{"id":104711,"date":"2021-07-01T15:43:33","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T20:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=104711"},"modified":"2021-07-01T15:44:07","modified_gmt":"2021-07-01T20:44:07","slug":"lightweight-contender-michel-rivera-returns-to-the-ring-on-july-3rd-boxing-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=104711","title":{"rendered":"Lightweight Contender Michel Rivera Returns to the Ring on July 3rd &#8211; Boxing News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- RSR AD 1 --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1545664804358300\" data-ad-slot=\"7759247395\" data-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=104711\" rel=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=104711\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-104712 size-medium\" style=\"margin-right: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image003-300x75.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"75\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image003-300x75.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image003-768x192.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image003.jpg 936w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Unbeaten rising lightweight contender Michel Rivera exuded confidence in previewing his upcoming showdown against Jon Fern\u00e1ndez that serves as the co-main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING this Saturday, July 3 (9 p.m. ET\/6 p.m. PT) in a Premier Boxing Champions event from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy skills, speed and intelligence are all advantages in my favor,\u201d said Rivera. \u201cI am an aggressive fighter when it is most advantageous for me, but I can also be crafty and turn that into an advantage. My skills and talent will be the difference on fight night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 23-year-old Rivera\u2019s confidence comes from an intensive training camp in Miami with his coach, Herman Caicedo, that has allowed him to work on numerous aspects of his game heading into perhaps the toughest fight of his young career.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s important to work on everything in training,\u201d said Rivera. \u201cI am the type of boxer who adapts to what is going on in the moment. So we\u2019ve made sure to work on all areas in order to prevail Saturday night. We\u2019ve had a very organized yet intense preparation for Fern\u00e1ndez.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rivera broke onto the scene in his U.S. debut in June 2019, as he out-boxed dangerous power-puncher Juan Rene Tellez to earn a unanimous decision. In 2020, Rivera added a pair of impressive victories over veteran contenders, as he stopped Fidel Maldonado Jr. in round 10 of their February clash, before winning via unanimous decision over Ladarius Miller in October. Despite giving up a three-inch height advantage to Fern\u00e1ndez, Miller doesn\u2019t see anything in the Spaniard that he won\u2019t be able to overcome.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis height may be an issue, but I don\u2019t really know much he uses his reach,\u201d said Rivera. \u201cI haven\u2019t seen many of his previous fights, but I\u2019m 100% confident I will overcome anything that he thinks he could do to make me uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never fought a European opponent before, but I have fought opponents that were taller than me. I may be smaller, but I have good reach and will look for openings when I get into close range. If it bodes better for me to dominate him with my quickness, I can do that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A native of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, Rivera represents the next potential superstar from the sport-rich island, an honorific that has helped motivate and push Rivera toward the championship level that he has nearly reached.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels good to have the support of my country,\u201d said Rivera. \u201cI\u2019m excited by it and I hope that the entire nation is behind me and ready to support me in the way any athlete needs to be cheered on when they reach these heights. I feel it now more than ever. I\u2019m honored when people tell me that I\u2019m the hope of the Dominican Republic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to potential pressure from carrying the torch for his homeland, Rivera finds himself fighting smack dab in the middle of a section of the boxing calendar filled with young, undefeated stars such as July 3 main event participant Chris Colbert and last week\u2019s centerstage combatant, Gervonta \u201cTank\u201d Davis. Despite this, Rivera knows that with opportunities like Saturday, combined with his skills, that he is on the track he has long hoped for.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t feel any pressure to remain undefeated,\u201d said Rivera. \u201cI trust myself and my abilities 100%. I am convinced that my opportunity to shine has finally arrived and I\u2019m going to make a big statement on July 3.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unbeaten rising lightweight contender Michel Rivera exuded confidence in previewing his upcoming showdown against Jon Fern\u00e1ndez that serves as the co-main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING this Saturday, July 3 (9 p.m. ET\/6 p.m. PT) in a Premier Boxing Champions event from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. \u201cMy skills, speed and intelligence are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[26810],"class_list":["post-104711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-lightweight-contender-michel-rivera-returns-to-the-ring-on-july-3rd-boxing-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=104711"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104711\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=104711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=104711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=104711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}