Maldonado Jr. poised for final run at title
Duke City southpaw dropping to lightweight
For Fidel Maldonado Jr., it’s the first page of the last chapter.
Maldonado (24-4-1, 19 KOs), who hasn’t fought since October 2017, is scheduled to return on Jan. 26 on a Pat Holmes-promoted card at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino in Pojoaque.
He’s matched against Mexico’s Luís Gerardo Ávila (8-13-3 five KOs), a journeyman with whom Maldonado should have little trouble.
But, says Maldonado’s father and trainer, it’s the beginning of his 27-yearold son’s last shot at a long-cherished goal: a world title.
“It’s his final run at it,” Fidel Maldonado Sr. said. “... I have two or three world title shots on the line for him, but I just want to make sure he’s gonna be 100 percent at the fight weight.”
The Avila fight is scheduled to fought at the 135-pound lightweight limit. Maldonado Jr. has been fighting at 140 pounds the past 4½ years.
“He’s finally down to his right weight to fight at,” Maldonado Sr. said.
Maldonado Jr. was a Golden Boy Promotions contract fighter from 2010-17, but the Maldonados opted out of the contract after Fidel Jr.’s victory over Pablo César Cano in June 2017. He nonetheless fought on a Golden Boy card on Oct. 13, 2017, losing by sixth-round knockout to Ismael Barroso.
Maldonado Sr. said he’s comfortable, for now, with his son not having a promotional contract.
“He could have signed (with a major promoter) already, but I didn’t want that,” the elder Maldonado said. “I want him to fight the best (fighters) of any of the promotions, and if we beat one of them then we’d get a signing bonus.
“Let’s see what happens, one step at a time. We have to beat this guy (Ávila)
FAMILIAR FOE: Mexico native and Texas resident Mohamed Rodriguez (11-6-1), four KOs) is matched against Albuquerque welterweight Josh Torres (18-6-2), 10 KOs) in the main event of a Dec. 1 Legacy Promotions card at the Manuel Lujan Building at Expo New Mexico.
It will be Rodriguez’s second visit. Last April 1, he lost to Maldonado Jr. at the Lujan building by unanimous, eight-round decision. The scores were 78-73, 78-73 and 78-73.
The Torres-Maldonado comparison against a common opponent will be of interest. There has been speculation in the past that the two Albuquerqueans would eventually meet, though they’ve campaigned in different weight classes for most of their careers.
MMA: Albuquerque f lyweight Ray Borg announced on social media that his infant son Anthony will undergo his sixth surgery on Wednesday.
Anthony, who suffers from hydrocephalus — an abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain — will turn eight months old on Tuesday.
Ray Borg said Wednesday’s surgery will once again implant a shunt in Anthony’s body. Infection as the result of a shunt is apparently what prompted the child’s fifth surgery on Nov. 14.
There is hope, Borg said, that Anthony can eventually become a candidate for a surgery that would make a shunt unnecessary.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Ariel Helwani of espn.com, Borg explained why he pulled out of a scheduled fight against fellow New Mexican Joseph Benavidez on Nov. 11.
Because of Anthony’s situation and other family issues, Borg said, the strain of cutting to the 125-pound flyweight limit caused kidney problems.
When he returns to competition, he told Helwani, it will be at the 135-pound bantamweight limit.