Wilson “Ill Will” Mascarenhas (9-1, 3 KOs) returns to the ring this Saturday against wily veteran Braulio “El Chavo” Rodriguez (20-9, 17 KOs) in a six-round welterweight contest.
The bout is the co-feature of a stacked ‘CES Boxing Homecoming’ card taking place at Bally’s Twin River Lincoln Casino on March 23. Priced at $60, $80, $155, and $180, tickets are quickly selling out, so make sure to visit CES Fights to purchase yours. Fans who can’t make it to Bally’s can catch the action live and for free on Swerve Combat TV.
“I’m always looking forward to putting on a show,” says the New Bedford native of his tough assignment. “I stay ready all year round, so it doesn’t matter who they put in front of me, I’m going to go in there and show my skills, ability, heart, and talent.”
In front of Mascarenhas on Saturday is an experienced foe who has shared the ring with the likes of 2-time world title challenger Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz, jr. welterweight star Ryan Garcia, and lightweight prospect Ashton Sylve. Rodriguez is as savvy as they come, and he knows every trick in the book.
“Rodriguez is a tricky opponent, but I’m ready for anything he brings,” says Wilson confidently. “This is the best I ever felt mentally going into a camp, and physically I like to stay ready so that I don’t have to get ready. I’ve been locked in for several weeks now, so I’m looking forward to putting on a great show for the fans on Saturday night.”
When speaking with Mascarenhas, one gets the impression that the 29-year-old doesn’t take anything for granted in life. After recovering from a brutal assault that took place in his hometown after one of his most impressive wins, Wilson has a deep understanding of how lucky he is to not just be able to box, but to simply live a normal life.
“I didn’t expect to be where I am today,” admits Mascarenhas, who was stabbed 4 times that night across his head, neck, back and shoulder. “But here I am, and I’m excited, grateful, and blessed to be here. I’m going to make the most of this.”
For Mascarenhas, living life to the fullest involves balancing fatherhood with a full-time job as a behavioralist at a school and his daily boxing training, conditioning, and physical therapy. It’s a rigorous schedule, but one that Wilson feels grateful to be able to do on a daily basis.
“We’re working to get there,” laughs Mascarenhas when asked whether he plans to eventually make boxing his full-time job. “Right now, boxing is not my full-time job but the way I do it, it’s as if it is because I put my all into it no matter what. I work in the community, and I tell the kids all the time that sometimes in order to get where you need to be, you have to grind somewhere else. They believe me because they see me do it.”
While Mascarenhas gets a lot of satisfaction from working with the youth, the Portuguese native dreams of being able to dedicate himself fully to the Sweet Science. Those dreams almost came tumbling down 2 years ago, but after 3 wins with 1 knockout since the attack and subsequent recovery, Wilson’s confidence in his abilities has grown.
“I’m getting better with every fight,” agrees Mascarenhas. “With each outing, I’m feeling my injury less and less. My right hand is coming out faster and I’m feeling much more comfortable.”
Wilson’s improvement has impressed CES Boxing so much that earlier in the month, they didn’t hesitate to renew their promotional pact with the welterweight prospect.
“I want to give a big shout out to CES Boxing and Jimmy Burchfield for giving me the opportunity again,” says Mascarenhas, who would like to fight 2 more times in 2024 if successful on Saturday. “As you know, boxing is a business and after sustaining injuries like that and having my character assassinated with speculation that my attack may have been gang related, I have to thank CES and Jimmy Burchfield for giving me another opportunity. Now we we’re locked in, and I feel like we’re going to have great fights coming up and that’s the goal: stay busy, keep fighting, and keep climbing up the welterweight ranks.”
Wilson’s resurrection continues this Saturday night at Bally’s Twin River Casino against Braulio Rodriguez, but as the fighter points out, win, lose or draw, he plans to pursue his dreams and leave it all in the ring.
“When it’s all said and done, I don’t want to have any excuses,” says Mascarenhas. “I don’t ever want to fail and say ‘oh, it’s because of this or that.’ That incident happened, it’s over and we’re moving forward. This is where we are, and we’re going to stay in this path working hard and I’m going to keep blowing my opponents out of the water.”
