Junior bantamweight Daniel Barrera has known his southern California rival Christian Robles for some time, but he doesn’t see their upcoming fight as one of bad blood.
“To me, it is just another opponent,” he said.
The two will fight in an eight-round bout as the co-feature Friday at the Chumash Casino and Resort in Santa Ynez, California, for local bragging rights.
Barrera (6-0-1, 4 KOs), 22, views the fight as a product of circumstance. His weight class doesn’t have the depth of some higher weights. Barrera sees the 27-year-old Robles (8-2, 3 KOs), trained by Marvin Somodio, as one of the few fighters willing to face him at this point in his career—and at this spot on the card.
“A lot of people call [this fight] a rivalry, because we are both close to L.A.,” Barrera told BoxingScene. “Maybe it is a rivalry for him, but for me, it is just another opponent I got to get through to continue to go up the ranks in my career.”
The two have even run into each other in the gym.
“We sparred one time, probably like four rounds or something like that,” Barrera recalled. “Good guy, nothing against him. It is a part of the sport. You are going to fight the people you spar, especially in this weight class.”
The fight will mark Barrera’s debut as an eight-round fighter. He stated he wanted to turn pro in a six-round fight to expedite his journey into these types of fights that he stated he was “made for.”
Barrera trains at War Zone Boxing Club with Al Franco, the father of former professional boxer Daniel Franco. Barrera has predicted he will bring 400 fans to the venue and has shown composure thus far in his young career, in-and-out of the ring. He could be on course to fight six times in one year. Barrera credits his calm demeanor for a perceived grudge match and fighting in front of so many passionate fans to his trainer.
“I give all that credit to my coach, Al Franco,” said Barrera. “He has taught me from the beginning a lot of discipline. He has always told me, ‘If you can’t listen when you are winning, you are not going to listen when you are losing’.”
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