Gabe Flores prepares to take on former world champ
Gabe Flores Jr. knows if he is to move up in the boxing world, it’s time for him to step up to face better competition.
And it doesn’t get much better than a former world champion.
Flores, the undefeated Stockton fighter, is in training for the biggest fight of his career against fellow Californian former champ Andrew Cancio on Feb. 20 at a site to be determined. The 10-round super featherweight fight will serve as the co-feature to the super featherweight title match between World Boxing Council champion Miguel Berchelt and former world champion Oscar Valdez, and the card will be broadcast live on ESPN.
Flores (19-0, 6 knockouts) is just 20 years old, but he was the young first ever to sign with Top Rank Boxing at age 16. He believes it’s time to take on a big name opponent and start positioning himself for a world title shot.
“I’m experienced and I’ve been a lot of rounds. I feel it’s a great honor to fight some high caliber like Andrew Cancio,” Flores said. “He’s a former world champion, and it’s a beautiful opportunity. I just feel like everything is going to align perfectly.”
Flores is living and training in Las Vegas due to COVID-19 precautions, and started getting ready for Cancio long before the fight was announced.
“I’m deep in training camp. Full blast,” Flores said. “I’m getting in tremendous shape.”
Flores had an acclaimed amateur career with a 91-7 record and several national-level titles, and his rise on the pro ranks has been steady and well publicized. One of his biggest victories in his hometown was May 4, 2019, when he scored a third-round knockout against Eduardo Pereira Dos Reis of Brazil in front of a crowd of 10,105 at Stockton Arena.
Despite the pandemic, Matt Conway, Josec Ruiz and Ryan Kielczweski on his way to the matchup with Cancio.
Cancio (21-5-2, 16 KOs), who hails from Blythe in Riverside County, is a 32year-old slugger who earned the World Boxing Association title in February 2019 by knocking out Alberto Machado. He won a rematch with Machado before losing the WBA crown to Rene Alvarado in November 2019.
This will be Cancio’s first fight since losing the title, and he is currently ranked sixth by the WBA.
“I’m very excited to return to battle,” Cancio said in a statement released by Top Rank Boxing. “I’m working hard in the gym, and I know that this fight is the first on my path to becoming a twotime world champion.”
Flores is well aware of Cancio’s accomplishments and what to expect. The former world champ doesn’t like to back up, and will likely push the action, testing Flores’ boxing skills.
But the whole point of this first is for Flores to be tested, and he said he will be ready.
“My main goal is to win a world title,” Flores said. “Dominating a former world champion will put me in a great position to challenge for a title soon.”