 2011 defeating him by way of unanimous decision. More recently, he also defeated Mike Dallas, JR., in a hotly contested fight by decision.

Both men have displayed they can go the distance and do not tire in the later round. They differ in style but the match up screams excitement.

This will be PPV fight that will have Brandon Rios, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Mercito Gesta all on the fight card in addition the Mauricio Herrera vs. Mike Alvarado on April 14th. Boxing fans at Mandalay Bay will also see the Márquez-Fedchenko world title fight live, via closed-circuit, on a jumbo screen.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Zanfer Promotions, Tecate and AT&T, remaining tickets priced at $250, $150, $100, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges, are available at all Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Mandalay Bay at (877) 632-7400 or Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also available for purchase at www.mandalaybay.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

Mauricio sits with RSR and discusses how serious he is taking this fight.

MA: What are your thoughts on Mike Alvarado?

He is a tough guy who comes forward. He can take a punch…same with me. I can take a punch and I can fight as well. I can box. I don’t know if he can box but I showed I can box.

MA: Is that where you feel you have an advantage over Mike, in terms of your boxing?

Yeah, I think so. I have seen his fights and I have never seen him box. He is always coming forward. He says he can box. A lot of fighters say they can box. I have not seen him box. I showed that I can take punches and I can box. I know he has a good power advantage over me. I feel I am just a little more intelligent and it will show in the fight.

MA: The Las Vegas atmosphere…are you comfortable with it?

Yeah, I think I got comfortable. I don’t know if it will be the same. I don’t really worry about it too much. I just get in there and block it all off and go to work you know. It does get to you in the beginning but I don’t have any problems there.

MA: How has your preparation been going?

It’s been going good. We already have had 5 or 7 weeks. We now have 4 weeks left. We have been training hard and I have been taking this fight seriously. To me it means as much as a championship fight. You only get one shot up there and I have to give it all.

MA: Beating Mike…what does that mean to your career?

That means the next step up…being on the next level. If I beat Mike Alvarado, I should be considered in the top level. How good are the guys above him? If I beat him, I should be ranked up there with the other guys and be ready for any of the top guys.

MA: Your thoughts on your weight division. It seem very competitive to me?

It is. A lot of good fighters and a lot of fighters are busy. You could say that there is a lot of work…a lot of tough guys. This is good for boxing. The junior welterweight division… there is a lot of competitive fights out there. It’s going be tough getting up there, a lot of guys to fight.

MA: Is that a big motivator knowing that there is so much great competition?

Oh yeah, you have to train just that much harder. Before there were just a couple of guys you would look at to fight. Now there are a bunch of guys. You have to pay attention more. You don’t know which one you are going to face. You have to keep up.

MA: The Rios fight changed and, at one point, rumors of no fight. Did that bother you?

I was hearing different things in the beginning. I just stayed focused with my training and I just let it go. And I didn’t pay attention to it anymore. But when I heard Gamboa missed his press conference, I got down a little because before that we were going to fight on Showtime against a Canadian guy. We got up for that fight and we were training hard then I found out that it wasn’t going down. Then there was another fight that didn’t go down. Then I heard that about Gamboa, and thought: “awe a third time?” But then we said let’s just keep training this time.

MA: Any message to your fans?

Yeah, I fight for my fans. That is what motivates me. Knowing that I have fans that follow me motivates me to be successful and become a champion. I want to keep the fans happy and give them exciting fights.
Mauricio Herrera
Division: Light Welterweight
Nickname: El Maestro
Professional Record: 17-1-0, 7 KO’s

2011-06-24 Mike Dallas Jr 17-1-1 Temecula, US W MD 10
2011-04-29 Cristian Favela 33-27-5 Ontario, US W UD 8
2011-01-07 Ruslan Provodnikov 17-0-0 Las Vegas, US W UD 12
vacant IBF North American Light Welterweight Title

2010-08-20 Hector Alatorre 16-10-0 Corona, US W UD 8
2010-04-23 Efren Hinojosa 30-7-1 Ontario, US W RTD 6

2009-12-04 Mike Anchondo 29-2-0 Santa Ynez, US L SD 8
2009-10-09 Cleotis Pendarvis 9-1-2 Ontario, US W MD 8
2009-08-14 Jason Davis 11-3-1 Corona, US W TKO 5
vacant WBC United States (USNBC) Light Welterweight Title
2009-06-12 Luis Alfredo Lugo 10-9-1 Ontario, US W UD 10
vacant WBC United States (USNBC) Welterweight Title
2009-04-17 William Correa 8-2-0 Ontario, US W TKO 5
2009-02-27 Brian Gordon 4-2-0 Ontario, US W RTD 5

2008-11-28 Pavel Miranda 16-2-0 Ontario, US W TKO 8
2008-09-26 Antonio Sorria 2-1-0 Ontario, US W UD 4
2008-08-29 Santiago Perez 10-1-2 Corona, US W UD 6
2008-08-01 Daniel Cervantes 10-0-1 Phoenix, US W UD 6
2008-05-31 Alan Velasco 8-1-2 Valley Center, US W SD 6
2008-02-22 Jose Rodriguez 0-0-0 Ontario, US W RTD 2

2007-11-02 Elisio Garcia 0-1-0 Ontario, US W TKO 3
2007-08-24 Angel Osuna 0-0-0 Corona, US W UD 4

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