By Ian Aldous: After seven years away from the ring, former WBA 147lbs and 154lbs world champion, Jose Antonio Rivera, returns to action on Friday August 17th at the Worcester Palladium. Originally intended to be an historic fight card for Rivera to fight alongside his debuting son, A.J., unfortunately that won’t happen as A.J. won’t be medically cleared in time. The show will go ahead as planned and showcase no less than six fighters from Worcester. Last week, Rivera took some time to talk with me over the phone about his career and impending return to professional boxing.
IA: Seven years away from the ring. How are you feeling as you prepare and get closer to fight night?
JAR: (I’m) Feeling better and better. As the fight is getting closer and the weight’s getting lower, the body is responding really well.
IA: Because it’s been so long, is there anything that’s changed?
JAR: Not really. I kind of got right back into the rhythm that I like to train at and I take it serious, so for me, it’s got to be all or nothing. I’ve just got to make sure that (I’m capable). In the beginning when I first decided to do this, testing out and seeing if my body was going to respond to this type of training, when I saw that I could, then I was able to keep stepping it up.
IA: How has life been treating you since you last fought in 2011? What have you been up to?
JAR: I’ve always worked full-time. I’m a court officer in the state of Massachusetts. I’ve been there for seventeen years, even when I was a world champion too! I’ve been doing that and I have my nutrition business. I started off a promotional company with my son in the last year, so we’re doing that as well.
IA: Unfortunately, your son can no longer fight on the card. Does that mean this fight will not be a one-off and that you’ll fight on the same card as A.J. down the line?
JAR: I think that first making sure that A.J. can be fine health-wise is the most important part. Then if everything goes through and they say ‘it’s good’, and he decides that he wants to try it again and I’m willing to give it a try (then it’ll happen). (I’m) not going to wait too long, hopefully we’ll know sometime this year and decide then.
IA: Let’s rewind to 2003 and the night you travelled to Germany to claim the vacant WBA welterweight world championship against Michel Trabant by majority decision in a slugfest. What are your memories of that night?
JAR: Being prepared and very excited for the opportunity, excited to be in Germany – me against the world mentality. I went in there with everything and just felt like I had to give everything to win the fight because I felt like I had to make a statement. I wasn’t going to get a decision easily in Germany.
IA: It’s notoriously hard to travel away, especially Germany, and win a decision. Were you surprised it went your way?
JAR: I wasn’t surprised because I thought I won. I was cautious. I was trying not to get excited before the decision was announced because obviously anything can happen. Had they not given me the decision, at least I couldn’t hang my head because I gave everything I had.
IA: Your title defense against Luis Collazo was another brutal fight. Luis walked away with the split decision and I have to say, I had him winning by a few rounds. How did you score it?
JAR: I thought I won the fight being champion at home, being the aggressor. To take the title away from the champion running most of the night (was wrong), but again I’m not the judge.
IA: He had quite the defensive style, sit back and pick a few shots. Some judges see that as a negative and some as a positive.
JAR: Right, and that depends on the judges.
IA: You then moved up to 154lbs, to challenge Alejandro Garcia for his WBA championship. It was a wonderful performance against the defending champion.
JAR: That to me is how you make a statement against the champion, that’s how you take his title. I know I was at home, but there was no way I was going to just win a decision and, because I’m at home, just do enough. I knew that he was the champion and I needed to make a statement because I just moved up to junior-middleweight and I wanted a big fight after that because I heard that they were talking about Garcia fighting De La Hoya and De La Hoya was fighting the same night in Las Vegas against Ricardo Mayorga. That’s what they were talking about, (the) winners fighting each other type of thing, but I never got the opportunity.
IA: What was going through your mind when you knocked Garcia down with a jab within the first two minutes of the fight?
JAR: It just felt good. They key for me for the fight was to keep him at distance, keep him at the end of my punches and just unleash. Then when he walked in and right into that jab and it buckled him – it was a good feeling. So, I definitely got the first round, now I got to do this eleven more rounds (laughs).
