If you had the chance to meet young welterweight Alan Sanchez, you would have no idea the 23-year-old was a professional boxer with a promising career in the works.
Sanchez (12-3-1, 6 KOs) is not flashy or braggadocious like some of his fellow welterweight counterparts, but rather humble and soft-spoken, looking for the best opportunity to further his career, as he is set to take on Jorge Silva in the main event on April 18 in San Antonio, Texas on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Deportes.
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Sanchez took on boxing after his father introduced him to the sport — a sport that has a long and storied tradition in Mexico.
“My dad used to box and my older brother Luis is a professional boxer,” Sanchez said. “I was like 10 years old when I started and in 2004 got a passport and came to the United States to train here. Since my job is here, I decided I wanted to stay here and to become world champion.”
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His manager, Jorge Marron, works with Golden Boy Promotions and said Sanchez needs three or four more fights to be ready for a title shot.
“Alan’s last fight was against a really good fighter in Luis Collazo,” Marron said. “Collazo’s fought Shane Mosley, Andre Berto, Ricky Hatton and he just knocked out Victor Ortiz. His next fight is against Amir Khan and when Alan trained for him, he didn’t train with southpaws his whole camp. [Collazo is a southpaw.] He fought a much more experienced fighter and lost a decision.”
I caught up with Sanchez on Marron’s ranch in the outskirts of San Diego and asked him why he had moved his training camp from Northern California to Southern California.
“I usually train near where I live in Fairfield, California, but wanted to get away so I can be focused for my fight April 18,” Sanchez said. “There’s no distractions down here, all I do is train and will be ready against my opponent.”
Sanchez will be taking on Mexico’s hard punching Silva (20-5-3, 15 KOs) and was training on Sunday, a day his trainer gives him off.
TV Mix: Why are you training on your day off?
Sanchez: (shrugs) It’s okay, there’s nothing else to do and I stay focused.
TV Mix: Who’s your favorite boxer of all time?
Sanchez: Juan Manuel Marquez.
TV Mix: What’s your favorite sport outside of boxing?
Sanchez: MMA, and my favorite fighters are my good friends Nick and Nate Diaz.
TV Mix: Favorite food and movie?
Sanchez: I would say sushi is my favorite right now and Braveheart is my favorite movie.
TV Mix: Any hobbies?
Sanchez: My hobby is to ride my mountain bike and compete in triathlons.
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I asked Sanchez his thoughts on the biggest fights of the year ahead, with Manny Pacquiao taking on Timothy Bradley and Floyd Mayweather fighting Marcos Maidana in May.
“I think they’re both going to win their fights and after, they should both fight, but I don’t think it’ll happen this year,” Sanchez said. “But I do think it will happen next year.”
With Sanchez being in the same division as them, I was curious if he would fight the future Hall of Famers. “I think they’ll be retired by the time I’m ready for a title shot, but I would fight Mayweather or Pacquiao,” Sanchez said. “For sure.”
Boxing isn’t the only sport he has interest in, with Sanchez wanting to try MMA and learn jiu-jitsu.
“If boxing doesn’t work, I’ll go to MMA,” Sanchez said jokingly, “But right now my main focus is Jorge Silva.”
My last question to him was one that many fans have asked me and wondered, “Do boxers have relations with women before their fights?”
Sanchez chuckled and said, “No, we don’t. You can lose energy that way and maybe your legs aren’t as strong, so anything that can weaken us, we don’t do.”
David Kano is lead writer for MMA Show News and co-host of The Hollywood MMA Show. You can follow him on Twitter @TheDKano.
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SOURCE: TVMix.com
