Junior welterweight Miguel Madueno wasted no time in agreeing to his latest opportunity. Not that he had much of it.
Madueno will face Oscar Duarte on Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, stepping in on short notice for Regis Prograis, who was forced out of the fight earlier this week because of an injury.
The 26-year-old Madueno, 31-3 (28 KOs), originally from Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, now fights out of Orange, California. Although the world learned that Prograis was out of the fight on Wednesday, Madueno’s team – specifically, promoter Alex Camponovo – received the call a day earlier.
“I was in the Dominican Republic celebrating my wife’s birthday,” Camponovo told BoxingScene. “We went with the whole family for a few days and came back Monday night. I got a call from Eric Gomez [president of Golden Boy Promotions] on Tuesday around two o’clock.”
The news prompted Camponovo to contact Madueno and ask if he would be interested in becoming the new opponent for Duarte, 28-2-1 (22 KOs). Camponovo knew Madueno had been training because he saw the fighter staying busy on social media. He was hoping to land him a fight in 8-10 weeks, but the opportunity – even on such short notice – was too big to pass up.
“It didn’t take too long to convince him,” Camponovo said. ”I didn’t even finish the sentence and he said he’d fight, because that’s Miguel. It’s only 10 days’ notice, and I’m sure he’s going to do his very best.”
Madueno is a homebody currently training in Mexico with his uncle (also named Miguel) for this fight. His most recent appearance – a unanimous decision loss to Keyshawn Davis in July – saw a frustrated Madueno let his emotions get the best of him. He has learned from the experience and has since worked with a sports psychologist.
“He has this factor that he’s a little bit of a wild man in there,” Camponovo said of Madueno. “He gets carried away when things are not going his way. He’s got a sports psychologist who’s trying to help him to focus a little bit more during the fight and just stick to his game plan.”
Duarte, a 29-year-old from Chihuahua, Mexico, is on a two-fight win streak – during which he has trained with Robert Garcia – since being stopped by Ryan Garcia in December 2023.
Camponovo says Madueno’s will is something that sets him apart. Taking a fight on short notice, he believes, shows just how motivated Madueno is to excel.
“He doesn’t want to be just an opponent,” Camponovo said. “I know that for a fact.”
Lucas Ketelle took an unconventional path to boxing, eventually finding his stride in gyms and media. For the past decade, he has hosted the “Lukie Boxing” podcast, filmed training camps for fighters like Arnold Barboza Jnr, Mikey Garcia and Caleb Plant, and worked with top professionals such as Mike Bazzel. Ketelle is also an author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for ProBox TV, BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @LukieBoxing.
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