Boxing has always been a sport where the father-son relationship has thrived. From fighters who are trained by their fathers, to sons following in their fighter father’s foot steps, to sons realizing their father’s dreams. Former 105 lbs. IBF champion Roberto “Mako” Leyva falls under the last category. Originally from a small fishing port in Sonora, Mexico, the southpaw Leyva and family moved to Ensenada at an early age. Ensenada, which is located about 75 miles south of San Diego, CA, also
boasts as a growing town thanks to both tourism and the fishing business. A business which Leyva’s father knew well and from where his nickname of “Mako” is derived from. “Mako is a species of shark. My father was a fisherman, specializing on this type of shark. When I was a boy, I was somewhat overweight and since this shark is known for its shortness but stockiness, my father began calling me ‘Mako’, and it stuck,” Leyva reminisces. Leyva (25-7-1, 20KO) who is coming off an unsuccessful challenge of WBC light flyweight champion Edgar Sosa back in Nov. of ’07, is now scheduled to take on hometown spoiler Benjamin “Benji” Garcia (12-10-3, 1KO) as the six round main event of “Summer Showdown” showcased by Bobby D. Presents with Coors Light and Top Shelf Promotions.
“I was very young. I have always been interested in boxing because of my father because he loved boxing. I had a pair of gloves at home as a kid and even though I wouldn’t do it in a gym, I would put on the pair of gloves at home,” Leyva shares. At the tender age of nine he joined a gym in his hometown of Puerto Penasco. He fought in two fights and then left the sport for six years until he reached the age of fifteen when his father passed away at sea. “I told my father that I was going to be a world champion so when he passed away, I began to train once again.”
After an extensive amateur career where Leyva earned multiple state and national championships, “Mako” turned pro in ’98 “it was interesting fight, I fell to the canvas in the first round, he hit me on the top of the head, I wasn’t hurt, by the time that the referee has counted to one, I was already on my feet. I was able to get up and stop him in the third.”
After that successful start in his pro career, Leyva assembled an impressive 16-0, 15KO record. In ’00 Leyva had his first real challenge when he faced Tijuana’s Victor Burgos who by that time had captured the mexican
light flyweight title and had challenged for world titles. “I think that Burgos made a mistake by accepting that fight. Burgos by that time had a name for himself. He thought that I was going to be an easy fight but by then I was a youth champion. I was anxious to fight for a world title and I knew that I had Burgos in my way. I was confident when I climbed into the ring and I fought a great fight and I was able to win easily.” With the win, Leyva captured the WBO NABO light flyweight title.
A year later, Leyva was able to battle for the vacant IBF minimum weight title versus the undefeated Colombian Daniel Reyes in New York “it was a great fight. I didn’t know anything about Reyes and I don’t think he knew anything about me. We hit each other with everything, even with the corner bucket! I dropped him in the eight but it went the twelve rounds, it was a tremendous fight.”
Leyva won the title but he did not keep the actual belt for long. As a boy, Leyva had told his father that he would be a world champion and when it happened, that he would present him the title belt. His father passed away before he could do good on his promise but that did not stop Leyva from keeping his word “I chartered a boat to take me to the exact spot where my father passed away and I dropped the belt into the sea.”
In’04 Leyva faced current WBO light flyweight Ivan Calderon in a match up that the undefeated Puerto Rican considers his toughest of his 32 pro career “I don’t know how I ended up in that fight
because by that time I had a lot of trouble making the 105 lbs. weight limit. I think I gave him a great fight to the point that when he is asked which ones has been his toughest fight, he says it was with me. Believe me that I would like a rematch with him but in light flyweight. I think at that weight limit there would be a different result that there was in our first although I still think that I won our first fight. It makes me feel great that he considers our fight to be his toughest. I enjoy the fact that he thinks that I am a good fighter and I think I will be able to show that in my next fight and everybody is going to be able to see that.”
In his last fight, “Mako” challenged the ever busy Edgar Sosa for the WBC strap “I think it was a close fight but he caught me with a body shot that I wasn’t able to recuperate from. I think he is a great champion.”
Leyva, who is trained by a legend of Tijuana boxing WBC bantamweight champion Raul “Jibaro” Perez, is very content with his coach “it has been several fights with “Jibaro”. I think he is a great trainer and he has given me a lot of confidence and I have a lot of respect for him. it makes me happy to have such a great champion in my corner, he always gives us positive energy in every fight. He is very disciplined and strict but that gives us a lot of confidence come fight time.” Leyva goes thru the training paces at the Jibaro Gym in the tough North Side of Tijuana where many amateur and former pro champions ply their trade such as former WBA super welterweight champion Alejandro “Terra” Garcia, a fact that is not lost on Leyva “it gives me great motivation to train hard and to be successful in this sport and prove to the fans that I can still be a world champion.”
Perez shares the same respect towards his charge “I am very happy to have him here in the gym. he is one of many fighters here in the gym and at the end of the day the fact that he is a world champion does not take away or add to him being here. He is a world champion that still needs to work on certain things and that we try to polish every day. We are looking for another opportunity for a world title but he needs to work.”
Now after nearly a year with out activity, Leyva will face off against tough journeyman Benjamin “Benji” Garcia who although his very low KO percentage and slightly better than .500 record, is no push over. Garcia has
given tough fights to former champions such as Eric Ortiz, Giovanni Segura and Gabriel Elizondo and owns wins over top prospects Sergio Espinoza and Francisco Arce always on short notice. “I have never seen “Benji” Garcia fight but what my trainer knows about him is that he is a tough fighter that throws a lot of punches. That is why I am preparing myself at 100% like in all of my fights. I expect a great fight on September 11th.”
“Jibaro’ seconds the sentiment “I have seen him very positive in the gym and training at 100%. We have been doing a lot of conditioning work because we expect a tough fight. “Benji” Garcia is a tough fighter that he is always coming forward and it will be very tough to drop him so we are prepared to go the distance to win. We know that he throws a lot of punches and that he throws from different angles but ‘Mako’ adopts to that style very well. Now inside the ring, nothing is written and anything can happen but we are prepared to win.”
Leyva is also excited fighting in San Diego “I think a lot of people are going to support me and I am going to feel as if I was at home.”