Alexis Rocha believes in redemption and proving he’s nonetheless a top-10 contender.
Rocha, who’s rated No. 9 by The Ring at 147 kilos, will face unbeaten Santiago Dominguez in a compelling crossroads bout Friday evening on the Fantasy Springs Resort On line casino in Indio, California. The ten-round bout will headline a five-bout Golden Boy Combat Night time on DAZN card (9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT).
The southpaw Rocha (24-2, 16 knockouts), who grew up in Santa Ana, California, was victorious in his final bout on March 30, scoring a knockout win over Fredrick Lawson after spherical seven. In his earlier battle on October 21, Rocha was dropped a number of instances earlier than dropping by knockout to then-unbeaten contender Giovani Santillan.
The loss to Santillan snapped a string of seven victories since a detailed resolution loss to Rashidi Ellis in October 2020.
Rocha is the youthful brother of former world junior featherweight title challenger Ronny Rios, who offered steering and mentorship to Rocha after the loss to Santillan.
“The precious recommendation he gave me was to maintain my head up,” Rocha informed The Ring Tuesday. “He’s been there. I didn’t wish to begin to doubt myself and my skills. I gave myself time to mentally transfer ahead and acquire confidence.
The loss to Santillan dropped Rocha within the Ring scores, and in addition value him his No. 1 rating by the WBO.
Dominguez (27-0, 20 KOs), who’s initially from Ciudad Obregon, Mexico and now resides in Phoenix, Arizona, additionally fought on March 30 card, profitable by break up resolution over Jose Luis Sanchez. Rocha is satisfied an announcement win over Dominguez would solidify his standings amongst the perfect welterweights on the planet.
“I simply should give attention to what I’ve to do (tonight),” stated Rocha, who made his professional debut in March 2016 and has since fought below the Golden Boy banner. “If he’s going to be aggressive, then I’ll modify to that. I can deliver it too, however I do know once I must field. I can field and outbox my opponent. I wish to present that (tonight).
“I can take my time and I will be aggressive once I must be. I can calm down, and I might time my opponent. I can finish issues when my opponent is damage.
“I really consider and I’ve demonstrated I’m a top-10 contender. A win (tonight) would put me in line for a world title shot within the close to future. I can, one hundred pc, get higher. You haven’t seen the perfect model of Alexis Rocha.”
The 27-year-old proved he was capable of bounce again from the loss to Ellis to be the topic of a attainable world title shot in opposition to Ring Journal and undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford. Might he do the identical after dropping by knockout to Santillan?
The win over Lawson is an efficient begin, and an announcement win over Dominguez might reaffirm Rocha being a legit welterweight contender.
Rocha believes he’s again on observe and a win over Dominguez would solidify his stance on being a strong well-rounded fighter.
“I’m content material with the place I’m at,” stated Rocha. “I study from my losses. I take a look at what I did. I take the positives and the negatives in stride. I work with (coach) Hector Lopez to get higher with every battle.
“I don’t suppose boxing followers have seen the perfect model of me. one hundred pc. I’m maturing and I’m getting stronger on a regular basis. I’m extra muscular than once I was 18. It’s getting a bit tougher to make weight due to my metabolism, however I’m loads stronger at this weight.”
At Thursday’s weigh-in, Rocha weighed in at 146.4 kilos. Dominguez got here in 146.8 kilos.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has lined boxing in Southern California and overseas since 2000. Francisco additionally covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He will be reached at [email protected]
