Mired in a four-match skid, Castaneda stays undeterred
After dropping a disputed decision to Mauricio Pintor — the nephew of legendary Mexican bantamweight Lupe Pintor — in April, Kendo Castaneda defiantly said he’d gladly “take 10 losses if it means becoming a champion.”
Eight months later, Castaneda’s stance is as steadfast as ever.
“I don’t care if it takes 20 losses, I’m going to be a world champion someday,” Castaneda said.
The San Antonio welterweight (17-4, 8 KOS) — idle since the loss to Pintor — is scheduled to climb back in the ring against 2016 Olympian Raul Curiel (10-0, 8 KOS) of Guadalajara, Mexico, on Dec. 18 at the AT&T Center.
The bout, scheduled for 10 rounds, is part of a Golden Boy Promotions card headlined by Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez vs. Yunieski Gonzalez in a WBA light heavyweight title eliminator (DAZN, 8 p.m.).
With no title on the line, Castaneda’s goal for now is simple: snap a losing streak that has reached four straight.
“All it takes is one punch to change a fight and a career,” Castaneda said.
After a sixth-round TKO of Stan Martyniouk in 2019 in Reno, Nev., the affable Castaneda was rated No. 15 in the world by the WBO and looked like a contender in the light welterweight division.
But he suffered his first defeat in his next fight, losing a close, 10-round majority decision to Yomar Alamo in Kissimmee, Fla., in February 2020. Alamo was ranked No. 9 by the WBO.
The losses kept coming as the competition improved. He dropped a one-sided decision in July 2020 to Jose Zepeda, then ranked No. 1 by the WBC and No. 4 by the WBO at 140 pounds.
The news wasn’t all bad for Castaneda. He earned $50,000 for the Zepeda fight, the largest payday of his career.
Three months later, he met Josue Vargas in the “bubble” at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Castaneda suffered the first knockdown of his career on the way to a lopsided loss.
He took the Pintor fight on short notice in Los Mochis, Mexico, his first fight at 147 pounds and first with former world champion “Jesse” James Leija back in his corner as trainer. After being penalized for hitting his opponent in the back during a clinch, Castaneda wound up losing by scores of 76-75, 76-75 and 77-74.
“I won that fight,” Castaneda said. “I was robbed.”
But the record doesn’t lie. It was his fourth straight defeat.
Despite the losing streak, Castaneda is undeterred. He’s been training harder than ever with Leija and even went back to work for Fedex because he found he got “kind of lazy” as a full-time boxer.
“I’m happier now than ever,” said Castaneda, who turns 28 on Wednesday, three days before his fight.
Both Castaneda and Leija say they resisted taking a stay-busy fight against an inferior foe to get a win. “To me, that’s a waste of time,” Castaneda said. “My mission is to take on the biggest challenges and fight the highest-ranked fighters out there, like the old days.”
Said Leija: “The problem with a tune-up fight is it often turns out to be tougher than expected because you’re not taking it seriously and you can get hurt.”
Leija said he and Castaneda have never discussed hanging up the gloves. But Leija acknowledges this is a must-win for Castaneda.
“He’s been training hard in the gym and doing everything we tell him to do,” Leija said. “You know Kendo. He’s a happy-golucky guy. But he’s got to win this fight.
“It’s going to be hard for anyone to take notice if you’ve lost five in a row.”