Mauricio Herrera Wants Rios, Maidana or Garcia Next!

Battle With Alvarado Early “Fight of the Year” Candidiate

Just two weeks after his hellacious battle versus Mike “Migh High” Alvarado, Mauricio Herrera was already back in the ring–but this time in the corner of his brother Alberto Herrera, who was fighting this past Saturday night in a Top Rank Live show at the Fairgrounds in Pomona, California.

After another gutsy performance by Alberto (in a crowd-pleasing fight against Las Vegas’ Anthony Lenk), I caught up with Mauricio to talk about his last bout–which people are still talking about days later. The Alvarado-Herrera scrap was on the undercard of the April 14 Brandon Rios vs. Richard Abril fight at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. It stole the show and, arguably, is an early contender for 2012 “Fight of the Year.”

And what’s next for Mauricio Herrera?

He told me he wants to fight Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios, Marcos Maidana or Danny “Swift” Garcia next. Buoyed by his courageous mano y mano showdown against Alvarado, Mauricio’s rising profile has been pushed to the rapt attention of boxing fans around the world. Flourishing with this new-found audience, he hopes to back in the ring in July. And his new and growing fan base is one he earned.

During the back and forth brawl in April, the two gladiators both gave it 110%, with neither Alvarado (33-0, 23 KOs) or the underdog Herrera (18-2, 7 KOs) never giving in or backing down. During this exciting match, it was a stunning 140-pound brutal assault from both warriors full of grit. Mauricio’s eye was walloped by the Denver puncher and by the end of the bout was rendered closed–a purple mass of swollen tissue. As Herrera bravely battled on in each and every round, the audience became more and more enthralled– and impressed–by this unbelievable display of courage. You could almost hear strains of the “Rocky” theme playing in the background. Trading leather, it truly was a war of attrition between Alvarado and Herrera, with fans being the real winners of this contest.

While Mauricio lost this ten-round fight by the varied scores of 96-94, 97-93 and 99-91, he won a “moral” victory. He told me he saw the fans give him a standing ovation as he walked out of the ring and felt their support. Team Alvarado had predicted a knockout (“taking Mauricio to deep waters”), so the fact that the Riverside pug was still on his feet gave Team Herrera a certain sense of pride for the camp.

Herrera, an IBF Light Welterweight Champ, trains with California Hall of Fame coach Willy Silva. Promoted by Thompson Boxing Promotions, Mauricio has just only two blemishes on his record–the recent loss to Alvarado and a defeat by Mike Anchondo. His promoter Ken Thompson praises Mauricio for his performance in the Alvarado fight. “What a fabulous fight!” the Southland promoter spoke, a few days after the battle. “Mauricio stole the show.”

Thompson Boxing’s General Manager/Matchmaker also raved about the bout: “Mauricio and Mike put on a great show, it really was the main event of the evening. Mauricio is a true warrior and we are proud of him!”

During a break in action at the weekend show in Pomona, I chatted with Mauricio to hear his thoughts on his fight and what’s next for the camp.

He hasn’t returned to the gym just yet, his eye is almost healed, and the junior welterweight told me he’ll be back training in a week.

“This is the longest time I’ve ever stayed out of the gym,” he laughed. “But I’m feeling good. The tissue around my eye just seems to swell easily so I had to take a break a little longer than usual.”

As the healing around his eyes is almost complete, what did he think of his fight, just two weeks ago?

“I feel good; I felt like I won,” the boxer assessed. “Alvarado’s a strong guy, he gave a great fight–but he learned I was willing to take it. And I learned a lot from this fight.”

Mauricio then reveals what gave him the inspiration to wage back against Alvarado; the turning point where he knew he was not going to back down or give in. It was his rival’s taunts that actually spurred him on.

“In the last two rounds, I could hear in my head what he had said,” Herrera shares. “He said he was gonna take me in ‘deep water’!”

Mike had said before their fight: “I hope Mauricio can swim ’cause I’m taking him into deep waters.”

Herrera says during the fight while in the rounds, he remembered that statement and told himself, “NO WAY. That’s not gonna happen. I’m gonna stay in this fight!”

And that he did.

I asked him if the crowd’s support swayed him in giving such a full of guts performance that night.

“I was happy the crowd loved it,” he nods. I’m glad everyone enjoyed my fight–I promise I will NEVER be a boring fighter! The standing ovation pumped me up and I really want to thank the fans for that”

Hoping to lace up again this summer, Herrera will have more people taking notice the next time he steps into the ring. We then talk about the irony of this loss to Alvarado that has finally put this self-described “late bloomer” on the radar in the boxing world.

“I beat Mike Dallas and Ruslan Provodnikov and nobody paid attention,” he chuckles, in regards to the irony of it all. “And I ‘lose’ to Alvarado and I’m getting so much support from the fans–and the respect of everyone. It’s crazy but I’m happy everybody loved the fight.”

Satisfied in knowing he dug deep to give his most memorable performance to date, a rejuvenated Herrera is striving for more, hoping to strike while the iron is hot.

He told me he’d face Mike Alvarado rematch but also has his sights on three other names in the ranks. “I want to fight Rios, Maidana or Danny Garcia,” Herrera states during our conversation. “I think a fight with anyone of them would be great.” While there’s talk that “Bam Bam” Rios next opponent could be Juan Manuel Marquez, Mike Alvarado, Marcos Maidana or Yuriorkis Gamboa, Herrera wants to make sure his name is thrown into the hat too. After his solid showing against Alvarado, he feels he deserves a chance as well.

As fans came up to Mauricio congratulating him on fight, where he proved his championship mettle, the SoCal boxer remained humble, thanking each fan for their support.

While his younger brother Alberto gave his own thrilling performance in his bout with Lenk, Team Herrera once again was on the short end of the victory.

But for Mauricio, he knows that ironically, there are times you fight the battle and not win the war–and still come out on top.

Photo by Michele Chong/ Ring photos by Marlene Marquez