IA: You knocked him down five times en route to a clear unanimous decision win in yet another bruising encounter. Was this the greatest night of your career and your best performance in the ring?
JAR: I would say that would be the best fight of my career, yes. Then I followed it with the worst fight of my career (laughs). It was a rough night. I wasn’t really hurt at all, you know (laughs). It was my worst performance per se but physically I was fine.
IA: On your journey, the fans in Worcester were incredible in supporting you. I believe there were 10,000 in attendance the night you won the 154lbs world title?
JAR: In the Garcia fight, we had, I think about 8,000. We had 14,000 for the Collazo fight.
IA: Finally, what can we expect on August 17th?
JAR: Everybody’s going to be waiting to see what I have left and what am I going to bring to the table? I feel good and we have a game plan, so come fight time, I just hope that we can put that game plan on display on the night of the fight in front of the fans.
Three-time, two-division world champion “El Gallo” Jose Antonio Rivera (41-6-1, 24 KOs) is making his return in the “Making History” main event, in large part because he wanted to fight on the same card as his son, A.J. Rivera, who was to become the first pro boxer who was born with Spina Bifida. A.J., who is a rising matchmaker in New England, was unable to get medically cleared in time and he will not be fighting Aug. 17.
The event has been renamed, “Homecoming”, because six of the competing fighters, including Jose Antonio Rivera, live in Worcester.
Middleweight Kendrick Ball, Jr. (9-1-2, 6 KOs) and junior middleweight Khiary Gray (15-4, 11 KOs), both promoted by CES Boxing, will be making their pro debuts at home in Worcester. Ball faces an opponent to be determined in the six-round co-featured event, while Gray (15-4, 11 KOs) meets Antonio Chaves Fernandez (9-33, 4 KOs), of Brockton, MA, also in a six rounder.
Undefeated light heavyweight prospect Richard “Popeye The Sailor Man” Rivera (8-0, 7 KOs), fighting out of Hartford, CT, is slated to fight in a six-round bout vs. TBA, as well as his stable mate, two-time New England Golden Gloves champion “The Chosen One” Sharad Collier (1-0, 1 KO), who takes on his Mexican opponent, Emmanuel “Pollo” Valadez (5-4, 4 KOs), in a four-round match.
Also scheduled to fight on the undercard in four-round bouts are Springfield, MA welterweight Jose Angel “KO” Ortiz Jose Angel “KO” Ortiz (4-13-1, 1 KO) vs. Seth Basler (0-8) and pro-debuting featherweight Joshua Orta vs. Worcester’s Edwin Rosado (1-7-1, 1 KO), Southbridge, MA welterweight Wilfredo “El Sucaro” Pagan (4-0, 2 KOs) vs. TBA, Worcester lightweight Francisco Irizarry (4-0, 2 KOs) vs. TBA, Worcester’s pro-debuting lightweight Eslih Owusu.vs. Mexican Engelberto “Guarura” Valenzuela (11-14 (3 KOs).
All fights and fighters are subject to change.
Tickets, priced at $75.00 (ringside) and $45.00 (general admission), are on sale and available to purchase at www.ThePalladium.net or the Palladium box office (general admission only), or by contacting Jose Rivera (elgallojar@gmail.com/508.864.6954), AJ Rivera (anthoneerivera@gmail.com/774.272.2269) or any of the fighters.
Doors open at 6 p.m. ET, first bout 7 p.m. ET.
Event sponsors include Lundgren Honda, Elm Wealth Group, Atty. Maria M. Rivera-Cotto, Championsofhealth@USANA.com, Chieftain Liquors, Centro Las America, Baystate Savings Bank, Pamela Laporte Realty, Worcester Vocero, ChrisFIT Xperience and Grille 57 (hosting the official weigh in and after party).
A portion of the proceeds will go to Spina Bifida Association of Greater New England.