San Diegan Santillan going to school on foe
Giovani Santillan did not know much about Julio Luna when Top Rank Boxing and ESPN initially announced their matchup for Aug. 20 at Pechanga Arena.
Thanks to Instagram and youtube.com clips — thank you, life in the year 2022 — he has been able to gather some necessary intelligence over the last few weeks.
A thumbnail: Luna is a 24-year-old righty from Durango, Mexico, who has never fought outside of that country. He has a nice record. He has shown some power. He hasn’t fought many lefties — certainly none of Santillan’s class. And this will be his biggest fight by far.
So the bottom line remains the same: the undefeated Santillan (29-0, 16 KOs) will be a decided favorite when he gets in the ring in his hometown against Luna (19-0-2, 10 KOs) in a welterweight (147 pounds) bout that will also air live on ESPN.
“Right now, I just feel that I am in my prime and ready for the big challenge,” Santillan said this week before a public training session at The BXNG Club in East Village where he trains and instructs. “This fight is the next step. I know I need to get in that ring, take care of business and continue getting my name out there.”
Santillan, ranked 12th in
the WBO welterweight rankings, is coming off an impressive seven-round stoppage victory over Jeovanis Barraza in April — his first fight to feature on ESPN — and has shown steady improvement since hooking up with renowned trainer Robert Garcia before a victory over Angel
Ruiz last October.
What he can’t do is force the opportunity he really wants and hopes to receive if he continues stacking up wins: a shot at a welterweight big dog such as Terence Crawford, Errol Spence Jr., Yordenis Ugas, Jaron Ennis or Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Any of those fights would bring invaluable exposure, a personal record payday and put the 30-year-old Santillan in position to either win a belt or move closer to earning a shot at one.
“For those guys it’s all about risk and reward,” Santillan said. “Fighting someone like myself who is
undefeated probably has to come with a big guaranteed purse. Otherwise, is the risk really worth it? That’s just the business of boxing. All I can do is stay ready and keep beating whoever is in front of me.”
Three good rounds
Everything remains lined up for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card at Pechanga. San Diego native and two-time bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz (24-3-0) will face Marlon Vera (19-7-1) in a five-round main event. The two will have a ceremonial weigh-in that is open to the public at 4 p.m. Friday at Pechanga. Doors open at 3 p.m.
San Diego’s Austin Brooks (7-0, 2 KOs) has been added to the Aug. 20 card at Pechanga for a super featherweight bout against Los Angeles native Oliver Garcia (5-0-1, 3 KOs). The 26-year-old Brooks trains out of City Boxing and The Arena. He won his last bout by unanimous decision over Victor Saravia on July 15.
Boxing “retirements” are notoriously fickle and Tyson Fury appears to be following in that grand tradition. This week, the former heavyweight champ took to Instagram to call for a third fight against fellow Brit Derek Chisora. As always, money will be a driving factor but given the fact the 33-year-old Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) remains a big draw and the 38-year-old Chisora (33-12, 23 KOs) is unlikely to see another major payday, look for a fight to happen, possibly in April. Fury won the first two matchups but they were close enough to make this worth the pay-per-view buy.