Undefeated super featherweight prospect Jesus Vasquez Jr. (6-0, 2 KOs), fighting out of Englewood, Colorado, has signed a managerial contract with Ryan Roach’s Fighter Locker.
“I talked to my coach, Leroy Miller, who I’ve been with since the beginning, and it made sense to us,” Vasquez, Jr. talked about why he signed with Roach. “I had a good feeling about Ryan.”
“I knew Jesus was a special fighter when former world champion Vernon Phillips reached out to me and said that there’s a special kid out here you should look at,” Roach commented. “I spoke with his coach and it seemed like a perfect fit. Leroy is a great coach and I look forward to working with him. Jesus is very experienced and a well-rounded fighter. He has speed and power. I’m confident he will be competing for a world title in under 15 fights. He’s a special type of fighter and adding fighters like Jesus to my stable is remarkable.”
Vasquez, Jr. was a decorated American amateur boxer, posting a 158-25 record, at one point ranked No. 2 in the country at 123-pounds, No. 3 at 132, highlighted by gold-medal performances three times at the Ringside National Championships, in addition to winning the PAL Championships. He also medaled at numerous national and regional amateur tournaments.
Th 29-year-old Vasquez, Jr. got a relatively late start on his pro boxing career, which started February 10, 2018, when he won a four-round unanimous decision over Eberardo Lopez. Vasquez stayed an amateur to try and make the 2016 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team. He was a member of the USA Knockouts of the USB World Boxing Series of Boxing, losing his Olympic bid in a losing U.S. Trials semifinals match versus Carlos Balderas, and then took off 1 ½ years from boxing. He did earn his Associates Degree from Arapahoe Community College in business.
His amateur experience included fights with Balderas, the 2016 US Olympian, reigning International lightweight World champion Teofimo Lopez, and countless others who prepared him for the pro ranks.
“I tried qualifying for the Olympic Team, but after losing to Balderas, I got away from boxing” Vasquez, Jr. said. “I returned when my love of the sport came back to me. The amateurs introduced me to different styles, fighting so many boxers nationally, and I even fought some International opponents here in the U.S.
“I got a late start in the pros, but I’m not in a super rush. I feel that I’m at the level to take hard fights. I don’t need to fight a lot of easy fights to build my record, because my amateur background puts me at that level. I would like to fight 6-8 times this year, but the pandemic has messed up plans for everybody. I had a fight scheduled for August that has been cancelled.”
A good example of Vasquez’ amateur pedigree advancing his pro career is his last fight this past January, in which he won a unanimous 6-round unanimous decision against 62-fight veteran Robert Frankel (37-24-1).
“He’s been training, and we are looking to get him back in the ring soon,” Roach added.
Vasquez, Jr. joins Fighter Locker’s growing stable that includes a talented Ukrainian trio of North American Boxing Association (NABA) super welterweight title holder Stanyslav Skofokhod (19-2, 16 KOs), word-rated welterweight Karen Chukhadzhian (16-1, 7 KOs) and super lightweight Zoravor Petrosyan (7-0, 3 KOs).
Other Fighter Locker stablemates include Dominican welterweight Juan Carlos “Merengue” Abreu (23-5-1, 21 KOs), the former IBF Youth World super lightweight champion; Lynn, MA super welterweight Khiry Todd (10-1, 8 KOs),Dorchester, MA welterweight Gabriel Duluc (15-3, 4 KOs), Troy, NY super lightweight RayJay Bermudez, Toronto, Canada welterweight Jeff “The Trouble 1” Tabrizi (8-3, 7 KOs), and New Haven, CT super welterweight Jimmy “Quiet Storm” Williams (16-3-2, 5 KOs). Plus, three fighters prepared to make their pro debuts: former Kazakhstan National Team light heavyweight Alexey Sevostyanov, Irish National champion Paul Ryan, and U.S. Army bantamweight Daniel Bailey, Jr.