By Jake Donovan
Sometimes it takes a humiliating loss to realize that your career – and life – is spiraling out of control. It could be the first knockdown you've suffered as a pro. Or the first time you're forced to go the distance. Or the first negative comment received in the media.
For undefeated Puerto Rican prospect Alex "El Pollo" de Jesús, the first wake up call had little to do with anything going wrong in the ring. It was the success of another, close friend and stable mate Juan Manuel Lopez, that made the 2004 Olympian reevaluate his own career.
"The key to this is responsibility and Juanma has always had a head on his shoulders," says de Jesús, as quoted by Puerto Rican publication El Nuevo Dia. "I admire him a lot. Juanma is my inspiration to keep going."
The success to which de Jesús alludes is Lopez' stirring one-round destruction of Daniel Ponce de Leon in June, earning the power punching Puerto Rican his first major title in the process.
Lopez and de Jesús were teammates on the 2004 Puerto Rico boxing squad, and turned pro on the same show in 2005. But it was Lopez who would quickly emerge as one of the best super bantamweights in the world and a future star of the sport, while De Jesús has yet to establish himself at a particular weight class.
To his credit, the 26-year old southpaw acknowledges what went wrong, or at least what's held him back, as he remains an unproven prospect more than three years into his career.
"I've remained behind while other people advanced themselves because of my irresponsibility with my weight," admits De Jesús. "But that is already in the past; I am now physically and emotionally well.
"The way I feel right now, I could fight Kendall Holt or Ricardo Torres on Friday."
He instead faces Adrian Navarrete, in a bout that headlines tonight's edition of Telefutura Solo Boxeo Tecate (Friday, 8PM ET/PT, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico). The matchup is close to the level of opposition he's recently faced, which is to say that instant accolades aren't expected to follow.
The purpose the fight serves is further establishing De Jesús as a potential player in the junior welterweight division. Sounds simple enough, especially for a perceived blue-chip prospect. Yet de Jesús managed to lose sight of it early in a career that's carried so much promise since his amateur days.
With his win over Myke Carvalho in the opening round of the 2004 Summer Olympics, de Jesús (17-0, 11KO) became the first Puerto Rican since 1996 bronze medalist Daniel Santos to win a Olympic boxing match. He would go on to lose his next fight, but rode a wave of momentum when turning pro in 2005.
The buzz only grew stronger with each win, especially following his 4th round destruction of respectable Cristian Lopez in just his 7th pro fight. It was decided after cruising to 10-0 that de Jesús was ready for a step up in competition.
Summoned was Antonio Ramirez, a battle-tested lightweight contender coming off of consecutive stoppage losses to Mike Anchondo and Joel Casamayor. The bout served as de Jesús' first Telefutura headliner, but produced mixed results. The win came easy enough, but the Puerto Rican drew harsh criticism for settling on a decision win, coasting over the last few rounds when a knockout seemed well within reach.
The September '06 bout served as an introduction to the complacency that would soon stall de Jesús' progress. After a pair of tune-ups to finish out the year, Team de Jesús hoped 2007 would serve as his breakout campaign.
The only place he would break out of was the junior welterweight division, and not necessarily by design. Six months after a failed title bid, Arturo Morua challenged de Jesus for an assortment of regional welterweight titles in a July '07 Telemundo headliner. The Puerto Rican prevailed, but it was soon realized that seven pounds south is where he belonged.
It wouldn't happen in his next fight, one that literally proved costly even if in his finest hour. De Jesús delivered arguably the best performance of his career, a 4th round knockout of previously unbeaten Bulmaro Solis. But it was on the scales where he would fail miserably, missing weight by more than four pounds, and having to pay a hefty fine in order to proceed with the bout.
The message finally sunk in for de Jesús, who rededicated himself in the gym and has looked spectacular ever since. Part of the motivation was his so desperately wanting to advance through the rankings quick enough to earn a title shot against then-junior welterweight titlist Ricardo Torres. The journey began with a Telemundo-aired decision win over Steve Quinones, for which de Jesús claims to have underwent the most intense training camp of his career.
Returning to the win less than four months later, de Jesús impressed with a whitewash over countryman Wilfredo Negron in a bout that served as the co-feature to a pay-per-view headlined by junior flyweight king Ivan Calderon. Negron was his usual brave self, but de Jesus was lights out, pitching a virtual shutout before taking out the fading contender in the 12th and final round.
The bout with Navarrete marks his third fight back at junior welterweight after a brief hiatus a year ago. Since then, his original target – Ricardo Torres – no longer possesses divisional hardware, losing a controversial 1st round knockout to Kendall Holt last month. With a win tonight, talks have emerged for a potential title shot in 2009.
"It's possible that Holt and Torres will fight again. Then we would look to get the winner in the ring with "El Pollo," co-promoter Peter Rivera told El Nuevo Dia in discussing de Jesús' title aspirations. "Holt and Torres belong to Top Rank (who along with Rivera co-promotes de Jesús), which makes things easier."
It's the only thing that will come close to resembling easy in the career of Alex de Jesús from here on out. Realizing that growing up is far more productive than growing out, the future once again looks bright, even when overshadowed by the presence of his stable mates – if only for the moment.
Jake Donovan is a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .
