Austin Brooks to return in Tacoma on January 10 after disappointing draw

The last time junior lightweight Austin Brooks left the ring, it followed an unsatisfying draw against Aram Avagyan in June at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington. 

Brooks, 12-0-1 (5 KOs), is returning nearly seven months later as part of the first major card in the United States of 2025. He faces Rosalindo Morales, 10-1 (2 KOs), on Friday in a 10-round fight at the very same venue.

Brooks, 29, trains at The Arena in San Diego, California, with Basheer Abdullah. He also does strength and conditioning with Devin Taylor. Originally from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Brooks relocated to Southern California to pursue boxing. 

His road had already been hard. The draw with Avagyan made it even harder. Brooks started boxing at 17, a bit later than most seen in championship boxing.

“I definitely got more to prove coming off of a draw,” Brooks said. “I feel like I want to go in there and make a statement. I’m looking for a stoppage.”

He knows what went wrong in June.

“I started a little slow,” Brooks said. “I let him outwork me in certain rounds, and I wasn’t able to get my punches off like I wanted to.”

Morales, a 31-year-old from Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, suffered his first pro defeat in January 2023,  a fourth-round TKO to the 8-0-1 Julian Gonzalez. He rebounded with an April unanimous decision win over the 4-22-1 Marcello Williams. 

Brooks is seeking to rebound as well, not just from what happened against Avagyan but from how he felt afterward. 

“It had me in a bad spot mentally and I kind of let that deter me,” Brooks said. “I was just a little disappointed in my performance. I felt like I could have done more.”

After winning 12 straight fights, he is looking to begin a new streak. 

“I’m just grinding right now,” Brooks said. “I’m in that spot where I’m just waiting to break through and just trying to improve. I’m trying to get better every single day.”